3 Most Likely Bears Draft Targets After Securing Another Top-10 Pick

2. Abdul Carter, EDGE Penn State

The Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and Unanimous All-American will likely be the first edge player off the board this year. After spending his first two seasons as an off-ball linebacker he made the change to pass-rushing this season and dominated the position. Sound similar to another former Nittany Lion? He ranked 3rd in the nation in pass-rushing according to PFF. While this is amazing, he is still very raw at the position and is just scratching the surface of his potential.

He is an elite athlete who will likely be one of the "freaks" at the combine who tests crazy in most drills. He has great acceleration at the snap and often wins with speed around the edge, but he also possesses the power to rush straight on. His hands will be something that will need refining as he often relies on his speed and raw athleticism to win and not so much get the hands of the offense off him. It will take more than that to win against the polished tackles in the NFL versus the future insurance salesmen in college.

Carter probably projects best as a stand-up outside linebacker rushing the quarterback, but can also get his hand in the dirt and get after it. The Bears defense currently sits in a 4-3, but who knows how that will look next season. We are obviously still going to have to wait and see who is named the Head Coach and what staff he builds, but the defense can possibly look much different next season in terms of scheme. Montez Sweat on one end and Carter on the other is very appealing to a team that finished 16th overall in sacks (40).