While he was rarely on the field and his fate seemed imminent, Jerrell Freeman getting cut means the Chicago Bears have another hole on defense that needs to be filled.
They can look to fill that with the eighth overall pick in the draft.
The linebacker that has been linked to the Bears in recent mock drafts is Tremaine Edmunds from Virginia Tech.
There are many players that I would be happy with the Bears taking in the first round, such as Calvin Ridley, Quenton Nelson, Minkah Fitzpatrick, or another linebacker, Roquan Smith (more on him later).
Tremaine Edmunds
If the Bears were to draft Edmunds, he would be a difference-maker immediately and would have the potential to play for the Bears for a very long time as he will only be 19 years old on draft night.
Edmunds is a rare linebacker, as he has great size at 6-foot-5 and weighs 250 pounds but is able to play at a rate that you’d expect from a much smaller player. An NFL scout couldn’t come up with an accurate comparison for him and said that you’d be better off comparing him to an NBA player due to his size and speed. A name I’ve seen have him linked closest to is Brian Urlacher (who came in at 6-foot-4 and weighed 258 pounds), which isn’t the worst comparison to have in Chicago.
The only knack I could see for Edmunds is that he is best equipped for a 4-3 defense, which isn’t Fangio’s style. I’m sure he could adjust into more of a 3-4 role with the Bears over time, and since he’s so young it shouldn’t be that crucial of a detail, but that is one issue I can see that would make the Bears hesitant to take him with the eighth pick.
Roquan Smith
While Smith is undersized (6-1/225), the Georgia linebacker is a freak athlete that can be seen all over the field during the game. He has great instincts, excellent closing speed, is a great tackler and he seems to be involved on every play in the flat. He can fit into a 4-3 or 3-4 scheme, so it wouldn’t be much of an adjustment coming to Chicago.
Again, the greatest concern with Smith is his size and whether he can find success playing against players with NFL size. He did excel playing in the SEC, however, and there’s an abundance of NFL talent in that conference of college football.
He will be a stud at the next level as his play-making abilities, overall athleticism and awareness is a rare commodity for a linebacker.
You can’t go wrong with either of these players and they both should be considered when the Bears are on the clock. While college statistics only tell a fraction of the story when it comes to analyzing prospects, it still should be included just for comparison’s sake.
They are similar players numbers-wise. It’s interesting that while Edmunds is two years younger than Smith, he is actually more experienced as he’s played 10 more games than him (Edmunds has also started four more games than Smith).
While taking Mitch Trubisky was considered more of a project because of the lack of playing time in his career, both of these players have a vast amount of playing experience.
At the end of the day, you can’t go wrong with either of these players. Both are young playmakers that will come in, make a difference immediately and should be a long-term solution at the linebacker position.
I would take Edmunds over Smith by the slimmest of margins, and that’s mostly because of the size difference. I don’t see any major issues with him fitting into a 3-4 scheme, and I can’t imagine Chicago being against taking a guy who’s being compared to Urlacher.
I watched some film on smith…
he can’t handle big bodies at the point of attack.
I watched him get washed out every time by guys who have no business playing on sundays. His go to move when they run right at him is to give a ton of ground and try to get around the blocker. Bigger, more athletic NFL lineman, backs and tightends are going to cream this kid and his back up and go around approach isn’t going to work.
He does have the speed. He also has the quickness and balance to avoid blocks in space (against college wideouts and running backs- smaller guys, red flag) he was around almost every play. I did see him rush the A gap, which has been touted as a strength of his. I think he gets a lot of credit for the other guys on the team drawing doubles. The only times I saw him get home was when the HB had to try to block him one on one. If there’s a common negative trait in young running backs it’s that they don’t know how to pick up the blitz and, again, these are smaller guys than he’ll be facing at the next level.
Size+upside+youth+experience-downside=Edmunds
Neither is a perfect scheme fit, I’m hoping we fill holes in FA and Edmunds is my Vote for BPA
Glad the bears know more than you brother jon. You clearly know nothing about football if you think Roquan Smith gets eaten up by bigger players regularly. I would suggest you watch him get sacks at Notre Dame against Mcglinchy and Nelson. Dominate the SEC championship, the rose bowl and the National Title game. I know UGA lost that last one but that was the secondary getting eaten alive. If everyone else on the Bears D does their job and clears lanes for him to play through he’ll have 15 tackles a game. He’s a rare talent, I want you to remember how stupid you are in 2 years when he’s an all pro.