Bears Draft Review

Let’s analyze the Bears draft, both as individual players and what they say in the greater scheme of things.

Shea McClellin, DE, Boise St.  A versatile player, McClellin is a hard worker with great speed coming off the edge.  He played all over the defense for Boise St and is good in coverage.  He seems to be a better fit as a 3-4 OLB and there’s some question as to how well he’ll defend the run as a 4-3 DE.

Alshon Jeffery, WR, South Carolina.  Widely considered a top-10 pick heading into 2011, Jeffery struggled with weight issues during the 2011 season.  Playing most of the season between 230-240 pounds, Jeffery looked significantly more sluggish than he did in his excellent 2010 season.  Currently at 215, the Bears felt comfortable enough with the 6’4” WR to trade up in the 2^nd round to draft him.  Jeffery could provide excellent play at flanker for the Bears or he could balloon again and have very little value.  A real boom or bust prospect.

Brandon Hardin, S, Oregon State.  Considered a 3^rd round prospect after 2010, Hardin missed the 2011 season after surgery to repair a broken shoulder.  Because he’s coming off an injury and a season in which he didn’t play, he is generally considered a reach at this pick.  He does have ideal size for a safety though (he played corner in college) and he will bring great speed to the Bears’ defensive backfield.

Evan Rodriguez, TE, Temple.  Played a lot of H-back at Temple, but as a pure pass catching tight end there were few better.  Numbers weren’t impressive due to limited opportunities, but he has great speed, great body control and excellent hands.  Due to his time at H-back, he’s a willing blocker and it’s not uncommon to see him downfield making blocks at the 2^nd level.

Isaiah Frey, CB, Nevada.  A corner with good size and speed who was expected by most to go undrafted.  Despite his size, he doesn’t play physical enough and needs to disrupt WR’s routes more.  He did tie for first in the nation with 21 passes deflected, although most attribute that to poor QB play in the WAC.

Greg McCoy, CB, TCU.  Another corner who was expected to go undrafted (who cares though, at this point in the 7^th round), McCoy’s primary production in college came on special teams.  He averaged 32 yds per kick return over 47 attempts in his time at TCU.

Instead of grading each Bears selection (or the draft as a whole), let’s analyze what this group says about Phil Emery and what he wants to do with this team.

 First, it says that he values speed.  Every one of these players has a 40 time under 4.6 seconds.

Second, he wanted more weapons for Jay Cutler.  Adding Brandon Marshall wasn’t enough.  He traded up to get Alshon Jeffery and used his 4^th round pick on a receiving tight end.  This offense should be significantly more dangerous this year than any in recent memory.

Third, he values special teams.  Every player drafted, except Jeffery, can contribute on special teams.  Emery showed that he values special teams with some of the free agents he pursued and the draft was no different.

Fourth, he values versatility.  This is more than just having guys who can fill in elsewhere in case of injury.  It’s much deeper than that.  For defenders, the value is two-fold.  First, it allows for more creativity/movement/shifting and general confusion pre-snap.  There were many times last year that Julius Peppers would line up at DT in order to create confusion or exploit a mismatch.  Shea McClellin gives the Bears another player who can play multiple positions.  The impact of his versatility, though, will be more relevant when offenses sub players in and change personnel packages.  Right now in the NFL, offenses seem to have an upper hand  with the different personnel looks they give a defense.  You see it every Sunday; defenses trying to sub players in at the last second because they don’t match up well with the personnel that the offense has brought onto the field.  McClellin will help neutralize that advantage.  He will play DE most of the time with his hand on the ground.  If needed, though, he can shift back and play linebacker.  He can effectively drop back into coverage.  His presence on the field could be one less mismatch for the offense to exploit.  It could be one less timeout wasted on defense.  That part of his game has to be considered when discussing his value.

The value of this type of versatility for offensive players is even clearer.  We can create the mismatches I just spoke of without subbing players on and off the field.  Imagine this:  the Bears can now line up in 21 personnel (2 RB’s, 1 TE, 2 WR’s) with Matt Forte at halfback and Evan Rodriguez at fullback.  Then, on the next play, they can keep the same players on the field, split BOTH of those RB’s out wide and have a legitimate 5 WR’s on the field.  I’m sure you can imagine the mismatches this would set up.