Chicago Bears Midseason: Rookie Report
Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports
The Bears season has been a huge disappointment with a 3-5 record and there are problems with every aspect of the team, but one bright spot has been the play of the Bears rookies. This year’s draft was considered one of the strongest talent-wise in the last 25 years, but there are a lot of teams that botched their draft picks and the Bears don’t seem to be one of them. Almost all of their draft picks have made considerable contributions and a few un-drafted signings have pitched in as well. Here is a summary of how the Bears rookies have played in the first half of the 2014 season.
2014 Rookie Report:
CB Kyle Fuller – An under the radar pick by Phil Emery. Not as much of a surprise as last years 1st-rounder Kyle Long, but no mock drafts I saw had the bears taking Fuller. In hind-sight we should have seen this pick coming; GM Phil Emery talked repeatedly about stopping the run and perhaps only Darqueze Dennard (MSU) was better at stopping the run from the corner position. Fuller was near the top of the run-stopping corners available and was projected by most draftniks as a mid-to-late 1st round pick (I had him going 23rd). Like Long, this years 1st round pick worked out surprisingly well. Fuller was forced into the starting lineup earlier than planned with the injury to Charles Tillman and Fuller has more than held his own. He leads the Bears with 4 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles and has played well despite being matchup against the opposing teams #1 WRs every week. Fuller has been solid in run support and is showing the potential to be a lock-down #1 CB which is more than even Phil Emery could have hoped for in Fuller’s rookie season.
DT Ego Ferguson – Somewhat of a surprise pick considering most draftniks had Ferguson as a 3rd round pick, but the Bears had a glaring hole in the middle of their defense and needed a DT who can clog the lane and fill the gaping hole in the middle of the Bears 2013 defense. A healthy and productive Stephen Paea has kept Ferguson on the bench for all but 15-20 snaps per game, but when Ferguson plays you notice that he is out there. So far Ego has done what he was drafted for. He’s hard to move off the line of scrimmage, he has gotten his hands up to block three passes, and shown surprising pass rush ability with 2 sacks and 2 QB hurries. I thought the Bears reached a little for Ferguson because I thought he was too raw to contribute this year, but Ferguson has proven me wrong and I think he could make a push for the starting job in 2015.
DT Will Sutton – This was my favorite pick coming out of the draft. I live a block from ASU’s stadium so have seen Sutton up close for the last few years and know first hand that he has the ability to dominate. Sutton hasn’t shown that ability yet in his rookie season with the Bears. Don’t get me wrong, I am satisfied with Sutton’s performance so far; he has been solid against the run and shown flashes of being able to generate pressure up the middle, but hasn’t been as dominant of a pass rusher as I thought he could be after watching him dominate his junior year at ASU (13 sacks). Either way, Sutton is a keeper and could take over for Jeremiah Ratliff as the Bears 3-tech as early as 2015 and has much more talent than he has shown so far.
RB Ka’Deem Carey – He looked overmatched at times in the preseason, but when given a chance this season Carey has shown he can be a dynamic runner. Carey only has 28 carries but is averaging an excellent 4.6 yards per carry and has shown the ability to both shake and break tackles. Carey had a run last week where he was hit 2 yards behind the line of scrimmage, but stayed on his feet, changed direction, made a defender miss and ended up with a 3 yard gain. Those are the type of plays that make me think Carey has a future in the NFL. Hopefully the Bears won’t need Carey for a couple of years, but he’s shown so far that if needed Carey can step in and do a poor man’s impersonation of All-Pro Matt Forte.
S Brock Vereen – Possibly the biggest question mark of all the Bears draft picks so far. The Bears have moved Vereen all over the field; he has played slot corner, free safety and strong safety so far and to his credit has held his own at all three positions. i think the Bears are doing a disservice to Vereen, not giving him 1 position to learn and excel at. Part of the reason the Bears were so high on Vereen was for his versatility, but he has the talent to succeed at either slot corner or free safety and the Bears need to just pick one and put him there so he can develop. Due to his small size (5’11, 199), Vereen is never going to be a strong tackler or hard hitter, but he is a smart player with good coverage instincts and could solidify the Bears revolving door at free safety if they would just give him a few weeks to lock down the position.