Chicago Bears Meet Danny Shelton at NFL Combine

Feb 21, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Washington defensive lineman Danny Shelton talks to the media at the 2015 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Bears met hot draft prospect Danny Shelton at the NFL Scouting Combine on Saturday.  With the impending switch to a base 3-4 defense, the Bears need to revamp their defensive line and there would be no better place to start than with Shelton.  Let’s get to know this prospect who could be available when the Bears select at #7 in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Danny Shelton, DT, Washington

Shelton checks in at a hefty 6’2″ 339 lbs.  He steadily improved during his sophomore and junior years, earning all-conference honorable mentions before bursting on the scene with a breakout senior season.  Shelton recorded 89 tackles including 16.5 for loss and 9.5 sacks.

Shelton is described as a Coke-machine in the middle of the line, taking on double teams to free up space for his linebackers to make plays.  Here are his Strengths as described in his CBS Sports Draft Profile:

"Possesses a powerful bull-rush to walk centers deep into the pocket and slides off blocks easily to grab hold ballcarriers nearby. Shelton is surprisingly light on his feet and plays with terrific effort in pursuit, rushing to the sidelines and downfield against the run and pass. He locates the football quickly and has a legitimate short-area burst to close.Good strength for the pull down tackle and generates impressive momentum to collide with ballcarriers. He shows good awareness as a pass rusher, frequently leaping in an attempt to knock down passes at the line of scrimmage when unable to get to the quarterback (though he recorded just three PBUs during his UW career)."

Shelton draws comparisons to Vince Wilfork, the centerpiece of the Patriots defense for the past decade and the Ravens’ perennial All-Pro Haloti Ngata.  That would be a nice building block for John Fox and Vic Fangio’s new defense.

There are certainly some concerns about durability and maintaining good weight, but Shelton hasn’t missed a game in college, proving to be very reliable.  He also has the smarts to pick up whatever new scheme’s Fox and Fangio have in story.  Shelton was the Huskie’s first Academic All-American since 1991.

Here is a highlight package of some of Shelton’s best work:

What do you think?  Should the Bears go for Shelton if he’s available at #7?