Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
15 More UFAs the Bears should target:
FS Kenny Ladler, Vanderbilt (6’0, 207): Instinctive coverage safety and leader in the secondary. Ladler showed a knack for big plays his senior year with 5 INTs and 5 forced fumbles. Ladler is a good football player, but his draft stock dropped due to his 4.7 40-time at the combine.
FS Nickoe Whitley, Mississippi St (6’0, 205): Ultra-aggressive safety who constantly goes for the big-hit. His violent play tends to get Whitley in trouble at times, he racked up far too many personal fouls, including one for punching an opposing player. He needs to get his emotions under control, but his fiery playing style does cause plenty of turnovers; Whitley had 15 interceptions and 5 forced fumbles during his time with the Bulldogs. He has been injury prone with a ruptured achilles in 2011 and a torn ACL in 2013. The ACL tear happened in week 3 last season and he played through it the rest of the year!
TE A.C. Leonard, Tennessee St (6’2, 252): An off-field red-flag guy (battery), Leonard was a blue-chip recruit who started his career at Florida. He looks like it in shorts with a chiseled physique and obvious athleticism. His combine workouts backed it up; His 4.50 40-time led all tight ends, he tied Lyerla for the longest broad jump (128″), and had the 3rd highest vertical leap (34″). Leonard is an elite athlete, but also looked good in the positional drills showing fluid change of direction skills and soft hands. His production in college (34, 454, 5) didn’t match up with his physical skills, but I know nothing about the Tennessee St offense and whether the tight end was used at all. What I do know is that Leonard looked like an explosive “move” tight end prospect.
T Matt Patchan, Boston College (6’6, 302): Has the talent to be a 2nd round pick, but his medical history will probably drop him a few rounds lower than that. Patchan was hurt more often than he played in college, but it was mostly freak injuries like getting shot in a drive-by and getting hit by a car. It seems unlikely Patchan would get shot again, so some team could have a steal in the middle to late rounds because Patchan has NFL tackle skills. His combine numbers were excellent (4.97 40, 33.5 vertical) for a 300 pounder and the fact that he finally played a full season without injury in 2013 could sway teams to take Patchan a round or two earlier.
ILB Max Bullough, Michigan St (6’3, 249): It’s been a tumultuous last few months for Bullough; He was suspended for MSU’s bowl game for undisclosed reasons and then showed up to Senior Bowl practices noticeably overweight. His draft stock was plummeting, but he stopped the slide at the combine with a better than expected 4.78 40-time and one of the best bench sets from the linebackers (30 reps). Bullough’s game tape is excellent, he was the leader of one of the best defenses in the country and is a force vs the run. He shows good timing and burst through holes to stuff plays at the LOS and is a heavy hitter with better than expected range sideline to sideline. He struggles in coverage and might just be a 2-down LB, but he can be a quality run-stuffer preferably in a 3-4 alignment.
DE James Gayle, Virginia Tech (6’4, 259): Max-effort pass rusher with a good first step and more power than you would expect for his size. Gayle has some natural pass rush ability but hasn’t shown as much against the run. Gayle had one of the top 3-cone times among the edge rushers which teams like the Pats, Lions, and Bears seem to value more than most based on recent drafts. Teams are split on whether he is a DE or OLB.
WR Brandon Coleman, Rutgers (6’6, 225): Impressed at the combine with a better than expected 4.56 40-time and caught the ball well in the drills. He isn’t as physical as he should be, but Coleman is so much taller than DBs that he’s going to win his share of jump balls in the NFL. Coleman looked like a 1st rounder after his sophomore year (43, 718, 10) but had a disappointing junior season (34, 538, 4). He was hindered by a run first offense, so it’s hard to tell what Coleman could do in an NFL passing attack. There are plenty of question marks here, but 6’6 receivers with good hands and 4.5 speed don’t grow on trees.