2015 NFL Mock Draft 4.0 – Bears Recap

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Round 3:

71.) Chicago Bears – CB Eric Rowe, Utah

I have a 2nd round grade on Rowe, so wouldn’t be surprised if he went earlier than this but almost every mock I’ve seen has him in the mid 3rd – early 4th round range. It’s possible that confusion over Rowe’s best position may be dropping his stock. Rowe played safety for 3 seasons before switching to CB his senior year. In some schemes Rowe would be better off as a safety, but the way Fangio and Donatell used their CBs in San Fran with a mix of press and zone coverages would be an ideal fit for Rowe’s skill set. He has great size (6’1, 205), has run as fast as 4.37 in the 40, was one of the strongest DBs at the combine (19 reps), and had top 5 scores in every drills he participated in (see below). Putting Rowe across from Fuller would give the Bears two long, tough corners who on paper are excellent fits for Fangio’s scheme. Rowe is a leader on the field and in the locker room and also strong in the run game with 250 tackles in his college career. He has the size and versatility to play either safety position which is a plus in Fangio’s scheme, so we could see the Bears using him at safety which also fills a need. Rowe is a good fit at either safety or corner and also was a valuable special teams contributor at Utah.