Bears Official Draft Visits (Part 3)

OLB Leonard Floyd, Georgia (6’6 | 244 | 4.59) – Explosive OLB who has one of the highest upsides of any edge rusher in a weak draft at the position. Floyd has an excellent burst off the snap, 40″ vertical, 127″ broad jump, great agility for his height, and has surprising bend and flexibility off the edge.

For most of his college career Floyd has been just a pass rush specialist, but he showed progress against the run and in pass coverage. Floyd’s athleticism, pass rush ability, and improvement as an all-around OLB make him an intriguing prospect, but his lack of strength and bulk is a concern and Floyd may need to add strength for a season or two before he can be effective at the NFL level.

LB Darron Lee, Ohio St (6’1 | 233 | 4.48) – Instinctive player with sideline-to-sideline range, elite speed, and the football awareness to diagnose plays right away. Despite lacking much size, Lee generates power with speed and acceleration. He can excel in coverage with the ability to match up with tight ends, running backs, and even slot receivers. Lee is undersized but translates speed to power well enough to be an asset against the run.

With the Bears he could play inside linebacker, be a weapon off the edge as a pass rusher, or even an in-the-box safety on running downs. Had Lee stayed another year in Columbus he may have ended up as a top ten pick. He has the talent and potential to be worth a pick at eleven for the Bears. His versatility, speed, and football instincts make Lee a potential impact player in multiple phases of the game. Lee doesn’t fit a clear need for the Bears after they just signed two high priced ILBs, but he can play anywhere on the field and would give the Bears much needed speed and explosiveness on defense.

WR Jakeem Grant, Texas Tech (5’6 | 165 | 4.37) – The Bears are looking to add speed and explosiveness on both sides of the ball and their might not be a more exciting player in this year’s draft class than Grant. He will be one of the smallest players in the NFL but is rumored to have run as fast as 4,10 in the 40, which is faster than Bo Jackson’s combine record of 4.12. Grant is more than just a track guy and put up impressive receiving stats last season with 90 catches for 1,268 and 12 TDs. He had four kick return TDs in college and could provide the Bears with an impact weapon in the slot and in the return game.

TE Hunter Henry, Arkansas (6’5 | 250 | 4.68 ) – The top tight end in a very weak draft class at the position. Henry is by far the best receiving tight end available this year. That doesn’t mean much in a draft class with very little talent at the position, but to Henry’s credit he only dropped two passes in the last two seasons. He’s got the speed to stretch the seam and the ability to make things happen on slants and short catches in the flat. Henry’s been compared to Travis Kelce and it’s seems valid. Neither players are great blockers, but both can be weapons in the open field.

Henry gives a legitimate effort as a blocker, but will never be an asset in the run game. Ideally Henry is a #2 TE who can be a weapon in the passing game while making a block or two when needed in the running game. He has the potential as a receiver to far exceed his second round draft value.