Chicago Bears Trade Up for OLB Leonard Floyd

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
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Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

As for Floyd, I already mentioned that he was my projected pick for the Bears. He’s got the most explosive first step off the edge in this draft and has the length and flexibility to develop into a dangerous pass rusher. The Bears don’t have a player with Floyd’s explosiveness on the roster and they added a new dimension to their defense that opposing teams may have to game-plan for in the near future. I’ve wrote about Floyd at length the last two weeks, so instead of repeating myself, here is my take from my Bears 7-round mock earlier this week:

"OLB Leonard Floyd, Georgia (6’6 | 244 | 4.59) This was a tough pick at eleven for the Bears when there are really only seven or eight top-tier prospects in the draft. Almost anyone left feels like a reach here which may tempt the Bears to trade back, but with multiple teams trying to do the same thing there may be no takers for the eleventh pick. If the Bears end up keeping it, I think the pick will be Floyd, who has the most upside as an edge rusher among the net-tier of players. I’ve had Bama defensive end Jarran Reed as the Bears first pick for the last few weeks, but with so many quality DLs available some of them will drop to round two and the Bears should be able to get one of them in round two. While defensive line is probably the strongest position in the draft, edge rusher might be the weakest. The Bears management team has repeatedly stated the need for an explosive edge rusher and also noted how hard they are to find. There are a few potential impact edge rushers in the draft, but none without question marks. There is a lot to like about Floyd; He has ideal length, excellent burst off the snap, a 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 last season. 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 spend a season or two in the weight room before he can be effective at the NFL level. I would feel a lot better if the Bears took Floyd about five picks later, but that’s how I feel about most of the players likely available with the eleventh pick. Floyd has more upside than most players outside of the top ten and could fill a need for an edge rusher that the Bears won’t be able to find in the later rounds. His unique ability and potential to get to the QB is worth rolling the dice on at eleven."

The Bears new regime said from the beginning that it will probably take three drafts to build this team into a perennial contender and Floyd fits perfectly into that timeline. He may not be more than a pass rush specialist this season, but if he can put on 15-20 pounds over the next season or two… Floyd could be an Aldon Smith type impact-player without the off-field headaches.

The last time I correctly called the Bears first round pick was Tommie Harris back in 2014 and that worked out well for a few years at least. It’s definitely been awhile since I felt this good about a Bears first round pick.

Even better there are still 10-12 players I really like still available in round two. My next post will be breaking down the players still available who the Bears could target early on day two of the draft.

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