If the Chicago Bears do not land Quenton Nelson, is Braden Smith a better value at guard later into the draft?
Braden Smith was able to be a three-year starter, starting at guard in his true freshman year. Smith moved around the line, and played some tackle, but spent most of his three seasons at guard. As a freshman he was an All-SEC pick. As a sophomore he was third team All-SEC and was second team All-SEC as a junior. Does he fit into the Chicago Bears draft plans?
Measurables:
Age: 22
School: Auburn
Strengths
Braden Smith is a power blocker. He dominates in the running game and plays with an edge. His tenacity helps him finish off runs like the play below. He is pushing out Trenton Thompson, a draft prospect.
Smith has a strong base and able to seal off gaps in the running and keep pockets clean. Smith also has the versatility to move positions. He has experience at right tackle, and Auburn intended to start him there last season.
Weaknesses
Smith is a bit slower out of his stance than you would like. He is not strong in getting out into space, and moving out to the second level. This also affects his hand placement. He is slower to get his hands on his opponent and can lose leverage due to it.
A fit for Chicago
A lot of the moves the Bears made either pushed guard up the scale of needs for the team of put a huge vote of confidence in Eric Kush. We will go with the former. This appears to be a good draft to need a guard, so it may have been smart to hold off in this area in free agency.
The team has been linked to Quenton Nelson. However, there is not even a guarantee that he is there by the eight overall pick. If he is gone, or the Bears pass, there will be a strong choice of candidates in the middle rounds. Smith may be a lower second to high third round player. The question would be when the team would decide on him.
He is a strong fit and a good consolation prize to Nelson. The question will be if he is worth that second round spot to the Bears.