The Case for Derwin James at 8
The Chicago Bears have plenty of choices at eight, but would they select safety Derwin James?
The Chicago Bears have their franchise quarterback in Mitch Trubisky. The Bears have an excellent running back in the person of Jordan Howard. They have a need for an offensive lineman, but there’s a good chance that Quenton Nelson will be gone by the time the Bears are on the clock. What does this all mean? It means that the Bears will most likely be going defense with their first-round pick. One name that could be intriguing for Ryan Pace is Florida State safety Derwin James.
There is a lot to love about Derwin James. James is a natural-born leader. He’s the perfect size and speed for the position at the NFL level. He’s versatile, he can play deep, or he can play closer to the line of scrimmage. He can play true safety or he could play the hybrid role. He’s a great pass defender and a sure-handed tackler. He forces turnovers. He is the full package.
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Plus, there aren’t a lot of weaknesses in James’ game. He could use some improvement in technique, but that’s correctable and the other issue is that he did have some issues with his knee a couple of seasons ago that forced him to miss half the season.
If the Bears want more secondary help, James could be the guy to do it. The current issue facing the Bears is that they have a solid secondary, especially at safety. However, as it’s been mentioned before in this series, when you are selecting in the top ten, rarely should you make a decision based on your roster. When you have a chance to grab high-end talent, you grab it, regardless of the position and you figure the rest out later.
Eddie Jackson has shown tons of promise after his rookie season. Adrian Amos has had an up and down three seasons with the Bears, but his third season was tremendous. There’s even been talk of potentially extending Amos this offseason so clearly the Bears like him. However, Amos is a solid defender who can help just about any defense in the league, but he doesn’t have the playmaking ability of a James and certainly doesn’t have the potential to be the type of impact player James could be.
The bottom line on this selection is that if the Bears don’t trade up or down and stay at eight, they are going to most likely pick a defensive player and it’s going to be up to Ryan Pace to make sure he picks the player that can have the greatest impact. An argument can be made that outside of Bradley Chubb, James could be the most impactful defensive player in this draft.