Chicago Bears 2018 NFL Draft Primer

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Tremaine Edmunds

If there’s one position that Vic Fangio has a special craft for, it’s the linebacker position. Over the last decade, Fangio has worked with some of the best NFL Linebackers such as Patrick Willis, NaVorro Bowman, and for a brief period, Aldon Smith.

Since Vic Fangio arrived in 2015, the Bears have run a 3-4 scheme on defense. The name 3-4 implies that the Bears need three-down defensive lineman and four linebackers. This is where Virginia Tech Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds comes into the picture.

Over the offseason, the Bears linebacker corps underwent some changes. Willie Young, Pernell McPhee, and Jerrell Freeman were released, while Christian Jones signed with the Detroit Lions. The Bears now have some work to do as they need to find another viable starter next to Danny Trevathan.

While most would mention Nick Kwiatkoski as potentially taking over, he’s more of a situational player rather than your consistent three-down linebacker, something which the Bears have lacked since Jerrell Freeman was consistently on the field in 2016.  

The two biggest advantages that Edmunds offers is age (19) and the fact that he has plenty of room to grow as a player. He’s got the ability to hold up very well in coverage, showing the ability to plant his foot and break on the ball at the right time.

While watching Edmunds game tape against Miami, one thing that he seemed to do was sometimes be too quick to run to the ball carrier and want to close out plays. If Edmunds wants to take his game to the next level, one thing he’ll have to learn is patience. It’s easy to get away with minor things at the college level, however, in a grown man’s league like the NFL, opposing teams will use a player’s flaws to their advantage.

Recently, NFL.com’s draft profile has Edmunds being compared to another Chicago Bears Great: Brian Urlacher.

Ryan Pace must keep an eye on two teams that are picking ahead of the Bears: The Indianapolis Colts (Sixth overall) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Seventh Overall). Both teams could decide that Edmunds, due to the high ceiling he has is someone who could help their team out.