Daniel Jeremiah talks Chicago Bears draft with Bear Goggles On!
Daniel Jeremiah talks to Bear Goggles On about the draft!
There’s no better draft analyst out there right now than Daniel Jeremiah from the NFL Network. Jeremiah is as plugged in as anyone in the draft community and his personal evaluations are usually spot on.
The Chicago Bears were in an interesting situation in this year’s draft. Of course, we all know they traded away their first round pick for Khalil Mack and their second round pick for Anthony Miller. That left them short on draft capital, but still needing to land some talented players.
Bear Goggles On had a chance to chat with Jeremiah about the Bears draft and the NFL Network analyst thinks what the Bears managed to do is really something special with such limited ammunition.
The Bears traded up in the third round to make sure they landed the player they coveted in Iowa State running back David Montgomery and took Georgia wide receiver Riley Ridley in the fourth round.
Jeremiah sings high praise for Ryan Pace with those selections.
“They got such tremendous value with their first two picks. They landed my second running back and, in my opinion, the best route runner in the entire draft. Both guys are top 50 players.”
The value of landing two of Jeremiah’s top 50 players at 73 and 126 is great value in itself. Jeremiah is very high on Montgomery. He’s very elusive, and while he doesn’t have break away speed, he is shifty and quick and does a great job in space. He of course will also be utilized in the passing game.
Jeremiah calling Ridley the best route runner in the class is huge. Precision routes are critical for Matt Nagy’s offense. The wide receiver room is really crowded, so Ridley may not have the biggest impact as a rookie, but is crisp routes should jive well with Nagy and Mitch Trubisky and he should work his way into a contributing role sooner rather than later.
When you are picking in the sixth and seventh round, sometimes those draft selections are considered lottery tickets because the success rate is so low. The Bears spent their sixth round pick on a potential slot corner replacement for Bryce Callahan in Duke Shelley out of Kansas State.
The Bears had two seventh round picks and spent their first one on shifty running back Kerrith Whyte out of Florida Atlantic and spent their other seventh on hard thumping cornerback Stephen Denmark.
What did Jeremiah think of those selections?
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“They got solid value with their late round picks. Wouldn’t surprise me if one of them develops into an NFL starter. I’d guess Duke, but that’s just the easy pick.”
To start the season, Buster Skrine will be handling slot corner duties and Shelley will be backing him up. If Shelley is playing well, the door should open in 2020. Prince Amukamara may very well be a cap casualty, and at that point, either Skrine or Kevin Toliver will bump to the outside and Shelley will move into the starting slot corner in nickel packages.
Shelley is indeed in a good position to succeed.
Pace’s magic didn’t stop there. The Bears managed to land arguably the best UDFA class highlighted by Missouri WR Emanuel Hall, Notre Dame G Alex Bars and Utah State TE Dax Raymond.
Jeremiah definitely likes what he’s seen from Hall.
“Hall is definitely one of the best deep threats in the draft. He needs to learn consistency.”
What could it mean if Hall puts it all together? Look out.
Pace had an uphill battle in this draft. With no picks in the top 70, it wasn’t going to be easy for him, but according to Daniel Jeremiah, it looks like Bears fans can expect another typical Pace draft filled with eventual starters and contributors.