Chicago Bears Draft: Injury risk players the team should consider
The Chicago Bears could take advantage of the NFL Draft by looking at injury risk players.
The Chicago Bears and other NFL teams will take part in the 2020 NFL Draft in a few days. Most of the scouting is done, minus some final adjustments. The boards are built and ready to rock. The strategy is in place. What will the Chicago Bears do? This article isn’t a leak of informative news. Preferably one that could see a risky yet exciting draft idea.
The 2020 NFL draft is stacked with talent at offensive tackle, cornerback, and wide receiver. This draft is also unique because a lot of players that should be first-round locks will fall due to injury. One of the most prominent question marks of the draft is Tua Tagovailoa. While many don’t see him falling out of the first round, others could fall to day two. Would the Chicago Bears be interested in taking advantage and trying to find their next Eddie Jackson-like gem?
Not all of these players are top picks that we will talk about, but they could be found later in the draft, then their tape shows they should land.
Lucas Niang
Lucas Niang ended his senior year with a torn labrum that required surgery. Standing at 6’6 and 315 pounds and a long reach, Niang has agility and IQ for days. Better suited for run blocking duties, Niang uses his quick feet to get in position to block players and get to the second level. He never used brute force to overpower defenders in the run game as much as he finessed players that lined up across from him.
Niang’s negatives outside of his injury are he needs to work on his pass pro. He doesn’t have that; I want to destroy the defender attitude as much as he wants to be in the correct position and do the right thing all the time. Niang has been projected to fall to the third round. If the Chicago Bears trade back, they could snap him early round three or late-round two before other teams catch wind of the talent dropping.
Tyler Biadasz
Tyler Biadasz was known as the top center in college football in 2018. Many thought he was going to leave for the NFL even though he chose to get a surgery to clean up some areas in his hip and shoulder. Biadasz decided he should have another crack at college before he lept for the NFL. Unfortunately for Biadasz, he just didn’t seem to have that same fire he once had.
Many scouts blamed the surgery and wondered if he was playing injured. Biadasz PFF grade dipped from 86.7 to 82.9. His final grade was still fourth in 192 centers that were graded according to PFF. Biadasz also had 100 more snaps played this past year compared to 2018.
Biadasz is known for his run blocking and nasty edge when blocking at the first and second level of a defense. His pass sets and footwork need to work on for the next level. Biadasz anchors ok against dominant nose tackles but, at times, can get pushed back when he doesn’t get an excellent proper placement with his feet.
His hands are amazing, and once he locks in with his grip, defensive tackles aren’t going anywhere. Biadasz is another third-round projection that should have been the top center drafted. If the Chicago Bears feel he is worth playing center over Cody Whitehair since that is the only position he has played. They should make that move early in round three or late-round two.