Chicago Bears Draft: Injury risk players the team should consider

The last of the bunch, the Chicago Bears, could target.

Netane Muti

Netane Muti would have been one of the prime left guards atop NFL draft boards this 2020 NFL draft. He has failed to stay healthy due to tearing his Achilles tendon and sustaining a shoulder injury that knocks him out of another season. Not the best fit for the Chicago Bears, Muti is a power blocker that would work correctly in a gap scheme.

He has less than desired footwork and quickness but is a dominant force when one on one blocks in a small area. There is never a moment that Muti won’t have in a game where he entirely back plants a defender, it’s not if it happens, its when it happens. This man put up 44 reps on the bench at the combine and was disappointed.

Muti is projected to go between the first round and the fourth round. Having a run blocker on the wrong side of the line for the Chicago Bears means they would have to do some offensive line shuffling. That is less than ideal since it is not as simple as telling someone they are playing on the other side of the line

Bryan Edwards

Bryan Edwards became the South Carolina Gamecocks answer once Deebo Samual left for the NFL. He sustained an injury late in the year to his knee. That injury wasn’t the main concern as Edwards until he broke his foot practicing to get ready for the NFL combine. Will Edwards ever find a balance between staying aggressive while staying healthy?

If anything, it shows how tough Edwards is. He played a game with a knee brace on in which he caught nine passes for 90 yards and a score. Edwards is a 6’3 tough route runner that needs to fine tweak his approach but uses his size correctly to create separation underneath and over the top. Currently, in a deep class, Edwards is projected to be drafted mid to late day three. The Bears could take a filer on Edwards around round six due to having multiple draft picks that day.

Terrell Lewis or Darrell Taylor

Darrell Taylor, like Terrell Lewis, got off to a hot start in the 2019 season and cooled off towards the end of the season. Both edge defenders are listed at 255 pounds. Lewis is 6’5 while Taylor is 6’4. Both are classic speed rusher that use their hands well initially to create rushing lanes to the outside but tend to stop fighting once they get to the top of the arch. Both can drop back in coverage very well and are instinctive in the pass and run game.

Lewis missed his 2018 season due to tearing his ACL while Taylor fought through shine injuries ever since he joined Tennessee. Taylor missed time his first two years with the team but fought through injury the last two years to have a couple of productive seasons.

Both are seen as late day two to around early day three draft picks. The Chicago Bears could find a rotational edge defender, who could fall to the fifth round. This would be a draft-day steal and would be wise for the Chicago Bears to grab either player if they are valuable that late.