The Chicago Bears were interested in Michael Thomas before the 2016 NFL draft but went another direction
Curtis Johnson is currently the New Orleans Saints wide receiver coach. Curtis Johnson also was the Chicago Bears wide receivers coach in 2016. So, when Johnson was asked about his thoughts on Michael Thomas before the draft in a recent interview, it was worth listening to. Johnson mentioned Ryan Pace, and he noted that Pace told him that they were interested in Thomas.
You can listen to the whole interview here. Johnson started talking about how in Chicago, he and Thomas did not get along at the 2016 NFL combine. He noted that the Bears wanted to meet with Thomas and really get to know his personality because of their interest in him.
"I was in Chicago, and Ryan Pace told me “look we want to get to this guy, we want to see what he is about” they heard some rumors at Ohio State, maybe he was good or bad or whatever. So before the interview we are just talking and I baited him in, and in the interview, I drilled him, so he didn’t like me very much."
Johnson went on to say that he is glad that he and Thomas resolved their beef. It is a small quote, but there are some fun takeaways. To start, the Chicago Bears picked 41st in the 2016 NFL draft, and Michael Thomas was drafted 47th. Even more interesting, the Bears traded down from 41 to 49. With Thomas gone two picks before Chicago, the Bears traded down again to 56, where they took Cody Whitehair.
This is speculation, but we know the Bears were interested in Thomas. Is it possible that the Bears had Thomas graded higher than Whitehair, but with both still around at pick 41, they traded back to see if Thomas would fall further? They knew Whitehair was their consolation because they had a question about Thomas due to his bad interview. They would trade down, and if he was there, it would have been worth adding the extra pick to take the risk. If he is gone, they knew they had Whitehair.
If Thomas falls to 49 do the Bears say that they added future picks by trading down, and now they are going to take the player they were interested in, despite their potential questions? Was it Thomas going two picks earlier that sparked another trade back?
One thing we know about Ryan Pace is that he will reach for players that he has met with and trusts their personality. Pace raved about Anthony Millers’ competitiveness, and toughness when he traded up to draft him. Thomas not getting along with Johnson off of the bat likely alarmed Pace.
It is not a bad thing, but Thomas does seem to have a personality that only can mesh in certain environments. He has had social media battles with players such as Josh Norman, Devante Parker and more. Thomas has that competitive drive that only so many can tolerate. Cody Whitehair, on the other hand, is extremely quiet, when he is not directing traffic as a center.
Of course, the ramifications down the line became equally as interesting. After one season Johnson left Chicago to head to New Orleans. Johnson had worked with the Saints in the past, so it is not like he left to join Thomas. However, it could have been a sour taste in the mouth of Pace from not being higher on Thomas due to that interaction that led to him not being interested in bringing Curtis Johnson back.
It also took two full seasons after that draft for the Bears to find Allen Robinson, the player who likely would not be here if the Bears did draft Thomas. We will never know for sure how interested the Bears were in Michael Thomas, but it is an interesting sliding doors question.
If that interview goes better, and Thomas and Johnson get along in the way that they do now, would he be in Chicago?