Should Chicago Bears target Brady Christensen in middle rounds?

Brady Christensen is a three-year starter for BYU at left tackle. After allowing just three sacks in three years, according to PFF, he will now enter the NFL draft as a tackle prospect. Christensen is expected to fall below round one, but there are questions of when exactly he will be drafted.

What is the draft value of Brady Christensen, and would he be a good fit with the Chicago Bears offense?

Traits that Brady Christensen can translate to the NFL

Christensen comes into the league NFL ready. He has respected technique in his pass sets, and his hand usage is advanced as well. He does a great job of striking first to make contact and from there rides out his defender through the duration of his pass set.

Watch his feet in the play below. The rusher starts to burst outside before countering to the inside. Christensen is step for step with him and shows great technique as well as change of direction. He stone walls the inside attempt and then mirrors his man to the outside as well.

As a run blocker, he is best suited for a power blocking scheme. He does well getting downhill, and getting his defenders on this area as well. He is a straight forward, power run blocker.

Concerns with Brady Christensen’s transition to the NFL

It is not to say that BYU has a simplistic scheme, but it was best suited to the strengths of their lineman, and they did not veer off much from their traditional sets. With that, he was not asked to go outside of his comfort zone as a blocker.

The BUY offense gets the ball out of the quarterback’s hands quickly and does not have many long-standing duels on tape. He also comes into the NFL relatively unproven against elite NFL traits and size.

There are some questions about how strong of an athlete he is, and whether he can hold up when anchoring against players stronger than him. Lastly, coming from BYU, he did mission work which means he will be 24 during his rookie season. To put that into perspective, we covered Jalen Mayfield, who will be 20 as a rookie. When you are older, more mature, and playing against the weaker competition you can stand out a bit more.

NFL Comparison For Brady Christensen

Christensen is long and lean. He is not a great athlete but just gets the job done. He also may be capable at left and right tackle. A similar comparison in the NFL would be Kaleb McGary of the Atlanta Falcons.

McGary came out with a similar size and was stiff as well coming from Washington. Many expected him to be a day two pick, but the Falcons took him in round one. He has not been elite by any measure, but he has held down as a capable right tackle in the NFL. Christensen is reminiscent of McGary in that neither has a high ceiling, but both are technically sound and capable of getting the job done. First-round may be rich, but there is a starting capable tackle in this prospect.

Is Brady Christensen a fit for the Chicago Bears?

Pick 20 would be too rich for an older prospect without a high ceiling. However, the Bears could be looking at him as early as round two. Christensen could jump in at right tackle as a rookie with hopes of being able to slide to left tackle in 2022.

Matt Nagy has typically run a zone heavy scheme but has moved into more a power unit with Juan Castillo. The versatility in position and scheme may be attractive to Chicago.

Still, there are stronger fits out there that we have covered such as Christian Darrisaw, Teven Jenkins, Samuel Cosmi, and Dillon Radunz.