Chicago Bears: Draft prospects that nobody is talking about (part 3)
Continued offensive line prospects for the Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears need tackle help. We all know this. Many have voted for tackle Tevin Jenkins to become the next big draft pick in the first round for the Chicago Bears. I am not mad at that. However, try not to get too caught up on the top-end prospects. If the value is better at a different position, go for it.
However, I don’t think many understand how profound this offensive tackle class is. If Penei Sewell and Rashawn Slater stay at tackle as most expect, they should be the clear top two choices above the rest. Christian Darrisaw (my No. 2 tackle) is in another tier behind both of those players as a prospect. After that, the talent drops off to another level (unless you are including Alijah Vera-Tucker.)
Landon Young of Kentucky is not getting talked about enough. The 6’6″ and 310-pound tackle was not ranked amongst the top 30 offensive linemen (college in 2020) on the PFF board, but three of his teammates were.
Young might be the outside guy looking in on a loaded Kentucky line, suggesting that he is better than most believe. Reasons why? The Chicago Bears acquired Sam Mustipher and Alex Bars from a well-known college for having excellent offensive linemen. Alex Bars was projected to be drafted instead of Sam Mustipher, yet it was Mustipher who is proving to be the better NFL player.
Kentucky might become known as the next best offensive lineman machine, and Young might be the player who leads that movement. Young might not be as talented as his former teammates, but Young, who finished the 2019 season with a 78.3 overall grade, wasn’t far from the top third graded lineman in the country, Darian Kinnard (teammate) who had an overall grade of 89.2.
Young scored around the 95 percentile on the RAS score (9.18) with a 30-inch vertical jump, 34 reps on the bench press, and had just over 34-inch arms. Young understands the fundamentals of blocking the edge. I believe he isn’t talked about because he was injured in the 2018 season with a torn ACL. That injury cost him that season to show improvement.