The Chicago Bears spent their final pick of the afternoon on Kryisis Tonga, a defensive tackle from BYU. Not many pundits had the Chicago Bears going defensive line at all, so the move has to be a bit surprising for some.
So, while this is a relatively new prospect for many, the question comes who is Khyiris Tonga and what can he bring to the Chicago Bears
5. Khyiris Tonga will play Nose Tackle
It is worth noting right off the bat that coming from BYU he is an older prospect. He will be 25 this season. However, with that comes a player with four years of starting experience in college. With that, Tonga has played over 1,400 career snaps. When wondering where Tonga line up, it seems pretty clear that he is a nose tackle.
Last season he spent every snap over the center directly, or right over the b-gap between the guard and center. At times in 2019, he slides outside of the guard into the gap over, but for the majority of his snaps, he will play the nose.
The Bears need a true nose tackle to back up Eddie Goldman and honestly will be interested to see what type of shape Goldman maintained with a year off. Nonetheless, there is room on the roster for Tonga as a nose.
4. Athleticism
You can tell that Tonga is a nose tackle by looking at his mockdraftable web below. His weight compared to other defensive tackles in the 89th percentile, which clearly is where the big men stand. Still, his height shows that he is packing a lot of weight into his shorter frame.
The biggest question for Tonga is going to be his length. When you add that to his age, you can understand why he fell into round seven. Still, the rest is pretty impressive. The lack of length helps, but he can pound out reps on the bench.
Beyond that, the 10-yard split is what you want to see. That shows a player who fires out of stance and into the right direction with quick speed. We do not need long speed, but that 10-yard is big time.
His agility drills are not great, but this is not a player who will change directions. His job is to plant his feet, hold his ground, and rely on that quick step to blow things up.
3. Pass rush stats
Last season Tonga had 17 hurries. However, he did just have 3 sacks and 1 hit from there. That speaks to the fact that he has that first step and not much more. The year before he had 11 hurries, and just 1 hit, and two sacks, and in 2018 it was eight hurries for 2 hits and 2 sacks.
Still, when you have the line the Bears have, that quick hurry is all that they need. Still, overall, PFF gave him a below-average true pass-rush grade. He also rated lower than average in total pressures, and pass rush win rate. He was poor in blocks defeated as well, with four, but once again was a bit better than average in hurries.
Tonga finds a way to push pockets with his first step. It is a limited pass rush plan, and being 24 against 21-year-olds helped, but he found a way to get into the backfield.
2. Run Defense
The Bears did not draft Tonga to be the pass rush assistant for Khalil Mack. They drafted him to give Eddie Goldman a blow on run downs, and to help on the goal line. Tonga had a 9.3% run stop rate, which is one of the better rates of the class. He finished with 19 run stops last year, with 28 in 2019 and 16 in 2018.
Of defensive linemen who were drafted this weekend, Tonga ranked third in run stops, per PFF. It is pretty clear what the Bears drafted Tonga to do. He has the weight, the bench press, and the ability to hold up against the run. That is all they need from their seventh-round pick.
If Tonga is going to get on the field at all, the Chicago Bears are going to utilize his run defense.
1. Batting passes
A unique ability that Tonga brings which could cause him to stick around is his ability to block passes. He gets his hands up like no one else, and QBs have to worry before throwing. He led the nation last year with five defended as a defensive tackle.
Beyond that, Tonga also blocked a kick. He was able to use that first step, get his hand up, and boom, he made a difference. For the Chicago Bears, these traits are the difference, especially for a player who fell due to length issues. He may let long-arm lineman get into him, but he can get his hands up.
The easiest path to the roster is special teams. Tonga showing that he deserves to be on the kick block would go a long way to him earning that backup nose tackle role behind Eddie Goldman. Do not be surprised if that turns into a difference-maker that makes him a household name.