How the Chicago Bears younger veterans will impact 2021 (Part 1)
Each year the Chicago Bears and the other 31 teams’ fanbases forget about the previous draft. The new draft class will always overshadow the previous one. That is just how the fanbase sees things. The new shiny toy always looks better than ones that are even just a year old. Not everybody comes away with a Justin Jefferson, but more teams come away with a Travis Kelce or an Antonio Brown. Alright, maybe that is a bit extreme. How about a Cameron Meredith pre-injury?
The design of the NFL draft isn’t for teams to find day-one starters as much as it is to find developmental players to impact their respective teams eventually. The development of new players in the NFL is why I love football so much more than other sports. If you aren’t a top-five player in the NBA, the odds of you becoming something drastically diminish.
Second and third-year veterans must step up for the Chicago Bears
In baseball, one player could take up to five years to develop; that is too long to follow a player for most fans. Years two and three are the most critical years for NFL players to show that they belong or not. Whether you are a fan of Mitch Trubisky or not, look at the difference he made from year one to year two of his career.
Bad example? How about David Montgomery. Montgomery was drafted in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. In his rookie season, he had 242 carries at a clip of 3.7 yards per carry. Most felt Montgomery wasn’t getting the ball enough to show what he can truly produce on the field.
Well, in 2020, Montgomery had five more carries than he did in 2019. He gained 181 more yards to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark rushing. Year two is when the veteran understands the game speed and prepares for their life as a ballplayer.
The Chicago Bears have some good names from their 2020 NFL draft that could become a household name or even more. Cole Kmet at tight end and Jaylon Johnson at cornerback are already names that Chicago Bears fans expect to become household names. The players covered in this article from that draft class also include cornerback Kindle Vildor and edge defender Travis Gipson.
The two offensive linemen drafted in the seventh round (2020) should not be slept on as depth pieces, but with the 2021 draft class being heavily emphasized in the trenches, Lachavious Simmons and Arlington Hambright have an uphill battle. Also, it is year three for Riley Ridley and Duke Shelley. It is time to put up or… you know the rest.