When the Chicago Bears drafted Doug Kramer from Illinois he was looked at as a bit unknown. Still, this is a player who was a five-year starter and a three-time captain for a Big 10 program. Even if it is not the most elite of the Big 10, he was squaring off with big names, and as a scheme fit, he makes plenty of sense in Chicago.
While we do not know much about Doug Kramer, we can use his size and athletic measurements to get an idea of NFL players who profile similarly to him.
Below you will see a list of all players between 6’1 and 6’3, and 291 to 306 pounds. They will have run between 4.9 and 5.3 in the 40 and had a vertical between 27 and 34. They will have a broad jump between 100-114, a 3-cone between 7.6, and 7.99, and a shuttle time between 4.5 and 4.8. These athletes will be the most similar to Kramer. Beyond that, we will add in day three capital to view players that were passed on by the NFL.
The list is below and is only nine people who fit his specific criteria.
| Rk | Year | Player | Pos | Age | AV ▼ | School | Height | Wt | 40YD | Vertical | BenchReps | Broad Jump | 3Cone | Shuttle | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2001 | Roberto Garza | C | 21 | 82 | Texas A&M-Kingsville | 6-2 | 303 | 5.00 | 32.5 | 37 | 114 | 7.71 | 4.53 | Atlanta Falcons / 4th / 99th pick / 2001 |
| 2 | 2014 | Corey Linsley | C | 22 | 69 | Ohio State | 6-3 | 296 | 5.24 | 27.0 | 36 | Green Bay Packers / 5th / 161st pick / 2014 | |||
| 3 | 2003 | Sean Mahan | OG | 22 | 26 | Notre Dame | 6-3 | 301 | 5.14 | 30.0 | 30 | 105 | 7.75 | 4.77 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers / 5th / 168th pick / 2003 |
| 4 | 2005 | Dylan Gandy | OG | 22 | 21 | Texas Tech | 6-3 | 304 | 5.12 | 29.5 | 100 | 7.62 | 4.51 | Indianapolis Colts / 4th / 129th pick / 2005 | |
| 5 | 2010 | Shelley Smith | OG | 22 | 7 | Colorado State | 6-3 | 300 | 5.03 | 34.0 | 26 | 112 | 7.67 | 4.71 | Houston Texans / 6th / 187th pick / 2010 |
| 6 | 2020 | Nick Harris | OL | 21 | 2 | Washington | 6-1 | 302 | 5.10 | 29.5 | 20 | 103 | Cleveland Browns / 5th / 160th pick / 2020 | ||
| 7 | 2012 | Adam Gettis | OG | 23 | 1 | Iowa | 6-2 | 293 | 4.90 | 31.5 | 112 | 7.99 | 4.65 | Washington Redskins / 5th / 141st pick / 2012 | |
| 8 | 2000 | Jason Thomas | OG | 22 | 1 | South Carolina | 6-3 | 300 | 5.22 | 29.5 | 23 | 100 | 7.99 | San Diego Chargers / 7th / 222nd pick / 2000 | |
| 9 | 2003 | Ben Claxton | C | 22 | 0 | Mississippi | 6-3 | 301 | 5.16 | 27.0 | 102 | 7.81 | 4.69 | Denver Broncos / 5th / 157th pick / 2003 |
Fortunately, you see that while four or five players did not amount to much there were also four players who went on to become starters.
Chicago Bears fans will see Roberto Garza and dream about the chances he becomes that player. Kramer is the local product and likely grew up idolizing him, and now is getting the comparison.
Sean Mahan was a three-year starter and won a Super Bowl as a starting center for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Dylan Gandy spent eight years in the NFL as a backup lineman.
All would be great outcomes for the Chicago Bears at this draft cost, but the one that stands out is Corey Linsley. Luke Getsy is not an offensive line expert, but he did come from Green Bay where he worked and saw Linsley very often.
If Chris Morgan thinks that he can get Getsy a player with similar athletic traits to Corey Linsley, that may have been what put them over the top. Below you can see the head-to-head comparison.
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Corey Linsley is a bit more athletic, but this is likely the type of player that they are shooting for when they are drafting Doug Kramer. Linsley went a little bit higher in the draft, but sixth-round compared to fifth-round is not much.
The Packers did not plan for it, but Linsley wound up starting as a rookie and never looked back. With a center spot that could see someone step in and win the position that would be one heck of an outcome for Ryan Poles and the Chicago Bears.