The Chicago Bears drafted Noah Sewell from Oregon with one of their fifth-round picks in the 2023 NFL draft. The move showed that Ryan Poles sticks to the best player available throughout the draft, and even though he spent big at linebacker, they could not pass up Sewell.
So, what did the Chicago Bears see that has them buying in?
3. Noah Sewell played the MIKE for Oregon, but may play SAM for the Chicago Bears
Noah Sewell was a prized recruit for the Oregon Ducks and was a three-year starter. His first year was during the COVID season, so he only played 369 snaps, but he came back and played 879 snaps the following season. Sewell missed parts of a few games with injury and played 601 snaps the following season. He finished with 31 starts over three seasons.
With 1,849 snaps he has 822 in coverage, 794 as a run defender, and 233 as a pass rusher. So, for the fans who think he can transition to defensive end, that is much more of a feature to his game than his actual game.
In fact, he has 1,504 snaps in the box and just 222 snaps as an edge rusher. He also does not have the arm length or size to play on the edge full-time. The SAM linebacker role is the strong side linebacker. While the weak side linebacker is more reliable in coverage, the strong side linebacker has to be tougher against the run and be able to blitz.
So, while Noah Sewell played the MIKE in college, and he may end up being the backup to Tremaine Edmunds if he did get hurt, he will compete to get on the field by playing the SAM. Noah Sewell will be competing with Jack Sanborn for the same role, and both have similar skill sets. Sanborn has the NFL experience, but Sewell has the draft status. We will see who the Chicago Bears choose in training camp.