Bear Digest

Draft insider reveals key truths about Bears' chance to meet needs

A national conference call by NFL Network's draft expert establishes some solid landmarks in the selection process for the Bears and points out a running back who can help.
Gene Chamberlain|
Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson works through a drill at a pro day in March.
Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson works through a drill at a pro day in March. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Mock drafts are fine but picking the mind of top national draft analysts can be far more valuable because of their connection to agents and personnel people.

In a national teleconference with reporters, NFL media's Daniel Jeremiah revealed some of the things he has heard around the league, many of which can impact the Bears in this draft. While he's not specifying a pick they'll get because of the placement in Round 1, he did reveal he thinks tackle is one of the best, safe options that could be available to them in Round 1.

When it comes down to it, though, it might be any one of three players at this position. Nothing is certain at this point, although he is hearing LSU's Will Campbell seems like a player who a team picking ahead of the Bears likes.

"It's not universal around the league but the feeling in talking to folks is that Will Campbell is really well-liked inside that building in New England," Jeremiah said in the conference call.

The other two possible tackles who could be available to the Bears in the 10th position would be Missouri's Armand Membou and Texas' Kelvin Banks Jr.

Jeremiah said he spoke with three teams in the last day who are not in the market for tackles in the draft because he felt he could get an honest answer on how they rate the tackle trio.

"And I had one team that was Will Campbell at the top and I had one team that was Armand Membou at the top and I had one team that was Kelvin Banks at the top," Jeremiah said.

It probably doesn't matter for the Bears because at No. 10 they might find themselves looking at the third tackle of the three, whoever this would be. And even he might be gone.

The really interesting part is Jeremiah doesn't have any of the tackles rated above either of the tight ends, Michigan's Colston Loveland an Penn State's Tyler Warren. Of course, he also has running back Ashton Jeanty rated near the top.

While he said the Bears should "run the pick" up to Roger Goodell if Jeanty is there still at No. 10, he's getting more of a feeling any team interested in Jeanty might need to trade with New England all the way up to No. 4 to get him. That's because there are reasons to believe Jacksonville might be interested in taking the Boise State running back even ahead of the Raiders at No. 6.

"As we come down the home stretch and maybe I'm reading too much into this," Jeremiah said. "But when I listen to the Jaguars, Jacksonville talk and you listen to the coach and the general manager discuss what they're looking for in a player, and they're talking about a statement pick and the first pick of their new regime there, valuing the things that they're valuing in terms of the character and the competitiveness, all of those things.

"I'm like, golly, that sounds like two players to me—that sounds like Ashton Jeanty and that sounds like Jalon Walker. So I would not rule out the possibility that Jeanty goes one ahead of that (Raiders No. 6) pick and then he's off the board."

Without Jeanty available, and if the Bears were to go for a tackle or even one of the tight ends first, Jeremiah is confident there will be plenty of running back options later.

One of those backs who could be available in Round 2 is Ohio State's TreVeyon Henderson, and the way Jeremiah described Henderson made it seem like he could actually be more of a Bears option. While they are looking more for an all-around type back rather than a speed option only, Jeremiah views Henderson as a three-down back even though he weighed only 202 pounds at the combine.

Henderson ran 4.43 in the 40, had a 38.5-inch vertical leap and 10-foot-8 broad jump, making him one of the very top backs athletically. Henderson's Big Ten high of 7.1 yards per rush wasn't necessarily indicative of a speed back only, says Jeremiah.

In terms of best three-down backs who might be there after Jeanty, Jeremiah said: "Me, I would look at (Omarion) Hampton and I would look at TreVeyon Henderson as probably being the captains of that team."

Henderson is both taller by an inch and heavier by a few pounds than Jahmyr Gibbs, the back Detroit drafted with Bears coach Ben Johnson as offensive coordinator. Henderson is not quite as fast as Gibbs but does have ability to make tacklers miss and sometimes bounce off tacklers  in a surprising way for a back this light, much the way Gibbs can. And he's excellent in the passing game.

Whether they took a back first or tackle, it only makes sense the Bears would be looking at tight ends at some point in the draft because later because of Johnson's appreciation for 12-personnel packages. He ran the two-tight attack almost a third of the time last year, third most in the league.

The tight end they'd need to complete their set is the move or U-tight end, who catches passes downfield. Jeremiah's bit of insider information said many teams like Harold Fannin Jr. of Bowling Green over LSU's Mason Taylor among tight ends expected to be taken in the second and third rounds.

He gathered the information by talking with tight end coaches, who tended to congregate together at pro days.

"The take, the consensus was Harold Fannin was the coaching favorite for all the tight end coaches this year," Jeremiah said. "He ran 4.71 but he didn't, like blow it out, but he's faster than you think. ... He covers ground and he makes people miss and he's just excellent with the ball in his hand."

Jeremiah had one other take Bears fans and many other fans in the NFL who value production over potential will not like hearing. He thinks edge rusher Shemar Stewart from Texas A&M is a legitimate first-rounder who might even go very early.

"Shemar Stewart of Texas A&M is easily the most polarizing edge rusher in this draft," Jeremiah admitted. "He is the ultimate example of traits vs. production.

"He has got all kinds of twitch. He's explosive, very disuptive. He just hasn't been able to finish, to compile sacks."

It's probably going to take more than potential, high win rate and other obscure percentages to persuade Bears fans and other NFL fans to get on board with this one.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.