Bears On Edge at Combine

The first thing out of Matt Ebeflus' mouth after being asked about positions of need at the NFL combine was not wide receiver, even though the Bears could be sitting in position to take one of the top three at that spot in the draft.

It was edge rusher, and this is understandable. GM Ryan Poles will closely monitor the position.

The Bears head toward free agency with Yannick Ngakoue a free agent and most likely somone they need to replace.

Rasheem Green knocked down as many kicks (two) as he did quarterbacks (2 sacks). He had only eight pressures in 365 defensive plays.

Dominique Robinson remains under contract and underperforming.

DeMarcus Walker is a great leader, fine at stopping the run and gets occasional pressure (22 pressures) but had just 4 1/2 sacks.

So yeah, they better be thinking about helping Montez Sweat before he ends up like Khalil Mack did in Chicago, with assorted aches and pains and then on injured reserve as offensive lines run one blocker after another at him.

Here are 10 things to know about the edge rushers who are at the combine.

1. Chop Robinson's 40

The 6-foot-3, 255-pound Penn State edge told reporters he wanted to run 4.4 in the 40 and technically did. He was closer to 4.5 but was in the 4.4s at 4.48 and that was the second-fastest 40 time of the Thursday workout session.

It's significant because he's often compared with Dallas' Micah Parsons, since they're both pass rushers from Penn State.

That's not a bad time for a guy whose nickname was shortened from "Pork Chop" but it wasn't his original nickname.

"I have a household name that's actually Plump," he told reporters. "So I have two nicknames, but my household name is Plump but nobody knows that."

He had a growth spurt and got thinner. Or he wouldn't have been able to run 4.48, match the best broad jump at 10-foot-8 and vertical leap 34 1/2 inches.

Parsons, by the way, did the 40 in 4.39, although Plump actually was half an inch higher in the vertical and two inches longer in the broad jump.

2. Robinson Can Compete

He had plenty of practice at competing every day. He is one of 10 children in his family, third youngest.

3. Dallas Turner's Weight

The Alabama edge is going to need to start eating now that the combine is over, if he is to come to Chicago.

Eberflus likes his defensive ends more toward 255-270 pounds so they're stout enough to hold a 4-3 edge against the run without getting out of their gaps. Turner said 255 pounds is his playing weight.

"That's probably the best weight I can move at and feel comfortable and stuff like that," he said. "Compared to the 225 in my freshman season and the 255 at the end of my junior season, I could tell the difference for sure in the strength, power and explosiveness. I feel good at that weight."

That said, he was only at 247 at the combine.

Maybe the Bears want to rethink the need for someone a bit heavier. Turner ran the fastest time among all edge rushers in the 40-yard dash at officially 4.46 seconds.

4.47u

Dallas Turner just put everyone on notice.

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4. Turner's Pedigree

Not only did Turner play in an edge rotation at Alabama with NFL defensive rookie of the year Will Anderson and with potential early round draft pick Chris Braswell, but he played at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Florida, which has produced 47 NFL players. That includes several Chicago Bears including the very first player from the school to make it into the NFL—a running back named Brian Piccolo.

5. Laiatu Latu's Dart Prowess

Poles' room at the combine has the darts and a putting carpet with a bunch of holes in it at each end and they like to put players at ease in a competitive environment when they meet with them at the combine. So they throw darts or putt.

This approach last year earned them a lot of notoriety.

There was no putting for UCLA's edge rusher Latu.

"Really, I am competitive, and with the darts, I feel like when they were telling me to get a bull's-eye, I was getting close every time," Latu said. "So really just, when they tell me to do something, I do it."

Laiatu Latu had a heck of a day at the combine! He joined me here with a full evaluation and what this moment means to him after all he’s been through… @nflnetwork #NFLCombine pic.twitter.com/uluGl6zx12
— StaceyDales (@StaceyDales) March 1, 2024

6. Latu's Injury Update

Doctors told Latu his football career was over after a neck injury while he played at Washington. He healed and went to UCLA to finish with double-digit sacks his last two years. Now he says he's fine.

"I mean, every time I was told I probably wouldn't be able to play football again, it wasn’t a low point, I kind of just took it for what it was and it was hard not being able to play football, the sport that I love since the age of 6," Latu said. "I really just locked into myself, 'don't worry about what they're saying, God has a plan.' And I made it this far."

That doesn't mean he didn't have his own plan if God's didn't include football.

He was learning to be a firefighter, which doesn't seem like it can be a lot easier on the neck.

"I was always focused on the journey, but I gotta be smart in that aspect and firefighting was big for me," he said. "I do a lot of fire-fighting work outside, while I was away too. If football didn’t work out, and especially after all of this, I'd love to get into firefighting and work my way up to chief."

7. Long and Short of It

Latu's technique is his strength, including his famed "Euro (step and) chop." But shorter arm length was considered by some to be a possible drawback for an edge rusher.

It hardly seemed an issue because he's at 32 5/8 inches and at 6-5 he's taller by 1 1/2 inches to 2 inches than many of the other top edge rushers, so he's not losing anything here.

Verse, who is 6-4, was at 33 1/2 inches. Robinson, who is 6-3, was a 32 1/2 inches. Turner, who is 6-3, has 34 3/8-inch arms.

8. Taller Tale

Colorado State's Mohamed Kamara wouldn't necessarily buy into the taller and longer-arm is better philosophy. He can offset his 6-1 height and 32-3/8 inch arms with speed. He ran the third-fastest 40 time among edge rushers at 4.57 seconds, a hundreth faster than Verse. He gets low and around the tackle.

"Yes, you've got to come (down) to my level to block me," he told reporters. "At the end of the day the offensive lineman is blocking me. I'm not blocking him. He's protecting the quarterback. I don't protect the quarterback. I'm going to go attack.

"So there's certain things that hinder me like certain moves or whatever the case may be. But as a defensive end, if you only have one move, you're not really good defensive end, if you can only rely on one defensive move. So, I use it to my advantage to be honest, like a lot of people say, 'Dang, you touched the ground.' (If you’re) 7 feet tall, that's a long way from the ground. I'm close to the ground, so I'm going to use it to my advantage."

It must work somewhat. He had 30 1/2 sacks and 45 tackles for loss in college.

9. Tennis Anyone?

Washington's edge rusher Bralen Trice is mentioned often in mock drafts as a second-rounder or late first-rounder. He didn't start out playing such a violent sport. He played tennis.

Then he got into football.

"It was middle school for me," he said. "My mom didn't really want me to play football growing up. But I played pretty much everything else—basketball, baseball, soccer.

"But, yeah, one of my best friends in middle school was like, 'Man, you got to come out and play some football. You're a big kid and can't waste it.' So, I got out there and played and fell in love with the game. Ever since, I've been grinding."

He quite playing tennis seriously then but does it every now and then. He used to watch tennis players a lot and saw something in one player who all edge rushers can benefit from, if not any athlete.

"I think Roger Federer's footwork is crazy," he said. "Just growing up watching him, Olympics, stuff like that, all the tournaments that he was in, just a crazy athlete. One of the best."

10. It's All About Caleb

The defensive ends who faced potential No. 1 draft pick Caleb Williams think people underestimate how quick he is as a runner. But apparently it's not all speed.

Oregon's defensive end/tackle Brandon Dorlus was among those frustrated trying to contain him.

"People don’t realize how fast he is until you play against him, but he could go and change directions very, very well," Dorlus said. "He would have eyes down the field, make the craziest throws. Just like a human highlight reel going against him."

Still, Williams isn't a 6-5, 230-pounder.

“No, he has a strong lower body for sure," Dorlus said. "He knows how to get out. He would break tackles for sure and he's not no little quarterback."

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