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Bear Digest

How the Logan Jones and Sam Roush Picks Ignite the Caleb Williams Era

Two pass catchers and a center are sure to be players coach Ben Johnson can find a use for but the lack of a pass rusher sticks out as negligence.
Gene Chamberlain|
LSU WR Zavion Thomas spins out of a tackle at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images
LSU WR Zavion Thomas spins out of a tackle at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images | Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The Bears went with character, depth and best player available to start their Day 2 in the NFL Draft. 

It's not going to get them a sack or a run stop, but coach Ben Johnson will like the picks except when opponents are moving up and down the field against his defensive line. 

At No. 57 in Round 2 they drafted Iowa center Logan Jones, a position where they needed help for the future but perhaps not quite as much as they needed pass rush help now. Then they traded the 60th pick to move back to Round 3 and No. 69 while picking up another fourth-rounder at No. 144 and drafted tight end Sam Roush from Stanford in a move that had to have Bears fans scratching their heads. Given Roush's pass-catching ability with 119 receptions and 1,201 yards, he can do everything but he can't rush the passer.   

In Jones, they got a player who has made a wild transition from defensive tackle to center and then the best center in the country, as winner of the Rimington Award. 

"It took some time and, man, I still feel like I haven’t even played my best football yet and I haven’t figured it out," Jones said. "It’s been a journey, but I think the past two years, for sure, is when I realized that if I really wanted this, I’ve just got to go out there and take it. 

Jones recalled his start in college football en route to Chicago. 

"Those first couple years I transitioned," he said."It was very humbling those first couple years, for sure," Jones said.  

Ultimately, the Bears got a center who was ranked No. 1 in the country as a pass blocker last year by Pro Football Focus and No. 9 overall. 

He'll step in as the understudy to bridge center Garrett Bradbury following the sudden retirement of Drew Dalman.  

Dalman counts outside zone run blocking as one of his great strengths, a perfect fit for Johnson's offense. 

"I know he loves to run the football, especially outside zone, which is awesome," Jones said. "You know, that's exactly how I've been taught and what we did. And you know from meeting with him, he likes to put a lot on the center's plate, which is awesome.  

"You know, in playing center it's your job to get everybody in order and know what they're doing, whether it's run blocking or pass pro." 

The communication aspect of it, handling line changes, might be something he is extremely experienced with but still it's something he's looking to improve. Jones called himself a natural talker so it's a benefit. 

"I think one thing for sure, and you know, I'm not perfect at it," he said. "You know, communication is huge at center. I just talk and communicate, getting guys on the same page." 

The third tight end

Roush is big for a tight end, which will conjure up all sorts of potential trade talk regarding Cole Kmet. Roush is 6-foot-6, 267 pounds and had 119 receptions for 1,201 yards and four touchdowns. He would look, on paper, like an ideal player to line up with Colston Loveland in 12-personnel packages. But that's Kmet's job. 

Using three tights is something the Bears did only about 8% of play last year but it was a high total in the top 10 of the league. Still, you have to think eventually the intention is to have him starting at the "Y" tight end, which is where Kmet plays. 

The Bears had a little more inside information on Roush than on some players because their tight ends coach, Jim Dray, went to his school. 

"First of all, I'm super fired up to be a part of what is an incredible tight end room," Roush said. "Like, those are guys that I can learn from, guys that have been in the league for one plus years," Roush said. "They're veterans and there's a lot I can learn from them. Great tight end coach as well and you know, somebody that's played in the league and has been coaching for 10 plus years." n

Then, later in Round 3 at No. 89, they drafted explosive receiver Zavion Thomas, a return man who had 106 receptions for 1,213 yards at LSU but made a real name returning both kicks and punts. He is said to be a distant relative of Walter Payton.

The Bears did lose Devin Duvernay and Kalif Raymond, who they signed in free agency, is 32 years old, so no doubt they'll find a use for Thomas. He had two kick return touchdowns and one punt return TD for the Tigers and also Mississippi State, and also ran a 4.28-second 40-yard dash.

This is all fine but it doesn't explain the lack of defense in the first two picks on Friday. 

"Sure, well I think you saw there was a good run on there of defensive guys kind of in that middle to late in the second round and so once we looked at it and like we said, Ryan (Poles) and (assistant GM) Jeff King do a great job of kind of sequencing and you look at the board and it's, you know, the board sometimes will speak to you," said director of player personnel Trey Koziol

"And so we evaluated a lot of options, do you trade up, do trade back, what's available? And we took the best players that were there. And I think that when you stay true to that process, you end up with some pretty good results. " 

Pretty good results if you like offense, but if you like a pass rush or even stuffing the run, the Bears' defense looked an awful lot like last year's struggling group after two rounds. 

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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.

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