The odds of the Chicago Bears selecting one of the players on this list with the third overall pick in the NFL Draft are pretty strong:
We're TWO WEEKS away from the 2017 #NFLDraft.
Here's a full list of the 22 prospects who will attend. pic.twitter.com/UNmbatLKRH
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) April 13, 2017
The NFL Draft will be held April 27-29 in Philadelphia after two consecutive years in Chicago. The all-important first round will air live at 7 p.m. CT on April 27, with the second and third rounds following on April 28, and rounds four through seven wrapping up on April 29.
It should go without saying that this is a talented group of football prospects. Players attending include a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist coming off a thrilling national championship (Deshaun Watson), the fastest man in NFL Combine history (John Ross), as well as several players sitting atop Mike Mayock’s pre-draft prospect rankings including running back (Leonard Fournette), offensive tackle (Cam Robinson), interior defensive lineman (Jonathan Allen), cornerback (Marshon Lattimore), and safety (Jamal Adams).
Several of the draft’s attendees have been linked to potentially being in the Bears’ draft plans for quite some time.
Lattimore (who visited the Bears in early April) projects to be the kind of shutdown corner the Bears don’t have and would need in order to help slow down the NFL’s top passing offenses. Adams is making an argument for being the highest-picked safety in NFL Draft history and would fit a need that has long been a problem for the franchise. Allen made an early visit to the Bears and has familiarity in the 3-4 scheme from his time at Alabama and seems like a player with a high floor and high ceiling.