And with the third pick in the NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears select …
… Jamal Adams, right? If this is to be believed, it appears Adams is a lock to go in the top five. And with the Cleveland Browns seemingly locked into drafting Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett with the top selection, Adams will have four other opportunities to go in the top five. The Bears are among that group of four picking in the top five after Cleveland, as well as one of the teams searching for stability in the secondary – especially at the safety position.
How highly does Adams rank, anyway, as compared to his top competition at safety?
This seems good. For as good as Ohio State’s Malik Hooker is, Adams is the more well-rounded prospect at this stage of the game. Adams had more run stops, fewer missed tackles, and a higher run stop percentage than Hooker – a player who can make quite an argument for being the draft’s best safety.
And yet, it’s Adams who might be the draft’s safest pick and the most well-rounded player at his position in the draft. …
…Then again, the Bears are featured as one of the teams that could be in the top-3 in fits for Ohio State’s Malik Hooker. Over at Pro Football Focus, William Moy dives into the data to reveal the kind of fit Hooker would be for three teams in dire need of a star safety. Along with the Bears, the Chargers and Bills could be teams with eyes for the playmaking secondary. HOWEVER, there might not be a more ideal fit for Hooker than the Bears. Moy notes that defensive coordinator Vic Fangio ran a single-high safety set on 54.7 percent of the Bears’ pass defense plays, which is a formation in which Hooker’s can take advantage of his natural athleticism, ballhawk skills and playmaking ability. After all, when you’re facing Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford twice a year, a safety who can play center field and keep quarterbacks (and receivers) honest would be a pleasant addition to the regular rotation.
The battle between Hooker and Adams will rage on until draft day. And even then, a new one will begin once each player gets drafted. Hooker and Adams are clearly the top two safeties in the draft, and both could make an argument for being the best defensive backs (or even defensive players) in the draft. The contrasting styles makes it difficult to put one over the other right now. Adams is a more well-rounded prospect who has proven to be productive and durable. Hooker might be a better fit for a modern NFL defense that focuses on big play prevention with sound pass defense. Not only will it be interesting to see which safety goes first, but also how the drafting team justifies the pick.
NFL.com writer Chase Goodbread lines up a list of six things learned from draft guru Mike Mayock’s recent media conference call. Among them, his belief that Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer might not be worth a first-round pick. Mayock believes quarterbacks drafted in the first-round should be ready to start right away, and he isn’t convinced Kizer is ready to do that just yet. Earlier this offseason, Mayock had Kizer ranked as this draft’s top available quarterback prospect.
We can’t forget about Alabama defensive lineman Jonathan Allen, who could still slot into the No. 3 pick in the draft:
The Bears would absolutely be one of the teams targeting the Alabama defensive lineman. Allen has racked up numerous college football awards for being one of the top defensive prospects in the entire country. He comes from a pro-style defense, so he should be familiar with concepts, terminology, and schemes when he eases onto a NFL roster. Chicago is one of the three best fits for Allen, along with the Tennessee Titans (who pick fifth) or Carolina Panthers (who own the eighth pick), according to Willie McGinest – who also believes Allen could be the best defensive end in the draft.
Sometimes, prospects don’t live up to the hype. Brett Martell of the Associated Press writes about some of the can’t-miss NFL Draft prospects who didn’t pan out for one reason or another.
NEWSLETTER
