NEWSLETTER
With Quenton Nelson off the board early, the Chicago Bears were stuck waiting until the second round to address their offensive line needs. It seems like it might have been worth the wait.
THE PICK (ROUND 2, PICK 39)
NEED TO KNOW
HIGHLIGHTS
NFL COMBINE RESULTS
THREE STRENGTHS
Do your feet move that fast? We didn’t think so.
Check out OL James Daniels at this year’s #NFLCombine.#BearsDraft pic.twitter.com/FeCp2C9kiq
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) April 28, 2018
THREE WEAKNESSES
NFL.COM COMPARISON: Chris Chester.
WHERE DANIELS FITS
The Bears will start Daniels’ professional career at guard, and not at center where he played the last two years at Iowa. Daniels started his college career at guard and has played on both sides of center, so this isn’t completely new to him. Because he possesses the right kind of blocking skills and techniques, his transition to his new (but old) position should be smooth.
Daniels has a reputation for being a quick learner, and I think that could help accelerate his jump into a starting role. He was one of four true freshmen to see significant playing time for Iowa in 2015. Daniels played 14 games in his first year on campus, saw some time at guard and tackle, and was the Hawkeyes’ starting left guard in the 2016 Rose Bowl game against Stanford.
It’s possible that history repeats itself and Daniels ends up as the Bears’ starting left guard in Week 1 against the Packers.
PRESS INTRODUCTION
