Having the No. 1 pick in the draft has its perks. Usually, the top draw is the ability to draft the best available quarterback. But with Justin Fields in tow, that isn’t a priority for the Chicago Bears or GM Ryan Poles. Instead, for the Bears, the first pick means they can trade back (possibly multiple times!), collect a bunch of draft capital (and maybe some players, too), and still take the best non-QB available.
Perhaps that player will be Tyree Wilson, a Texas Tech edge defender who says he has already had multiple meetings with Chicago’s football team:
Good energy. Good vibes. You love to hear it — particularly from a top prospect like Wilson.
On the one hand, I don’t want to put too much stock into player-team meetings. Good teams that are thorough in their draft-board-building process will meet with any and all prospects. Leaving no stone left unturned is a common sign of a well-run organization. But on the other hand, some player-team meetings stand out. And I feel as if Wilson already having two meetings with the Bears falls under that umbrella.
Wilson earned All-American and All-Big 12 honors in his final season at Texas Tech. A foot injury cut his last collegiate campaign short, but not before picking up 7 sacks and 14 tackles-for-loss in 10 games for the Red Raiders. Listed at 6-6 and 275 pounds, Wilson has desirable size and looks like the type of prospect who would fit in nicely in the Matt Eberflus-Alan Williams defensive scheme. After all, no team had a harder time collecting sacks and generating backfield pressure than the Bears. With that in mind, someone like Wilson should be on their radar.
I mean, look at this wingspan:
Some back-of-the-envelope math spits out that 86 inches is a little more than 7 feet.
In other words: That. Man. Is. LONG.
Don’t get it twisted. I know others will meet with the Bears between now and draft day. And I realize there are a ton of possibilities that exist as potential fits for the team. But a lengthy defensive end with upside is exactly what this defense needs battling in the trenches. I can’t wait to see who else pops up as a prospect who fits the mold in the days, weeks, and months to come.