NEWSLETTER
In addition to drafting five players over the weekend, the Chicago Bears are bringing in all sorts of undrafted free agents to fill out their roster.
But few are as notable as Keith Randolph Jr., a product of the University of Illinois who happens to play defensive tackle — a position the Bears did not draft a player at over the weekend.
This is what Randolph’s NFL Draft profile from the league had to say about the Illinois standout:
An interior defender with good strength and pad level, Randolph lacks a true positional play quality where he can plant his flag on the next level. He’s not twitchy off the snap or with his field movements, but Randolph has managed to stack up tackles at a relatively high rate during his tenure at Illinois. He’s consistently playing as low as or lower than his opponents and can neutralize a base block, but he’s not a classic stack-and-shed defender. He could factor as a rotational defender but won’t offer much help as a pass rusher. Randolph has backup talent as a potential Day 3 pick.
There was an expectation that Randolph would be drafted on Day 3 in Round 6 or 7. But 257 picks came and went without Randolph’s name getting called. Perhaps Chicago’s football team will unearth a diamond-in-the-rough by snagging Randolph off the UDFA wire. The downstate Belleville native earned All-Big Ten third-team (media) and all-conference honorable mention (coaches) honors in 2023. A team captain for the Fighting Illini, Randolph capped his final season in college with 1.5 sacks and 4 tackles-for-loss in 10 games. But the year before that, Randolph picked up 4.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss.
Given his collegiate production, size, and skills, reeling in Randolph is a worthwhile bet for the Bears to make. And it could pay off if things go well in the development process. I am looking forward to seeing how Head Coach Matt Eberflus, Defensive Coordinator Eric Washington (whose expertise is in coaching defensive linemen), Defensive Line Coach Travis Smith, and Assistant DL Coach Bryan Bing work to get the most out of Randolph moving forward.
Other Chicago Bears UDFA reported signings
Colleen Kane (Chicago Tribune), and Patrick Finley (Sun-Times) are among those tracking the Chicago Bears UDFA signings. We’ll get an officially official list from the Bears in due time. In the meantime, here we go:
