Winners and Losers from Chicago Bears' Draft
The 2015 NFL draft is officially in the rear-view mirror, and the Chicago Bears drafted six players between Thursday night and Saturday afternoon.
General manager Ryan Pace selected wide receiver Kevin White out of West Virginia in the first round, Florida State nose tackle Eddie Goldman in the second round, Oregon center Hroniss Grasu in the third and drafted Michigan State running back Jeremy Langford, Penn State safety Adrian Amos and TCU tackle Tayo Fabuluje in rounds four through six.
Pace addressed glaring needs on both sides of the football with his selections, and his new draft picks will have an impact on those players already on the roster.
The addition of some of these players could be a good thing for someone like Jay Cutler because he will now have more weapons on offense, but it could be a bad thing for defensive linemen Will Sutton and Ego Ferguson or running back Ka'Deem Carey because they will now be fighting for a job this offseason.
Who came out of the draft as a winner for the Chicago Bears? Who came out as a loser? We explore that ahead.
Winner: Jay Cutler
1 of 6
Even though Pace and the Bears came out earlier this offseason and named Jay Cutler as the team's starting quarterback in 2015, they were reportedly in talks with the Tennessee Titans on Thursday to acquire the second overall pick to select Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota.
“The St. Louis Rams have had conversations, the New York Jets have had conversations and the hometown Chicago Bears have also touched base with the Tennessee Titans about possibly moving up to No. 2 to select Mariota,” NFL.com's Ian Rapoport said on the NFL Network Thursday, via David Just of the Chicago Sun-Times.
The Titans held onto the pick and selected Mariota, meaning, barring any sort of meltdown in training camp or an injury, Cutler will be the team's starting quarterback in 2015.
The Bears stayed at No. 7 and gave Cutler another weapon in the passing game by selecting West Virginia wide receiver Kevin White.
White skyrocketed up draft boards this offseason with a strong showing at the combine, and Pace thinks he added a playmaker in White, saying, according to Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune:
"I know I spoke to you about getting impact players in the draft, especially when you’re picking in the top 10. And that’s exactly what Kevin White is. We couldn’t be more thrilled right now. This guy’s dynamic, he’s big, he’s strong, he’s ultracompetitive. If I could stress one word for him, he’s competitive. You see it after the catch. You see it in the way he attacks the ball in the air. This is a dynamic playmaker for our offense. ... Big-play weapon for us. Competitive, tough player.
"
White registered 109 catches for 1,447 yards and 10 touchdowns last season at West Virginia, and he has the ability to stretch the defense with his speed.
After trading Brandon Marshall to the New York Jets earlier this offseason, the Bears needed another wide receiver to pair up with Alshon Jeffery on the outside, and White should give Cutler a reliable target in the passing game.
Loser: Marquess Wilson
2 of 6
Heading into last offseason, 2013 seventh-round pick Marquess Wilson was expected to be a major factor in Chicago's passing game alongside Marshall and Jeffery.
Wilson spent part of the 2014 offseason training with Marshall and Jeffery, and he came into training camp as the team's No. 3 wide receiver. He was having a strong training camp until he fractured his clavicle in early August.
“I’m extremely disappointed,” then-head coach Marc Trestman said about losing Wilson, according to Larry Mayer of ChicagoBears.com. “He was continuing to ascend. That’s football, unfortunately. We will pray for his recovery.”
Wilson was placed on injured reserve with the designation to return, and he made his season debut in Week 11 against the Minnesota Vikings. He started the final six games of the year and finished the season with 17 catches for 140 yards and one touchdown.
After the Bears sent Marshall to the Jets, it looked like Wilson would have an opportunity to grab a starting job opposite of Jeffery, but the addition of White will likely relegate Wilson to the No. 4 receiver spot.
He improved his route running last season, but he still had trouble creating separation and needs to get stronger in order to fight for contested balls.
Wilson could still end up having a role in the Bears' offense next season, but with the addition of White in the first round, he may be a forgotten man this season in Chicago.
Winner: Adam Gase
3 of 6
A candidate for some of the NFL's vacant head coaching positions this offseason, former Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase reunited with John Fox in Chicago after not securing a head coaching job.
Gase was Denver's offensive coordinator in 2013 and 2014, and the Broncos finished first in points per game in 2013 and second in 2014.
He won't have Peyton Manning to lean on like he did in Denver, but the Bears gave him three solid pieces to work with in this year's draft.
In the first round, the Bears took White, and Pace commented on Thursday night about how excited Gase was about the selection.
“I can tell you right now that the most excited guy in the building is [offensive coordinator] Adam Gase," Pace said after selecting White in the first round, according to Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times. "This is good, guys. Big-play weapon for us — competitive, tough player. We couldn’t be more thrilled to have him.”
Gase likes to get his receivers in space so they can pick up additional yards, and CBSChicago.com's Dan Durkin explained why White fits in Gase's scheme.
"Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase’s offense heavily utilizes the wide receiver screen game," Durkin wrote. "Under Dana Holgorsen at West Virginia, White was frequently targeted on shallow crosses, overs, bubble and tunnel screens — high-percentage throws that relied upon his ability to make defenders miss in the open field."
In addition to adding a receiver with experience in the screen game, the Bears also added Michigan State running back Jeremy Langford in the fourth round.
Langford began his career at Michigan State as a wide receiver before making the switch to running back, and he will be another solid option in the short-passing game in Gase's offense.
Lastly, even though the Bears added veteran center Will Montgomery in free agency this offseason, the team drafted Grasu in the third round. Montgomery has experience in Gase's system and is a nice stopgap for next season, but Grasu will give Gase and the Bears an athletic presence in the middle of the offensive line for years to come.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Loser: Ka'Deem Carey
4 of 6
The Bears took Arizona running back Ka'Deem Carey in the fourth round of last year's draft with the expectation he could help spell Matt Forte in the running game, but he finished his rookie season with just 36 carries for 158 yards.
At the time of his selection, former general manager Phil Emery was excited about Carey's future, saying, according to Larry Mayer:
"We feel very good about what Ka’Deem Carey has accomplished as a player. We felt like we got a quality running back at the right time in the draft. He has very good feet and eyes; that’s where it starts in terms of run skill. He’s one of the runners in the draft that we felt best about as far as a guy that really lowers his pads and has contact balance; that can really push through open-field contact and keeps his feet and keeps gaining additional yards.
"
Carey's most impressive performance came against the Green Bay Packers in Week 4 when he picked up 72 yards rushing on 14 carries. Over the course of the last eight games, he carried the ball just eight times.
According to Pro Football Focus, Carey played only 100 snaps last season, and just 17 in the team's last five games.
In addition to signing veteran running back Jacquizz Rodgers in free agency, the Bears drafted Langford in the fourth round over the weekend.
Over the last two seasons, Langford rushed for 2,944 yards on 568 carries and scored 40 touchdowns. He is fast (he ran a 4.42 40-yard dash), has good hands and should be able to compete immediately as a third-down back.
"Langford brings a strong 3rd down skill set to the Bears' backfield. His 4.4 40 time translates well to the field," said NFL.com's Mark Dulgerian. "The Bears add some explosiveness to their run game."
The addition of Langford does not necessarily spell the end of Carey's tenure in Chicago, but he will have to have a very good offseason in order to beat out both Rodgers and Langford to be Forte's backup in 2015.
Winner: Chicago's Pass-Rushers
5 of 6
The Bears are making the switch from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4 defense this offseason under new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, and they have decided to turn defensive ends Jared Allen, Lamarr Houston, Willie Young and David Bass into outside linebackers.
Houston played some outside linebacker when he was in Oakland, and Bass was projected to play outside linebacker in a 3-4 coming out of college, but all four have limited experience playing the position.
The team added Pernell McPhee in free agency and had opportunities to take outside linebacker/pass-rushers Vic Beasley, Randy Gregory and Eli Harold in the first two rounds of the draft, but they decided to stick with the guys they currently have on their roster.
By not adding a pass-rusher in the early rounds, the Bears appear to be happy with the progress their new linebackers have made this offseason.
Allen knows the move from a three-point stance to a two-point stance will not be easy, but he has embraced the change this offseason, saying, according to the Chicago Tribune's Rich Campbell:
"The rush aspect is going to be the same. It's just repetitions of getting off the ball in a two-point stance rather than a three-point stance. The matchups it creates is going to be cool. I think there will be a lot more one-on-one opportunities, a lot more mismatches. That part's fun. But, again, it's just kind of building up muscle memory and then on the plays you have to cover, you're not just kind of eating up space, you literally have to cover somebody.
"
McPhee is likely penciled in as one of the starters at outside linebacker, but the other starting spot appears to be wide open. The Bears could have taken someone like Beasley, Gregory or Harold and penciled him in as the starter in Week 1 opposite of McPhee, but it looks like the Bears are willing to let Allen, Houston, Young and Bass earn playing time at the position.
The transition will not be easy for them, but in terms of the team's immediate future, it makes the most sense to allow those on your roster the opportunity to earn the job instead of handing the position over to a rookie.
Losers: Ego Ferguson and Will Sutton
6 of 6
A second-round pick of the Bears in 2014, Ego Ferguson registered 24 tackles and two sacks in 318 snaps last season, according to Pro Football Focus.
When the Bears announced their switch to a 3-4 defense this offseason, Ferguson seemed like a logical choice to play inside at nose tackle behind projected starter Jeremiah Ratliff.
On Friday, Pace said Ferguson is going to play both nose tackle and the 5-technique defensive end position in Chicago's new scheme, according to John Mullin of CSNChicago.com.
While Ferguson should see ample playing time in 2015 at nose tackle and defensive end, his projected reps likely went down after the Bears selected Eddie Goldman in the second round out of Florida State.
Goldman, like Ferguson, has the ability to play inside at nose tackle and outside at defensive end, and he registered 62 total tackles, 12 tackles for loss and six sacks in three seasons with the Seminoles.
He is strong at the point of attack and at his best against the run, but he struggles to get after the quarterback.
Earlier in the week, Fox talked about what he wants out of his nose tackles.
“Obviously hold the point,” Fox said, according to Mullin. “You’re good on defense when you’re good up the middle. I think we’ve got some good candidates there… Basically a block-eater inside that’s tough and doesn’t get knocked off the ball.”
Goldman does a nice job of standing his ground and holding up blockers to allow his linebackers to get after the ball-carrier. While Goldman is at his best against the run, Ferguson is a better pass-rusher, but it sounds like Fox prefers his nose tackle to take up space as opposed to getting upfield.
The addition of Goldman might not keep Ferguson from making an impact down the line, but Ferguson will likely have to play behind both Ratliff and Goldman until the soon-to-be 34-year-old Ratliff moves on from the organization.
Ferguson might not be the only 2014 draft pick pushed to the side because of Goldman's selection.
Taken in the third round of last year's draft, defensive tackle Will Sutton appeared to be a good fit in Chicago's Cover 2 defense at the 3-technique defensive tackle position, but he lacks the ideal size to play along the defensive line in a 3-4 defense.
According to Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Bears listed Sutton as a defensive end earlier in the week. He was likely going to be fighting for reps in training camp with defensive ends Ray McDonald and Jarvis Jenkins, but the addition of Goldman in the draft could make Sutton expendable this offseason.
Statistical information courtesy of Sports-Reference.com and NFL.com. Combine numbers and measurables courtesy of NFL.com.
Matt Eurich is a Chicago Bears Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
