Chicago Bears 2015 NFL Offseason Draft Scouting Guide

When the 2014 NFL season began, the Chicago Bears were thought to be a contender for the playoffs, if not the Super Bowl.

The season didn’t exactly go according to plan as the Bears finished the season with a 5-11 record and missed the playoffs. Chicago’s unfortunate season has the Bears in search for a new general manager, a new head coach and means they ended up with the seventh pick in the 2015 NFL draft.

With the offseason approaching, the new regime won’t have a lot of time to assess the current roster and decide who stays, who goes and then develop courses of action for the draft and free agency.

These next few months will be fast and furious inside Halas Hall, so why don’t we go ahead and take a look at which positions the Bears should look to target in the draft.

All quotes obtained first hand unless otherwise noted. College football statistics obtained from CollegePressBox.com.

Defensive End

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Chicago had some trouble at defensive end during the 2014 season after signing three big-name players in the offseason in Jared Allen, Lamarr Houston and Willie Young.

Allen’s season was chock full of mediocrity, finishing with 5.5 sacks in 15 games; Houston didn’t record his first sack until Week 8, and while celebrating, tore his ACL; Young finished with a career-high 10 sacks but tore his Achilles in Week 16.

When the 2015 season begins, there’s a chance Allen won’t even be on the roster, and who knows if Houston or Young will be close to 100 percent.

That’s why the new regime needs to look to the draft for some youth to come in and play. In a mock draft, published here earlier in the week, the Bears selected Missouri’s Shane Ray with the No. 7 overall pick.

Ray has the versatility to play both defensive end and linebacker, which gives the Bears a lot of flexibility for next season when a new defensive coordinator comes in to replace Mel Tucker. He finished 2014 with 14.5 sacks.

Another player who fits the mold is Kentucky’s Alvin “Bud” Dupree, who led the SEC in tackles among defensive ends with 74 and finished 2014 with 7.5 sacks. He’s a long, athletic lineman who has great instincts when rushing the quarterback and feel for where he’s supposed to be.

Dupree likely will be selected in the first or second round.

Cornerback

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With Charles “Peanut” Tillman done in Chicago, the Bears will once again need to use a high draft pick on a cornerback. In 2014, Kyle Fuller was selected out of Virginia Tech.

When the 2015 draft rolls around, the Bears would be wise to give Stanford’s Alex Carter a look in the early rounds. Carter has the size and speed (6'0", 202 pounds) to challenge the NFL’s best receivers.

Bleacher Report NFL Draft Lead Writer Matt Miller is a big fan of Carter’s play. Here’s what Miller wrote recently:

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Not only does Carter have NFL bloodlines, but he also has NFL instincts in coverage and very good anticipation skills. He may not be an elite sprinter or have top-end speed, but Carter is a smooth cover man with all the tools to be a starter in the pros.

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Another player the Bears should target is LSU’s Jalen Collins; a junior who declared for the draft only days ago. Collins told reporters before LSU’s bowl game that he was advised to stay in school by the NFL draft advisory committee, per ESPN.com.

He had nine pass breakups, 38 tackles, three tackles for loss and one interception in 10 games in 2014.

While Collins was advised to stay in school, the advisory committee usually advises players to stay if they won’t be selected in the first or second rounds. The Bears might be able to get some value by drafting Collins in the middle rounds.

Free Safety

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The Bears will be without a starting free safety if and when Chris Conte announces that he’s going elsewhere next season. Conte has had a rough couple of years in Chicago and is unlikely to be back in 2015.

Brock Vereen was selected by Chicago in the fourth round of last year’s draft. He played 513 snaps in 13 games and played all but three snaps in the final three weeks in his rookie season, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). But it’s still too early on for the Bears to feel comfortable counting on him to start.

In this week’s mock draft, the Bears selected West Virginia’s Karl Joseph in the third round.

Here’s why he’s is a fit for the Bears: “Joseph is one of the hardest hitters (seen here) in college football. While his coverage ability needs to improve, his physical style of play and tackling ability (seen here) makes him a candidate to contribute immediately in run defense...Joseph acted as a Swiss Army Knife of sorts for the Mountaineers, playing over the top, at the line of scrimmage against the run and rushing the passer.”

Another player who deserves a look is Gerod Holliman, a junior out of Louisville who won the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation's top defensive back. He intercepted 14 passes in 13 games in 2014, which is four more than second place on the list. Holliman is a very athletic safety who clearly has above-average ball skills. His tackling ability is suspect, though, which obviously is an important skill for a safety to have.

Quarterback

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Team chairman George McCaskey recently said that Jay Cutler’s future in Chicago will be determined by the new general manager. Based on how much the Bears owe Cutler next season, odds are he will be back next season.

Either way, Chicago will need to secure a quarterback for the future. The 2015 draft is a good time to get started.

Unless the Bears somehow get a crack at Oregon’s Marcus Mariota at No. 7, drafting a quarterback should wait until the middle rounds, somewhere between the second and fourth.

UCLA’s Brett Hundley is a guy the Bears should target. Hundley is agile on his feet and has above-average arm strength. He struggles with reading defenses, locking onto a receiver and feeling pressure in the pocket.

During UCLA’s bowl game against Kansas State, Hundley looked like a different quarterback when it came to standing in the pocket. Hundley attempted 24 passes against the Wildcats, most of which were NFL-style throws (moving in the pocket, timing-based throws). He completed 12 of his 24 attempts for 136 yards and a touchdown but fell victim to a number of drops by his group of receivers. But Hundley made his mark in the run game, gaining 96 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries.

Bryce Petty of Baylor is another quarterback with whom the Bears could go after. Petty put up ridiculous numbers this season at Baylor, throwing for 3,855 yards with 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Petty is an accurate passer with quick release and a big arm. One concern is whether Petty is a system quarterback at Baylor, a school that has put up some big offensive numbers in recent years.

Linebacker

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The Bears likely will lose all three starting linebackers from the 2014 season. Lance Briggs and D.J. Williams both are free agents and don’t really have a future in Chicago under a new regime.

Shea McCellin has been a bust in his three seasons in Chicago, two of which came as a defensive end and one as a linebacker. He struggled at both positions and has failed to meet the expectations of a first-round draft pick.

With Phil Emery out as general manager, there’s no reason to keep around the guy with whom he selected in his first draft with the Bears. McClellin is set to be a free agent in 2016; he carries a cap number of $2.63 million next season, per Spotrac.

So there’s a good chance the Bears could be short a few linebackers come the start of the offseason. Without knowing what kind of defensive scheme the Bears will be using, 4-3 or 3-4, the best solution would be to select versatile players who can drop back as well as rush the passer.

Adding Mississippi State’s Benardrick McKinney would be a strong start. McKinney is strong against the run and is better than most college linebackers in coverage. He recorded 61 tackles in 12 games, most on the team, to go along with three sacks and eight tackles for loss.

Washington’s Shaq Thompson is another guy who would look good in Chicago.

Thompson played both running back and linebacker this season for the Huskies. He took home the Paul Hornung Award for the player who shows the most versatility in the nation.

Thompson led the nation with four defensive touchdowns, which included a 36-yard interception return and fumble returns of 32, 52 and 100 yards. As a rusher, he gained 456 yards on 61 carries for an average of 7.5 yards per attempt.

What’s crazy about Thompson is that he played safety in his early days at Washington. Which means he successfully played three different positions during his college career. As bad as the Bears defense was in 2014, they could use a guy as versatile as Thompson.

Center

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Even though the Bears re-signed Roberto Garza to a one-year contract extension, they still need to plan for the future.

Cameron Erving, a converted defensive tackle from Florida State, is someone who has the versatility to play multiple positions on the line. While his run-blocking skills have been slow to develop, a good group of coaches should be able to get the most out of Erving.

"Inside, Cam is so athletic, can move, can pull," Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher said earlier this season, via Chase Goodbread of NFL.com. "As good as (2013 starter Bryan) Stork was, Cam is such an athlete. ... Big body, can clog up the middle."

Erving played really well against Oregon in the Rose Bowl. He blocked well up the middle and showed enough athleticism to get to the edge on outside runs, which was where Florida State found its most success in the run game.

Erving likely will be available in the mid-to-late rounds of the draft, which would be a good point for the Bears to look at the future of the position without sacrificing the immediate future of other holes in the depth chart.