Nobody is entirely sure what the Chicago Bears have planned for the upcoming 2016 NFL draft. They could pretty much go any direction they choose thanks to the work put in by GM Ryan Pace and his front office to secure some quality free agents at needed positions like Danny Trevathan, Jerrell Freeman, Akiem Hicks and Bobby Massie. However, there is still no certain direction they’re bound to take early in the draft, which has led to rampant speculation.
That may be changing thought as news continues to filter out about whom the team has been meeting with for their pre-draft visits. Their two most recent one offer the clearest indication yet.
Kansas State OL @Whitehair76: I'm going to meet with the #Bears and the #Falcons in the next couple of weeks.
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) April 4, 2016
Alabama DL Jarran Reed (@1j_reed) "I worked out with the Panthers, Bears so far. I have a few more coming up in the next few weeks".
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) April 4, 2016
While both Cody Whitehair and Jarran Reed play offense and defense respectively, each has the same thing in common: they play in the trenches. This is an area the Bears have stayed focused on since Pace took over in 2015. He has struck as a general manager that wants his teams to control the action up front, and it’s a style that draft expert Mike Mayock picked up on even dating back to last year.
"“His next couple picks (after White last year, defensive tackle Eddie Goldman and center Hroniss Grasu) were … they were really solid, good picks from an inside-out perspective,” Mayock said Tuesday. “That’s what I think I’ve seen a little bit with Ryan — he’s an inside-out guy, believes in O-line, D-line, but he’s not afraid to take a shot with an explosive guy like Kevin White.”"
In fact three of the six picks Pace made for the Chicago Bears in the 2015 draft were linemen, including 6th rounder Tayo Fabuluje. Most people are convinced the team can’t be done up front. They still don’t have a legitimate, star-caliber talent at defensive end and there are few enthusiastic supporters of keeping Charles Leno Jr. as the starting left tackle for any extended length of time.
Reed and Whitehair are considered among two of the best at their respective positions in the draft, so it stands to reason a man like Pace would have interest. After all, to win in the NFL teams must often impose their will upon another, and the shortest route to doing that is muzzle to muzzle up front.