Chicago Bears: Who Will Be the Tarik Cohen of 2018?

The Chicago Bears have had a tendency to get surprisingly big contributions from the later round draft picks every year since Ryan Pace became GM.

In 2015 fourth rounder Jeremy Langford filled in well for Matt Forte at running back. A year later Jordan Howard grabbed the starting job at that position and ran his way to the Pro Bowl. Last season it was the electric Tarik Cohen running, catching and passing for touchdowns. He was easily the most exciting thing about an otherwise bland and anemic offense.

So this begs the question. Who will continue this trend into 2018? One would instantly predict another running back but that’s unlikely since Howard and Cohen are firmly set in place. So it will have to be somebody else. In this case, it comes down to a process of elimination.

Fourth round pick Joel Iyiegbuniwe is unlikely since Roquan Smith is already set to start at inside linebacker. Fifth rounder Bilal Nichols has promise but the depth chart ahead of him at defensive end is fairly strong.  The same goes for seventh round wide receiver Javon Wims. That leaves one man left standing.

Kylie Fitts has the blend of talent and opportunity to excel right away

Sixth round picks don’t generally get tons of attention after a draft. That’s just human nature in football. Players who go that late tend not to pan out often. Yet in the right circumstances, things can happen. That may be the case for outside linebacker Kylie Fitts. The Bears coaching staff said recently they had a much higher grade on the Utah product than where he was drafted. The reason he fell so far was obvious enough:  multiple injury issues.

His only healthy year in college was 2015. When one watches the tape from that year, the ability sticks out. He’s got size and length but is also surprisingly quick and athletic. The videos above showed that he seems to have regained everything he lost while injured. So if the talent is present, all he needs is the opportunity.

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The state of the Bears edge rush is what one might call “fluid.” Only Leonard Floyd is their definitive starter. After that is a large collection of unknowns from Aaron Lynch to Sam Acho, Isaiah Irving and Fitts himself. This is a big concern for the defense, but also a huge opportunity for the rookie. If he can get off the ground fast in training camp and preseason, it may convince the coaches to get him on the field as soon as possible.

Exactly the same way Cohen did it a year ago.