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Chicago Bears: Early picks usually feature combine stars

By Erik Lambert

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 04: Quarterback Mitch Trubisky of North Carolina gets ready to pass during day four of the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 4, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 04: Quarterback Mitch Trubisky of North Carolina gets ready to pass during day four of the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 4, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Chicago Bears GM Ryan Pace has plenty of good draft strategies he utilizes, but he’s also shown himself to be a creature of habit.

If one wants to get a clear picture of how he operates from draft to draft, just look at each of his first picks from 2015 to 2018. While they each play different positions, they do all share one thing in common. Each was a star in some shape or form during the NFL scouting combine. It’s apparent that the Bears place a high priority on their early picks being standout athletes.

One merely has to look at the 40-yard dash results for the positions that were considered among the biggest needs for them each of those years. In 2015 it was a wide receiver after they traded Brandon Marshall. A year later it was an edge rusher, then quarterback in 2017, and inside linebacker this past year. Every single pick filled the need and every single pick shined at the combine.

  • 2015: Kevin White times a 4.35 in the 40-yard dash (3rd-best)
  • 2016: Leonard Floyd times a 4.60 in the 40-yard dash (5th-best)
  • 2017: Mitch Trubisky times a 4.67 in the 40-yard dash (4th-best)
  • 2018: Roquan Smith times a 4.51 in the 40-yard dash (2nd-best)

Chicago Bears needs should be positions to watch at the combine

Looking ahead to this offseason, the list of Bears needs is far lesser than its been in the past. This is great news, but it doesn’t decrease the sense of urgency they feel. This team is close to a Super Bowl. They can feel it and Pace will be under pressure to make sure he produces at least a decent draft to help push them further than they went last season. As things stand, the list of needs can be viewed as such: kicker, defensive back, edge rusher, and wide receiver.

The Cody Parkey situation is well-known. Adrian Amos and Bryce Callahan are both free agents, as is Aaron Lynch at outside linebacker. Anthony Miller will be undergoing shoulder surgery and Kevin White is a free agent. This makes those positions undeniably the ones to watch at the scouting combine. The goal is simple. Keep an eye on the names who thrive in the primary drills like the 40-yard dash and the vertical jump and subtract the ones who are likely to go in the 1st or 2nd rounds.

Those will be the players that are likely atop the Bears draft board when they finally go on the clock this coming April.

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