John Franklin III isn’t somebody the Chicago Bears fans are talking about lately. Expectations are that the young player, who just started playing defensive back in 2018 when he signed with them as an undrafted free agent, isn’t likely to make the roster. Not with a host of young talents like Kevin Toliver and Duke Shelley already slotting into place.
This means he may have to find other ways to get some attention and make some money. As it turns out, an opportunity has come his way at just the right time. New Orleans Saints teammates Alvin Kamara and Ted Ginn Jr. are holding a tournament down in Florida called “40 Yards of Gold.” The premise is rather simple. It’s a 40-yard dash tournament with single elimination rules.
The winner? He gets a $1 million prize. For a former undrafted player like Franklin, that is absolutely something worth fighting, or in this case, running for. Here is the field he will have to challenge. Several of the names were prominent sprinters during their high school and college years.
“Offense: Ginn, Kamara, Vikings WR Jeff Badet, Jets WR Robby Anderson, 49ers WR Richie James, free-agent WR Kevin Snead, former Raiders WR Jacoby Ford, 49ers receiver/Olympic long jumper Marquise Goodwin
Defense: Vikings CBs Trae Waynes and Jalen Myrick, Redskins CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Panthers CB Donte Jackson, Bears DB John Franklin III, Jets CB Rashard Robinson, free-agent CB Terrell Sinkfield, free-agent CB Charles James”
John Franklin is a fast man on a Chicago Bears team full of them
Franklin became famous during the 2018 pre-draft process when he posted a video of him running the 40 in a blistering 4.19 seconds. He also ran a healthy 4.32 at the scouting combine. So it’s no doubt the guy is fast. That is probably a big reason the Bears signed him. They’ve made a far more conscious effort in the past two years to add more speed to their roster.
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Franklin, Taylor Gabriel, Marvin Hall, Emanuel Hall, Kerrith Whyte, Cordarrelle Patterson, and Stephen Denmark are all noted for having legitimate speed. The NFL has shown time and again that a lot of faults in a player can be made up by the ability to run really fast. Particularly if a creative head coach like Matt Nagy can get them in open space.
Either way, Franklin should be able to hold his own in that competition. Probably his toughest matchups will be Goodwin, Ford, Myrick, and Ginn himself. All of whom are known to have strong 40 times in the past. This will be a great way for the Bears to see how their young DB handles the pressure.
