The Chicago Bears have gone through the usual procedure for draft preparation. They attended the Senior Bowl, the scouting combine, and every college pro day that may feature a prospect they like. The final leg of this journey involves making 30 private visits with 30 players of their choice. Every NFL gets allotted that amount. It becomes interesting how every team seems to use those visits differently.
Some use it as an extra opportunity to meet with top players they may covet in the 1st or 2nd rounds. Others might use it as a creative means of misdirection, throwing other teams off the trail of who they really want to draft when the time comes. Then there is the strategy the Bears appear to be using. A trend starts to emerge when looking at the list of prospects they’ve met with thus far. The majority of them aren’t exactly commonly-known names in this draft class.
That is because many of them likely could end up undrafted free agents.
- EDGE Esezi Otomewo (Minnesota)
- QB Chris Oladokun (South Dakota State)
- TE Chigoziem Okonkwo (Maryland)
- S Kerby Joseph (Illinois)
- DL Eric Johnson (Missouri State)
- OL Kenyon Green (Texas A&M)
- WR Jalen Nailor (Michigan State)
- WR Tyquan Thornton (Baylor)
- LB Brian Asamoah (Oklahoma)
- CB Samuel Womack (Toledo)
- DE Daniel Hardy (Montana State)
- CB Damarri Harris (Pitt)
- OT Matt Waletzko (North Dakota)
Some people ask what the point of such a strategy is. Shouldn’t the Bears focus on players they’re hoping to draft? That makes it easy to miss the cunning intent behind this approach. By using those visits to meet with potential undrafted free agents, the team can give a full sales pitch to the player that comes to Chicago for them if that happens. Saying this face-to-face with the added bonus of a facility tour is far more effective than a phone call.
Remember, the Chicago Bears only have six draft picks this year. They may have to rely more on undrafted free agency to secure young and cheap talent for their roster. It makes sense they’d want to maximize their chances of getting players they like. It may not lead to much, but it’s proof that the new regime is doing everything possible to maximize their resources.
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