The Chicago Bears draft board should be all but set by now. Just three days remain until the action is set to begin. No doubt something football fans are overjoyed to hear. A more interesting question lost in all the hoopla is with the board itself. Sure it features a couple hundred names, but there is also a chance it won’t even have certain ones on it to begin with.
Something to remember about this Bears regime is they’ve taken a much more hardline stance against locker room character over the past two years. GM Ryan Pace and head coach John Fox are intent on creating a culture of passionate football players who are interested in helping the team. Not themselves. Above all, they have to show they can stay out of trouble.
This is tricky because there are several great talents in this class who wouldn’t fit that mold. That would mean they’re not even on the Bears’ radar. So who are the big names that fans should know are probably on that black list?
Here they are, each with explanations as to why.
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Chad Kelly (QB, Ole Miss)
- Kicked out of Clemson for confrontations with coaches
- Got into a fight with bouncer and resisted arrest in Buffalo back in 2014
- Joined an on-field brawl at a high school football game after brother took late hit
Joe Mixon (RB, Oklahoma)
- Punched a woman in the face in 2014, breaking bones that required surgery
- Suspended by Oklahoma for harassing a parking attendant (also female)
Malik McDowell (DT, Michigan State)
- Has a reputation for being lazy. Questions about his passion for football
Tim Williams (OLB, Alabama)
- Failed multiple drug tests while at school
- Was arrested on a misdemeanor gun charge
Josh Harvey-Clemons (S, Louisville)
- Multiple drug violations led him to being dismissed from Georgia
Understand this. Each of those names listed above? They would be borderline first round picks were it not for their own stupid mistakes. That’s a fact. Now some will argue that the Bears should at least consider them once a round or two has passed. By that point the Best Player Available moniker would most definitely apply, right?
No. Don’t forget that Pace was put through a trial by fire in 2015. Not only did he deal with the fallout of the Ray McDonald situation. Something he took a lot of flak for. That was compounded by the frightening blowup involving former defensive tackle Jay Ratliff. That sort of experience could easily turn a man off to taking risks on unpredictable characters.
Even if the talent could potentially change the landscape of a franchise. Annoying for the casual fan, but understandable nonetheless.
