Matt Eberflus has a specific vision for how he wants his football team to look. That is normal for any head coach. Everybody wants certain types of players. When it comes to the Chicago Bears‘ head coach, he has three traits he prefers the most. Length, speed, and physicality. He wants a long, fast, and physical football team. That first trait has been mentioned by him multiple times since he took over the team last January. It is reflected in how his defense was constructed during his stint with the Indianapolis Colts.
It is a safe bet the Bears coaches and scouts will place a strong emphasis on players with length at every position during the pre-draft process. That is where the East-West Shrine Bowl comes into focus. A new update came in showing the height, weight, and arm length of every prospect in attendance. Here are some names that met the Bears’ criteria.
The Chicago Bears value length, and these prospects have it.
Shaq Davis (WR, South Carolina State) – 34 1/8 inches
Big receivers that can run fast is never a bad thing. Davis stands 6’4 and 217 lbs. He was a big-time red zone presence for the Gamecocks, scoring 11 touchdowns on only 45 catches while averaging 20.8 yards per catch. That means he is not only tall but has speed.
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Henry Bainvalu (OG, Washington) – 34 1/4 inches
There aren’t many guards with that kind of length. What makes Bainvalu even more attractive as a prospect is his mobility. He functions well in space, pulling on run plays and picking off defenders at the second level. He’d be great in a zone-blocking scheme, which the Bears run under Luke Getsy.
Kadeem Telfort (OT, UAB) – 35 7/8 inches
Tackles who are 6’7 with 35-inch arms are rare. Telfort adds to the intrigue by being a good athlete for his size. Many feel he’d be a 1st round guy if not for some legal setbacks in college. He also suffers from technique inconsistency. If he can clean those up, he has starter potential.
Moro Ojomo (DT, Texas) – 34 3/8 inches
It is strange Ojomo doesn’t get more attention than his Longhorns teammate Keondre Coburn considering he has better stats and measurables. His length allows him to shed blockers, and he has surprising quickness and closing speed for his size. That makes him a great option for a one-gap system. He’s also still only 21.
Brevin Allen (DE, Campbell) – 34 1/2 inches
The Chicago Bears have already met with Allen, in case you wanted an idea of how true this entire article is. He was almost unblockable on the FCS level with 20.5 sacks and 38 tackles for a loss. He has good size, quickness, and bend. If he demonstrates the necessary strength to go with it, he can be something.
Mekhi Garner (CB, LSU) – 32 1/2 inches
His mixture of 6’2 size, long arms, and instincts make him a solid zone corner. He tracks the ball well and is rarely out of position. There are concerns about his speed and how physical he can be. Answers to those questions will come in the next month or so.
Tom waddle, they declined to coach the east west shrine game, so they could coach at the senior bowl…they have already met with players at the shrine game, and have loads of evaluators there…also they were at the Polynesian bowl which is another group of players coming into the league…
The nickname for South Carolina St is Bulldogs
You should forward this list to Poles, since the Bears coaches and scouts didn’t attend the Shrine Game because they had to take a well deserved vacation after a long and successful 3-14 season, remember?
While I remain amused by Erik’s fetish abiut arm length, this is a pretty good list of (mostly) UDFA prospects. They make up 20-30% of the league and you can compete for them rather than “wait your turn” Identifying the next Wes Welker or JC Jackson would be a huge advantage for a rebuilding team.
All this sounds good and Poles will make his choices. Poles will make good choices and give himself enough picks to take advantage of off the radar player