The Chicago Bears are in a weird position right now. Fans aren’t sure whether they can get excited about the NFL draft next month. This despite their team being back in the 1st round for the first time since 2018. It’s been too long since they were involved on the opening night of draft weekend. The problem is nobody can be sure if the Bears will actually hold that pick by the end of April.
This due in large part to the rampant rumors about them possibly trading that pick in pursuit of a quarterback. Russell Wilson is the hot name out there. However, there is still a strong possibility that doesn’t happen. In such an event, it’s a safe bet the Bears won’t be trading the pick for any veteran player and will instead use it in the draft.
Then it becomes a question of who their target of opportunity is.
If people have followed the trail of breadcrumbs thus far, it’s pretty apparent the Bears have designs on improving their offensive line. Particularly the tackle spots. Bobby Massie was released on Monday to clear cap space. The 2021 draft class is reportedly stacked with quality talent at that position. It seems like the perfect time to grab one and they may have one name in mind.
GM Ryan Pace, head coach Matt Nagy, and offensive line coach Juan Castillo were all on hand for the Northwestern pro day on Tuesday, March 9th. While they were obviously there to watch other players, the big name everybody wanted to see was Rashawn Slater. The big left tackle dominated in 2019 before opting out of the 2020 season. This was his first chance to perform in front of people in a year. According to Jacob Infante of Windy City Gridiron, the Bears didn’t waste their chance to meet with him
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They seemed to make an impression too.
“Just being able to talk to them a little bit today and being coached up a little bit by [Bears offensive line coach] Juan Castillo,” Slater said. “Today was my first contact with them, but they were awesome.”
Chicago Bears saw what they wanted to see from Slater
The time off didn’t seem to impact his physical prowess at all. He ran a 1.68 in the 10-yard split, put up 33 reps on the 225-lbs bench press, and delivered a 7.48 in the three-cone. All would’ve been top 5 marks at the scouting combine last year. Mix that in with his excellent tape and it’s not hard to see why he’s expected to be a 1st round pick. Some are even saying he’ll be gone within the top 15.
Does that mean the Chicago Bears brass met with him under the impression they could trade up? That is possible but the far more likely idea is they were doing their homework on him. There is a chance Slater could slip to them at #20 overall. Prospects tumbling down the board happens all the time in the draft. Pace, Nagy, and Castillo want to make sure he can be a good player for them if such an event were to occur.
If he ended up being their guy, Chicago should be happy.
Slater is a stud. He can start at right tackle immediately this season and eventually take over at left tackle whenever the Bears are done with Charles Leno. He would make their offensive line better. Something that should be their ultimate goal if they can’t find that elusive franchise quarterback this offseason. Whether he gets down far enough for it to happen? Time will tell.
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