The draft evaluation process is difficult, time-consuming and prone to massive failure when done wrong. Few teams know this better than the Chicago Bears. From 2011 through 2014 they experienced arguably one of the worst runs of player selection in franchise history. Of the 27 players picked between GMs Jerry Angelo and Phil Emery during that span, just 11 remain on the roster. Only four of them are starters.
Such a high miss rate is a perfect explanation for why this team went from 10-6 in 2012 to 3-13 in 2016. Nothing sinks an NFL organization faster than poor drafting. It happened during that stretch, it happens in the 1990s and the 1970s. This is nothing new to the Bears, though this latest run feels more painful. Perhaps because the wounds are still fresh.
Regardless, one thing is for certain. The new regime is doing anything and everything in their power to change that. They took a step in the right direction with their outstanding 2016 class. Guys like Leonard Floyd, Cody Whitehair and Jordan Howard were big finds. Just how di the team do it? They have certain methods. One of which was pretty awesome to hear about.
