A draft that was short (non-existent) on high picks but certainly produced some oomph if you ask me.
The Bears weren't slated to pick until pick 87 in Friday nights third round but I guess Ryan Pace's patience was running low and he wound up trading up 14 spots to draft the 73rd pick and he turned that into former Iowa State RB David Montgomery. Here's a rundown of each of the Bears five draft picks:
1) David Montgomery- Running Back
This was an awesome pick for Pace and the Bears. Montgomery brings three down potential to an already packed RB room. Montgomery isn't much of a speedster (certainly isn't slow though) but he thrives off patience and shaking defenders. He made the first defender miss 41% of the time last fall in college. He is a reliable pass catcher out of the backfield, had 58 receptions combined in his last two college seasons. His on the field abilities remind a lot of people of Kareem Hunt coming out of college who, ironically enough, Matt Nagy helped to lead the league in rushing yards as a rookie both as members of the Kansas City Chiefs. Monty should be a welcome sight and has a real chance to turn into a star at the running back position.
2) Riley Ridley- Wide Receiver
Ridley is the younger brother of Atlanta Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley, holy genes. I would be willing to bet that the Bears draft room was shocked to see Ridley on the board for their fourth round pick. Ridley was largely viewed as a 2nd-3rd round pick coming into the draft, so getting him where we got him was tremendous value. Ridley comes in as more of a possession receiver than a true vertical threat. He is a solid route runner with sure hands and a guy who isn't scared to compete for 50/50 balls. Ridley's addition makes the Bears WR room very deep and loaded with talent and versatility that all compliment each others games.
3) Duke Shelley- Corner
Pace talked in his post-draft presser about how they are really intrigued to try Shelley out in the Nickel/slot corner position and see what he can do. Shelley is a smaller guy, listed at 5'9" 173 lbs. But despite his small stature Shelley is a tough S.O.B at the line of scrimmage and is willing to get into his oppositions face in coverage and come up and make tackles. Take it for what its worth given the Big 12's lack of defense but....Shelley was rated Pro Football Focus's (football analytics website) top man in coverage in the entire Big 12 Conference, could mean something and it could not. We'll see.
4) Kerrith Whyte- Running Back
This pick seems to be just another fun toy for Matt Nagy to try and play with. Whyte backed up Devin Singletary at Florida Atlantic but still found his way to 866 yards on the ground last year and caught 10 balls for 160 yards. But I think where he could find his value is as Tarik Cohen's backup and returning punts and kicks. He is a small guy but was clocked at a sub 4.4 at the FAU pro day. Matt Nagy just keeps adding toys to his toy box.
5) Stephen Denmark-Cornerback
This is the perfect prospect to take a chance on. Denmark comes in at 6'3" 220 lbs and runs a 4.4.6 40 yard dash. Those are scary, scary measurable's for a corner. Denmark came into college as a receiver and switched to corner so he is still rather raw at the position. Just the chance to work with a guy with this much potential is worth it so here is to hoping coach Pagano and his staff can turn this guy into something. Size and speed like this doesn't come around very often.
This was a solid draft for the Bears. Found some needs, drafted value, and took some chances on prospects with huge upside. Not picking until the third round makes it tough to really call this an elite draft at the moment but at this point there is no reason to doubt Ryan Pace's drafting abilities. Ryan Pace had been in charge of three drafts prior to this one and in every single day three of those drafts he has picked a player who has at least one pro bowl under their belt in Jordan Howard, Adrian Amos, Tarik Cohen, and Eddie Jackson. Pace has shown he has a knack for finding talent late in the draft so there is plenty of reason to believe a few of these day three guys end up being productive players.
130 days until kickoff....
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