Here are some prospects Chicago Bears fans should keep an eye on as the team’s front office and coaching staff identify who can best help improve its front seven:
James Pearce Jr. – Tennessee
According to Pro Football Focus, James Pearce Jr. is one of the top 15 prospects in this draft class, regardless of position.
The Tennessee standout has an explosive first three steps the moment the ball is snapped, and in doing so he creates good speed-to-power push, even though he doesn’t have the biggest frame or bend. He’s also a long-armed edge rusher who can use his length to create separation and get around blocks to rush the passer.
Scouts around the NFL would like him to add mass onto his frame and work on his swipe technique. Pearce Jr.’s tight hips make it easier for him to be blocked past the pocket, and when he does get around blocks, he sometimes struggles to finish quickly in space, leading to him missing a sack here and there.
Mykel Williams – Georgia
A bigger, rawer and more athletic defensive end than the previous name on this list, Mykel Williams has been a physical freak on Georgia’s defensive line since he arrived in Athens as a freshman.
According to nfldraftbuzz.com, Williams has exhibited as much versatility as he has physical dominance in a limited number of snaps playing along a deep Georgia defensive line. Last year, he lined up everywhere from the 4i-technique to a standup wide-9, and showcased rare power at the point of attack. That rare power allowed him to consistently control blocks with violent hands and create separation to effectively pursue ball carriers.
In terms of improvements needed in his game, scouts said he can be a tick late off the line at the snap of the ball, which gives up some of his natural athletic edge. Williams also needs to develop a more diverse pass rush arsenal — scouts said he currently relies too much on power moves and hasn’t shown a consistent ability to win with speed.
Mike Green – Marshall
Defined as a “high-energy pass rusher” by NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein, Green profiles as one of the best EDGE players in this year’s draft class.
Green is coming off a 17-sack, second-team All-America season at Marshall, where he displayed a natural and instinctive rushing ability. That was highlighted by Green utilizing loose hips and a series of moves and counters that open doors equally through force and finesse, according to Zierlein.
Green plays with a high motor fueled by violence and physicality, so much so that it plays into some of his weaknesses. Zierlein said Green — at 6-foot-3, 251 pounds — lacks ideal length and mass as an edge setter, and sometimes he plays so hard that he occasionally runs out of gas.
Shemar Stewart – Texas A&M
According to the 33rd Team’s Kyle Crabbs, Shemar Stewart is an athletic freak who’s shooting up draft boards, and his profile should only continue to skyrocket at the combine this week.
Currently ranked as the 33rd Team’s No. 8 prospect, Stewart fits the mold of a “prototype” NFL defensive end. His tremendous combination of size, length, power, explosiveness and short-area agility makes him a coveted prospect in this year’s draft.
Crabbs said Stewart is an impactful run defender who plays on the plus-side of the line of scrimmage and creates uneven levels on the front. This allows him to peel off blocks and make tackles on opposing ball carriers.
The one area where Crabbs said Stewart needs to show improvement in is his pass-rush plan, but if he can refine his skills in that department and continue to develop, Crabbs said Stewart could be a Pro Bowl-caliber talent by the end of his rookie contract.
Jack Sawyer – Ohio State
According to the Draft Network’s Daniel Harms, Jack Sawyer is a straight-line athlete with a high IQ who does a great job of locating the football, making tackles and translating speed to power.
Harms said at 6-foot-5, 260 pounds, those traits make Sawyer an imposing EDGE defender who has a good blend of size, get-off and power to give opposing offensive lines trouble when he has a full head of steam. Sawyer also does a good job of being patient as play-action unfolds, waiting for the right moment to attack.
Concerns for Sawyer include his ability against double teams and having a limited pass-rush tool bag. If he can deepen his variety of pass-rush moves and develop better counters, he already profiles as a good run defender who could become a versatile defensive end in the NFL, if his game continues to develop.
Donovan Ezeiruaku – Boston College
The reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year, who racked up 16.5 sacks and 20.5 tackles-for-loss in 2024, Donovan Ezeiruaku exhibited an ability to completely wreck games from the defensive end position and resulted in him winning the Ted Hendricks Award as college football’s best defensive end.
According to nfldraftbuzz.com, Ezeiruaku jumps off the tape with his technical refinement and high football IQ. He’s as much technician as he is athlete, combining twitchy athletic traits with a sophisticated pass rush plan to keep offensive tackles off-balance and out of sync.
But Ezeiruaku lacks in mass and frame size. Standing at 6-foot-2 and weighing 248 pounds, his frame limitations show up against bigger, powerful tackles when they can get their hands on him early and drive with their legs. This also translates to a lack in ideal anchor strength to consistently set a firm edge against the run and sometimes getting displaced laterally by double teams.
Landon Jackson – Arkansas
Back in October 2024, PFF’s Trevor Sikkema said he believes Arkansas Razorback Landon Jackson is a Top-50 prospect in this year’s draft, thanks to a relentless, versatile motor and career highs in pass-rush win rate and pressure percentage.
At 6-foot-7, 280 pounds, Jackson passes the eye test right off the bat, but he becomes even more impressive when you review the tape and see that Arkansas deployed him everywhere from the nose to the 3-technique, 5-technique, 9-wide and even outside linebacker.
Sikkema said Jackson’s blend of unique size, high motor and willingness to play physical in all aspects of the game has helped him become the NFL prospect he is today and one of the SEC’s best defensive ends.
What gives talent evaluators minor pause is Jackson’s injury history.
He tore his ACL during his sophomore year of high school, but when doctors examined his knee, they believed Jackson’s growth plates were still open, so they didn’t want to do a full repair, knowing he could outgrow it. Instead, they sewed his ligament back together and told him he would likely have to have a full ACL surgery later if he wanted to continue playing football. Two years later, during his senior year, Jackson broke his ankle.
Jackson, who originally committed to and attended LSU, decided to get his knee fully repaired during his freshman season in Baton Rouge after recovering from his broken ankle. Jackson played in only five games before transferring later that year. Since his sophomore year in Fayetteville, however, Jackson has been injury-free.
Princely Umanmielen – Ole Miss
According to Zierlein, Princely Umanmielen is a finesse EDGE rusher with the traits, athleticism and upside to see his sack production carry over to the professional level. His burst, stride and bend to create shallow edges while rushing the passer are all plus traits in Zierlein’s eyes.
Areas that Umanmielen needs to work on include play strength and aggression as a run defender. Zierlein said he will have trouble setting edges and might not be an early down option early on in his NFL career.
But still, he possesses good size, great length and loads of rush production with the speed and stride to create favorable entry angles immediately after the ball is snapped. Zierlein believes Umanmielen is an ascending stand-up EDGE rusher who could be just scratching the surface of becoming a more well-rounded, dominant defensive end.
Mason Graham – Michigan
By most scouting reports and draft boards, Mason Graham is considered this year’s top talent along the interior of the defensive line.
According to the 33rd Team, Graham is essentially a scheme-transcendent grizzly bear. No matter what system he’s in, he’ll be fully capable of being a game-wrecker in both the run and pass game. Graham is described as a stout, point-of-attack defender who can win with leverage, hands, instincts, first-step quickness or penetration.
When it comes to negatives, some scouts currently see Graham as more of a disruptor than a finisher as a pass rusher. His consistency of pad level can at times betray his point-of-attack anchor. Graham’s length appears to be sufficient — which narrows the margin for error with hand usage to ensure control of blocks.
Kenneth Grant – Michigan
Zierlein describes Kenneth Grant — who played his prep ball at Merrillville High School in Northwest Indiana — as a broad-bodied nose tackle whose tape is a bit of a roller-coaster ride, depending on the game you go back and watch.
Grant is an excellent user of his power and length to beat single blocks and split double teams when he finds the crease. He also had spotty sack production in college, leaving an intriguing possibility that Grant could develop an effective pass-rush bag if dropped into the right system.
Scouts say Grant sometimes struggles to anchor when hit with down blocks due to his narrow base and tall pads. Another perceived weakness is that he often lacks explosiveness for dominant reps on first and second down.
Tyleik Williams – Ohio State
According to nfldraftbuzz.com, Tyleik Williams is a fascinating study in physical transformation. Williams arrived in Columbus at 360 pounds before he reshaped his body into the explosive 327-pound force seen today. His journey from self-admitted “fat” freshman to Walter Camp Second-Team All-American speaks volumes about his dedication to the craft.
The former four-star recruit, who initially had his sights set on Alabama before landing with the Buckeyes, evolved into one of the Big Ten’s most disruptive interior defenders. Beyond the raw numbers, Williams’ versatility to align anywhere from 0-technique to 5-technique made him a chess piece in Ohio State’s defensive scheme, logging over 1,500 snaps across 48 career games that saw him earn a second-team All-American plaudit in 2023.
When it comes to areas still needing improvement, Williams still battles to maintain an ideal pad level on a consistent basis. Essentially, he will pop up out of his stance from time to time and lose his leverage advantage. Williams’ pass rush arsenal is also still a work in progress beyond the bull rush. He needs to develop counters for when his initial physical surge isn’t winning upfront.
TJ Sanders – South Carolina
The Bleacher Report NFL Scouting Department sees TJ Sanders as an impressive run defender with plenty of pop in his hands to win at the point of attack, which helps him gain control of blocks and occasionally stand-up guards and centers. At 6-foot-4, 290 pounds, he also appears to have long arms that help him get extension and escape blocks.
When it comes to negatives in his game, Sanders has sub-par pad level out of his stance, leading to issues against double teams, combos and down blocks. He lacks lateral movement skills or agility, making him susceptible to getting reached, and he also tends to stop his feet on contact, hurting the consistency of his bull rush at times.
Overall, Sanders can be a solid 3-technique in even fronts, or lineup as a 4i-technique in odd fronts. Bleacher report said he would probably be best in more of a rotational role early on as he finds a way to become more impactful across all downs and situations.
Walter Nolen – Ole Miss
According to the Pro Football Network, heading into the 2024 college football season, there were no questions on whether or not Walter Nolen was a gifted athlete. Rather, it was a matter of whether he could maximize those physical attributes and become a game-wrecking presence along the defensive line.
After two seasons at Texas A&M, Nolen reached that peak as an All-American after transferring to Ole Miss. He is a dynamic athlete at defensive tackle who has rare first-step acceleration and athleticism for his size. PFN said he was often miscast as a 5-tech at Texas A&M, but his ability to win on the outside bodes well for Nolen offering alignment versatility up front.
Scouts say Nolen needs to improve on being more precise with the counter moves he uses while rushing the passer, and can be a bit slow to identify what moves to string together when his first move doesn’t work. Nolen also has a tendency to pop upright coming out of his stance, which gives him a higher center that makes it tougher for him to win head-to-head in the trenches with leverage.
PFN said If he can continue to develop his plan as a pass rusher and work on his pad leverage, Nolen possesses a high ceiling at the NFL level, pointing out that gifted young prospects with his level of production in the SEC don’t often fall out of the first round.
Jihaad Campbell – Alabama
Crabbs sees Jihaad Campbell as a linebacker with a unique blend of qualities that should position him favorably as an NFL starter. Campbell is a potent tackler with great length and illustrates an understanding of how to weaponize his wingspan in the box.
He has enough physicality to challenge climbing blocks to the second level or, alternatively, to attack offensive linemen on the edge. Alabama played Campbell as a SAM backer on the edge and as a stack linebacker off the ball where they found a way to get the best of both worlds with his surprising movement skills in space, significant tackle radius, and block deconstruction ability.
One knock, though, is that teams should not mistake him for a full-time pass rusher, according to Crabbs. That’s overselling his ability to overwhelm tackles in basic rush opportunities and underselling the menu of roles he affords a team.
Jalon Walker – Georgia
According to Zierlein, some see Jalon Walker as a “tweener,” while others view him as a “hybrid.” Either way, Walker can play.
When looking at his career snap count, it’s split between edge and linebacker, while his leadership traits have been made famous while at Georgia. Zierlein said Walker is still working to fine-tune his instincts and efficiency as an off-ball linebacker, but has the take-on and closing burst to become a productive pro at that spot.
Knocks on Walker include his below-average size (he’s listed at 6-foot-2, 245 pounds on nfl.com), and that he needs to improve off the ball while still developing his instincts. He also possesses average bend, which limits his sink and flatten potential at the top, and tends to get overwhelmed by size when his rush crowds too close to offensive tackles.
The most valuable usage for Walker is likely to come as an early-down linebacker who can rush off the edge or match up across the line as a blitzer on passing downs.
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