| 08 April 2010
The Chicago Bears have been scouting numerous cornerback prospects leading up to the 2010 draft and with the NFL moving towards the more open passing offenses, there is always a need for CB depth. Currently the Bears have two consitent and reliable options at the CB position, Charles Tillman and Zach Bowman who also happen to be the two starters. Beyond that there is a ton of unknowns with possibly the only other reliable option being free agent signee Tim Jennings.
Additionally the Bears have made it no secret that they like bigger and more physical corners, or at least CBs with height. Enter Kentucky prospect Trevard Lindley who the Bears have had their eye on since the Senior Bowl. Lindley has strengths to his game that fits into the needs of the Cover-2 defense, but there is also some weaknesses that don't fit as well as you'd like. Nonetheless his overall CB skills are amongst the best in the draft class meaning his value could be in the area the Bears are likely to target a player of his abilties.
That's neither here nor there, and the important aspect is how does he measure up. Newly minted writer Jonathan Dove takes a look at the positives and negatives of Lindley's game in his very own scouting report. Check out whether Lindley could be a player the Bears select in the next couple weeks, and where his true value may be.
Trevard Lindley- CB- Kentucky
5-foot-11 185-pounds
Pros:
Lindley is a prospect that the Chicago Bears have their eye on as he interviewed by the coaching staff during the Senior Bowl. Lindley has a lot of experience playing the cornerback position; he had 39 career starts at Kentucky. Lindley was a consistent performer against tough SEC competition like Florida and Georgia. For his performance Lindley earned several honors such as second team All-American and first team All-SEC.
Lindley possesses good height and average speed for the cornerback position.
He possesses the quickness to stay tight on receivers during routes. He has very quick hips which allow him to stay with the receivers while they are running their routes. These skills make him ideal to play man to man defense. Lindley also possesses the ability to read the quarterback’s eyes which allows him to jump the routes run by the wide receivers. He is an ideal fit for a defense that utilizes man to man but he does have the instincts to play zone. During his career at Kentucky he had 9 interceptions and 34 pass deflections. Lindley is extremely good at using his hands to break up pass attempts.
He's a good overall prospect for the CB position with solid height combined with one of the best vertical jumps recorded at the combine. He's quick in transition and doesn't miss a step. Has performed at a high level in the best conference in college football so he should be ready to compete in the NFL over a lot of smaller conference prospects.
Ideally he's a man coverage type of corner that could fit well with the Bears given they don't have a true man to man coverage corner on the team. Bowman and Tillman both lack true man to man skills and this is where Lindley's value lies. Also that he's tall enough with a frame to add on good weight means he could develop into a better Cover-2 corner as he progresses.
Cons:
While Lindley has ideal height he needs to add bulk to succeed in the NFL. His slight frame leads to several issues in press man coverage and bump and in run support which are important aspects in playing in the one gap scheme. Lindley doesn’t have the strength to jam receivers at the line, limiting his ability to play bump and run coverage.
Recently, he has struggled with shoulder and ankle injuries; the ankle injury lead Lindley to miss 4 games this past season. Lindley struggles in jump ball situations because bigger bodied receivers dominate the in air positioning. Another concern is the frequent drops Lindley had during interception chances. While Lindley is instinctive and breaks up a lot of passes he struggles to haul in a lot of interceptions, due to his poor hands. While Lindley has decent speed it’s not great. His 4.51 40 time is average compared to the other cornerback prospects. For example Devin McCourty a first round projected corner out of Rutgers ran a 4.38 40 time. These issues have lead to his drop in draft stock. Last year he was a project 2nd round pick and this year he should come off the board in the third or fourth round.
Fit with the Bears:
In my opinion Lindley doesn’t fit the mold of a Bears cornerback. Lindley lack of size doesn’t match up with starters Tillman (6-1 198) and Bowman (6-1 193). Lindley’s weakness comes when he is asked to be physical with receivers. In the Cover 2 scheme the corners are expected to funnel the receivers inside to their safety help and support in the run. If Lindley doesn’t bulk up he will struggle keeping the receivers from getting to the outside. While Lindlely may not be the ideal selection for the Bears in the third round if he's around later in the draft he may be a better value.
The Bears selected DJ Moore last season in the fourth round, recently signed Tim Jennings, and also have Corey Graham on the roster (I don’t buy a permanent move to safety for Graham). Lovie Smith also demands that his defensive backs be able to create turnovers by intercepting the ball. Lindley’s poor hands won’t win him any points with Lovie. Lindley would be battling Moore, Jennings, and Graham for a roster spot and would put the heat on Moore to step up his game given his physical stature and Moore's lack thereof. At this point in the draft he would provide some much needed depth to the position and depending on where he's selected, could be a higher value than what is anticipated.
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