| 16 March 2010
One thing you can count on down in Baton Rouge is that the LSU Tigers will always have at least a handful of NFL ready prospects each and every year. This year is no different as the Tigers field a dozen prospects who were invited to the NFL combine to workout a couple weeks ago.
The Bears also are interested in a few of the prospects from the Bayou Bengals, notably offensive lineman Ciron Black, and safety LB prospect Harry Coleman. The Bears' interest in Jones is said to be high given that they were one of the teams to closely monitor Coleman at the Senior Bowl. Coleman fits the profile as a typical go between strong and free safety that the Bears prefer for their one gap scheme. They don't typically target the true free safety and that's the profile that he fits the most.
Of the three prospects that most stood out in today's Pro Day workout two may actually strong fit the profile of players the Bears look for in their defense. LB Perry Riley fits the linebacker profile that Lovie Smith likes in his 'backers while CB Chris Hawkins may be a solid late round pick up as a Cover-2 safety prospect. Hawkins reminds me a lot of a Charles Tillman type of CB with his size and the aspects of his game that he most excels at. One does have to honestly wonder if perhaps Hawkins could shift over to free safety in the NFL given the attributes he's best at as a CB.
Harry Coleman ran the 40-yard dash in the very low 4.5 range at his Pro Day an overall improvement from the 40-yard dash time he put up at the NFL combine which was listed at 4.65. Coleman at best projects as a strong safety in the NFL an in the box prospect that the Bears often covet. However like current Bear and former Tiger Craig Steltz another in the box strong safety is likely a position the Bears need to avoid in this draft.
Ciron Black on the other hand may be a prospect that is right up the Bears' alley. A very big and strong 6-4 327-pounds, he is strong and stout at the point of attack and was one of the prospects that most stood out to me going through the drills at the NFL combine. Black has the most consecutive starts of any prospect in this draft in the country in 2009 all at the left tackle spot. While most scouts don't see Black as an NFL level LT prospect he certainly projects well as a RT or guard prospect. That type of versatility and the long time experience of playing LT means that Black could project at all four offensive line positions at the next level.
There is no real legitimate reason to doubt Black's skill, typically when he gets his hands on you the battle is over. He has down solid blocking ability as both a run and pass protector and it showed up during the drills during the Pro Day today. No he doesn't have the elite athleticism of a Bruce Campbell, but he is very technically proficient and versatile which can go a long way towards a long lasting career in the NFL.
From Jones and Black, two players who stand out on the Bears' radar we move to the three major stand outs at the LSU pro day today, DT Al Woods, CB Chris Hawkins and LB Perry Riley. 
The 6-foot-3 307-pound Woods out performed his higher rated counter part in the timing portion of the workouts as well as in positional drills. Woods ran a 4.98 and a 5.06 40-yard dash, and had an explosive broad jump of 9-feet even. A solid jump for such a big prospect.
Woods has been a big disappointment throughout his career given he's a former Parade All-American and was one of the highest rated high school prospects in the country when he signed on at LSU. Woods has a lot of the things you look for, he's strong at the point of attack in run defense, athletic enough to make it in the NFL has LONG 36-inch arms and can collapse the pocket with a solid bull rush. However there is concern he could be a bit of a work out warrior given his lack of overall production on the playing field.
Another strong workout was turned in by LB Perry Riley who is likely a more ideal LB candidate for the Bears instead the aforementioned Coleman. Riley seems to be that ideal Lovie Smith Cover-2 strong side linebacker he's 6-foot-1 239-pounds which is the specific type of player Smith wrongfully likes for his linebackers. At some point Smith should target players with the prototype size for the SAM 'backer position but for now a player like Riley makes sense if the Bears don't feel confident in landing Pisa Tiniosamoa.
Riley is a strong run defender who fights off blocks well, attacks down hill takes good angles and wraps up and drives through the ball carrier. This is by far his strongest asset and where he should excel at the next level. He runs the 40-yard dash in the 4.64 range and is good at reading and reacting and breaking down and tackling in space.
Riley showed up well in the linebacker drills showing fluid athleticism in and out of his breaks and reading and reacting as necessary. He's not an ideal athlete but he's good enough that he could make it in the NFL as a mid to late round draft selection that develops as a special teams player.
Finally the last player who drew attention during the LSU pro day was CB Chris Hawkins who could project as a solid Cover-2 corner in the NFL. Hawkins can come up and help out in run support and is good in press coverage and is strongest in zone. He's unafraid to get physical and has good size for the position at 6-0 187-pounds. Hawkins ran very well in the 40-yard dash during his workout running consecutive 4.42 times in the 40-yard dash. He does a lot of things well but even with that said he only projects as a late round draft prospect.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
