Chicago Bears should avoid Devin Singletary By Parker Hurley - April 12th, 2019
Despite rumors that the Chicago Bears are very interested in Devin Singletary, they should look to pass on him for other options
With the buzz of Miles Sanders dying down due to his second round value, the smoke is starting to pick up around the Chicago Bears and Devin Singletary. The team has met with him multiple times and worked him out privately. Mel Kiper also mocked Singletary to the Bears at pick 87.
If it is later in the draft it could be one thing. However, at pick 87, there are likely going to be better options with less bust potential than Devin Singletary.
Mel Kiper Thinks He Found the Next Chicago Bears Running Back By Erik Lambert - April 12th, 2019
Mel Kiper remains one of the most popular NFL draft experts in the national media landscape today. No surprise. He’s been working his job at ESPN dating back all the way to 1984. The draft is his life. While he may not have a deep background playing the game, nobody can question his work ethic. That why Chicago Bears fans always at least hear what he has to say.
Lately he’s been quite about the Bears though. Not a surprise since the team doesn’t pick until the 3rd round this year. However, Kiper finally reached a point where he became comfortable putting out a deeper mock draft than usual. One that goes three full rounds.
So who did he have Ryan Pace grabbing at #87? Needless to say it was a running back, but unlike his colleague Todd McShay, Kiper went for somebody with a little less size but a lot more wiggle.
5'7" 207 lbs 4.66 40 yard dash 7.32 3 cone drill Overview Undersized, three-down back with rare improvisational skill and toughness through contact to squeeze every yard he can from each carry. Singletary was asked to catch it less in 2018, but he's a tough cover out of the backfield and has the dog in him to step up and deliver a lick in blitz pickup. He ran poorly and did not test well in short-area quickness events at the combine, which could hurt his draft standing, but might not deter him from NFL success as a complementary runner.
Strengths High-end production seems to follow him Touchdown monster with vision and power near goal line Quick to process and respond to oncoming traffic First responder rarely gets him down Twitchy footwork for instant stop-starts Limber for long, lateral jump-cuts Instant acceleration after short-area cuts to avoid tacklers Shrinks to sneak in and out of creases between the tackles Access to steep, backside cuts Eludes lurking angle tackles with plus peripheral vision Good feel for bold cuts versus subtle ones in open field Willful, determined demeanor of a much bigger back Rare ability to absorb powerful shots and balance through contact Runs frequently end with him still on his feet Creates through power and shake to maximize each carry Route separation to threaten out of backfield Courageous pass protection with a highlight reel full of greatest hits
Weaknesses Volume runner in a change-of-pace body Has close to 600 contact-filled touches over last two seasons Lacks top-end speed to run away from opponents in space Play speed tends to be monotone throughout the rep Rarely keeps runs play-side and looks for early cuts Excessive cuts will be met with earlier tackles from swarming, NFL defenders Will need to learn to run a more disciplined track Tendency is to bounce it to his left Power diminishes when facing squared contact Suffered from focus drops this season
Light-footed, hard-nosed runner with impressive burst, lateral agility, and vision. Plus balance when absorbing contact or when he has to make a variety of cuts to get through a running lane. At times he's electric in space and will hit home runs down the field though his timed speed left much to be desired. -- CT
walterfootball.com/draft2019RB.php (ranked asa their 7th best rb) Devin Singletary*, RB, Florida Atlantic Height: 5-7. Weight: 203. Arm: 28.88. Hand: 8.50. 40 Time: 4.66. 10-Yd: 1.53. Three Cone: 7.32. Bench: 15. Vertical: 35. Broad: 9-9. Projected Round (2019): 3-4. 4/6/19: Singletary ran slower than expected at the combine, and his time was very poor for an undersized back. Singletary averaged 5.2 yards per carry in 2018 for 1,348 yards with 22 touchdowns. He notched six receptions for 36 yards.
8/28/18: Team sources told me that Singletary graded out as having first- through fourth-round potential per the advance scouts. According to NFL teams' preseason data provided by team sources, Singletary checks in at 5-foot-7, 199 pounds. He also has 29.83-inch arms, 8.75-inch hands, and a wingspan of 69.38 inches. He is said to run the 40 in 4.58 seconds.
The short, thick back has good speed with impressive feet, balance and vision. In 2017, Singletary averaged 6.5 yards per carry for 1,796 yards and 29 touchdowns. He also had 18 receptions for 185 yards and one score. In 2016, Singletary averaged 6.7 yards per carry for 1,021 yards with 12 scores to go with 26 receptions for 163 yards in his freshman season.
I'm not 100% convinced that their first pick is a RB, I could be completely wrong but nothing about RBbC and getting sup 20 carries a game speaks to a 3rd rd pick.
I could also see them going for a bigger back to help bring some size back into the fold, although it sounds like he can fill that role just fine obviously he's quicker then he is fast though, 4.58(if that is more accurate then the combine) is still not exactly blazing for a smaller back. Jordan Howard ran a 4.59, and his 3 cone was faster aslo, 7.14.
It will really depend on what the tape says, and how interested they are in a smaller back or larger back. Right now Cordelle Patterson is the on "rb" over 6'0". This kid seems to be more Mike Davis, but Davis seems to be faster.
Post by dachuckster on Apr 13, 2019 7:35:00 GMT -6
One of the analysts at BearGogglesOn has a fairly critical view of Singletary.
A couple of items from the linked article follow, which is pretty detailed and IMO well worth the time to go there and read. The BearGogglesOn article relies heavily on the performance chart on this link.
Take a look at his mockdraftable web. Any number at 50 or higher is just league average to participants at the combine. The only area he shows above average is his vertical jump, which shows in his jump cuts. He is below his peers is key categories, though.
Th author is being charitable IMO when he says "He is below his peers is key categories". The numbers in the chart are percentile scores of Singletary vs all NFL RB participants at the combine (excluding FBs). The numbers that stick out to me are his 40 time wich is in the 19th %tile, his 20 yd shuttle which is in the 20th %tile and the 3 cone drill which is in the 8th %tile. Just for comparison, looks at the chart for Ryan Nall on the same site (link). The only stats that Singletary is better at than Nall is the vertical jump, in all others Nall basically toasts Singletary.
Not saying that measurables are everything but they have their place.
The other item from the article is not a direct quote. Near the end the author goes into Singletary's issues in the passing game. He was only targeted 7% of the time at FAU (in a very run heavy offense) and had a 40% drop rate.
Doesn't sound like much of a prospect to me. Slow and issues catching the ball, I don't think Nagy really wants this guy.
His troubles catching the football, coupled with being slow for an undersized RB will hopefully rule him out with the Bears. He just doesn't seem like a good fit for a Nagy offense.
I'm not 100% convinced that their first pick is a RB, I could be completely wrong but nothing about RBbC and getting sup 20 carries a game speaks to a 3rd rd pick.
I could also see them going for a bigger back to help bring some size back into the fold, although it sounds like he can fill that role just fine obviously he's quicker then he is fast though, 4.58(if that is more accurate then the combine) is still not exactly blazing for a smaller back. Jordan Howard ran a 4.59, and his 3 cone was faster aslo, 7.14.
It will really depend on what the tape says, and how interested they are in a smaller back or larger back. Right now Cordelle Patterson is the on "rb" over 6'0". This kid seems to be more Mike Davis, but Davis seems to be faster.
I'm in agreement with that. If there's a CB, OLB, or even a TE there at #87 that Pace really likes, I hope he waits until the 4th to draft a RB. From what I've read, seems like when you get past Sanders (who probably will be out of reach for the Bears) there isn't a huge talent differential between RBs in the next tier.
Here were my thoughts on Singletary in my HB rankings:
#4 Devin Singletary
First things first; Singletary is one tough cookie. The big back from FAU is a cannonball that is very difficult to tackle. It will almost always require 2-3 yards just to bring the guy down, and he won't go down without a fight. However, unlike many other HBs I watched, Singletary was consistently getting taken down at the line of scrimmage, as either their O-line was bad or teams sold out to stop the run. When he did get room, Singletary liked to cut plays to the outside and was able to slip around LBs consistently. Scouts are worried about Devin's speed, as he clocked in at a slow 4.66 at the combine. On tape, Singletary doesn't have the speed to break away on long runs like other HBs, but he still has the agility and acceleration to make up for it.
Summary Singletary looks very similar to David Montgomery, but with a little less speed and less receiving skills. I can understand why some teams see him as a fullback, but he's so incredibly hard to bring down, he's worth using as a 1st/2nd down back with short-yardage usage. I see him as a 3rd round pick with potential to be available in the 4th round.
I'm not sure Singletary makes a ton of sense, as noted by a poster above, he's not a good receiver. He is a great pass blocker, though, so he can be put out there on running downs. I don't think the Bears will go after him.
Here were my thoughts on Singletary in my HB rankings:
#4 Devin Singletary
First things first; Singletary is one tough cookie. The big back from FAU is a cannonball that is very difficult to tackle. It will almost always require 2-3 yards just to bring the guy down, and he won't go down without a fight. However, unlike many other HBs I watched, Singletary was consistently getting taken down at the line of scrimmage, as either their O-line was bad or teams sold out to stop the run. When he did get room, Singletary liked to cut plays to the outside and was able to slip around LBs consistently. Scouts are worried about Devin's speed, as he clocked in at a slow 4.66 at the combine. On tape, Singletary doesn't have the speed to break away on long runs like other HBs, but he still has the agility and acceleration to make up for it.
Summary Singletary looks very similar to David Montgomery, but with a little less speed and less receiving skills. I can understand why some teams see him as a fullback, but he's so incredibly hard to bring down, he's worth using as a 1st/2nd down back with short-yardage usage. I see him as a 3rd round pick with potential to be available in the 4th round.
I'm not sure Singletary makes a ton of sense, as noted by a poster above, he's not a good receiver. He is a great pass blocker, though, so he can be put out there on running downs. I don't think the Bears will go after him.
+1
All I've seen out of Nagy since he came here (admittedly a small sample size) is he loves speed and being able to do two or three different roles in the offense.