Post by GrizzlyBear on Mar 27, 2018 10:09:30 GMT -6
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bearsbarroom.com/possibility-minkah-fitzpatrick-bears/
Covering The Possibility of Minkah Fitzpatrick To the Bears
By Alec Lifschultz - March 22, 2018
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bearsbarroom.com/possibility-minkah-fitzpatrick-bears/
Covering The Possibility of Minkah Fitzpatrick To the Bears
By Alec Lifschultz - March 22, 2018
Hello Bears fans,
Before Ryan Pace’s free agency moves last week I’ve been aboard the drafting of offensive guard Quenton Nelson out of Notre Dame
Ryan Pace moved fast to add talented players for Matt Nagy’s system and Mitch Trubisky’s progression. Wide receivers Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel, and pass catching U-Back Trey Burton should put an end to the “draft a wide receiver at eight overall” talk. The New York Jets recently traded up for the Indianapolis Colts’ third overall pick to apparently secure their quarterback of the future.
With each quarterback chosen in the first seven picks the bigger the opportunity the Bears will have to pick one of the draft top players. And, right now it looks like the board will look this way:
Cleveland Browns (quarterback)
New York Giants (quarterback)
New York Jets (quarterback)
Cleveland Browns (?)
Buffalo Bills (quarterback)
Indianapolis Colts (?)
Tampa Bay Bucs (?)
There are four picks that I would be completely okay with the Bears taking at 8th overall if they stay put.
Bradley Chubb, North Carolina St.
Saquon Barkley, Penn St.
Quenton Nelson, Notre Dame
Minkah Fitzpatrick, Alabama
I’ve been reading mock drafts that have Fitzpatrick coming to Chicago and being a new toy for Fangio to play with. I would not be upset with this pick as I see that it boost the Bears already solid secondary and move the defense closer to the best in the league.
Minkah Fitzpatrick has shown the ability to play any position in the secondary and that kind of versatility can’t go overlooked. In 2016, he started as cornberback but stepped in for current Chicago Bears safety Eddie Jackson when he went down to injury. He led the team with six interceptions and returned two pick sixes to set the school record with four.
Essentially Minkah Fitzpatrick is a longer version of Tyrann “Honey Badger” Mathieu, meaning he can play cornerback or safety at the highest levels.
In college, Fitzpatrick allowed zero touchdowns when covering from the slot position. He would immediately upgrades the slot corner position substantially for the Bears. In this pass happy league you need a good starting slot corner. Especially since more and more teams are placing their top receiver in the slot more and more times.
Take a look at Pro Football Focus’ coverage grades for Fitzpatrick:
I like Bryce Callahan a lot. Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2015 Callahan has progressed into a solid slot corner. He’s currently a restricted free agent. I think the Bears should re-sign him. But, if you have an opportunity to upgrade the slot corner position you do it. Play between the numbers on the NFL football field is where offensive coordinators are attacking most. Teams are playing more and more nickel defenses. It’s a no-brainer.
Another thing Fitzpatrick offers is a security plan in case one of the Bears’ starting safeties Adrian Amos or Eddie Jackson get injured. If Callahan can come into slot, and Fitzpatrick can be moved to a safety spot for us the drop-off will be negligible.
If Minkah Fitzpatrick, defensive back out of Alabama, is the Chicago Bears 8th overall pick we are getting a versatile chess piece with experience at every position. He plays with a swagger and confidence that you want from your secondary players. DBs must know and feel like they can lock down anyone standing on the other side of the line of scrimmage. That’s what happened with Kyle Fuller over last summer he studied and became a very confident player going into 2017.
At 6 feet one inch, Minkah fits the mold that Vic Fangio wants in his secondary. He’s also a very aggressive tackler which is something you want if you decide to blitz him off the edge.
Here’s another important reason Fitzpatrick elevate the Bears defense… he can blitz. If Chicago has an issue finding edge rusher in this draft then Fangio will need to be creative to manufacture pressure on the quarterback.
Here Ray Lewis break down Fitzpatrick’s pass rush smarts.
Pro Football Focus tallied 48 pass rushing snaps for Fitzpatrick in 2017. Of those he had an impressive 13 total pressures on the quarterback.
Fitzpatrick looks fast on tape and gets to his top speed quickly. He ran a 4.46 40 time and at his size that’s not bad at all. Good feet with the ability to transition backward and forward smoothly around the field. One of the only things I don’t like about Fitzpatrick’s game is that he plays with some hip tightness that limits his lateral agility in coverage. When pressing receivers he can sometimes miss on his jam. And, playing the full time outside cornerback position in the NFL might not be his forte. But, I’m confident that on the next level Fitzpatrick has tons of upside and with good coaching will realize that upside quickly. I imagine seeing Fangio deploy a dime package defense with Fitzpatrick in the fold and the Bears looking quick, dynamic and creative.
Yes the idea of him being drafted by the Chicago Bears has grown on me immensely these last couple of weeks and fellow Chicago Bears fans shouldn’t be too upset with the idea as well.
Before Ryan Pace’s free agency moves last week I’ve been aboard the drafting of offensive guard Quenton Nelson out of Notre Dame
Ryan Pace moved fast to add talented players for Matt Nagy’s system and Mitch Trubisky’s progression. Wide receivers Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel, and pass catching U-Back Trey Burton should put an end to the “draft a wide receiver at eight overall” talk. The New York Jets recently traded up for the Indianapolis Colts’ third overall pick to apparently secure their quarterback of the future.
With each quarterback chosen in the first seven picks the bigger the opportunity the Bears will have to pick one of the draft top players. And, right now it looks like the board will look this way:
Cleveland Browns (quarterback)
New York Giants (quarterback)
New York Jets (quarterback)
Cleveland Browns (?)
Buffalo Bills (quarterback)
Indianapolis Colts (?)
Tampa Bay Bucs (?)
There are four picks that I would be completely okay with the Bears taking at 8th overall if they stay put.
Bradley Chubb, North Carolina St.
Saquon Barkley, Penn St.
Quenton Nelson, Notre Dame
Minkah Fitzpatrick, Alabama
I’ve been reading mock drafts that have Fitzpatrick coming to Chicago and being a new toy for Fangio to play with. I would not be upset with this pick as I see that it boost the Bears already solid secondary and move the defense closer to the best in the league.
Minkah Fitzpatrick has shown the ability to play any position in the secondary and that kind of versatility can’t go overlooked. In 2016, he started as cornberback but stepped in for current Chicago Bears safety Eddie Jackson when he went down to injury. He led the team with six interceptions and returned two pick sixes to set the school record with four.
Essentially Minkah Fitzpatrick is a longer version of Tyrann “Honey Badger” Mathieu, meaning he can play cornerback or safety at the highest levels.
In college, Fitzpatrick allowed zero touchdowns when covering from the slot position. He would immediately upgrades the slot corner position substantially for the Bears. In this pass happy league you need a good starting slot corner. Especially since more and more teams are placing their top receiver in the slot more and more times.
Take a look at Pro Football Focus’ coverage grades for Fitzpatrick:
I like Bryce Callahan a lot. Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2015 Callahan has progressed into a solid slot corner. He’s currently a restricted free agent. I think the Bears should re-sign him. But, if you have an opportunity to upgrade the slot corner position you do it. Play between the numbers on the NFL football field is where offensive coordinators are attacking most. Teams are playing more and more nickel defenses. It’s a no-brainer.
Another thing Fitzpatrick offers is a security plan in case one of the Bears’ starting safeties Adrian Amos or Eddie Jackson get injured. If Callahan can come into slot, and Fitzpatrick can be moved to a safety spot for us the drop-off will be negligible.
If Minkah Fitzpatrick, defensive back out of Alabama, is the Chicago Bears 8th overall pick we are getting a versatile chess piece with experience at every position. He plays with a swagger and confidence that you want from your secondary players. DBs must know and feel like they can lock down anyone standing on the other side of the line of scrimmage. That’s what happened with Kyle Fuller over last summer he studied and became a very confident player going into 2017.
At 6 feet one inch, Minkah fits the mold that Vic Fangio wants in his secondary. He’s also a very aggressive tackler which is something you want if you decide to blitz him off the edge.
Here’s another important reason Fitzpatrick elevate the Bears defense… he can blitz. If Chicago has an issue finding edge rusher in this draft then Fangio will need to be creative to manufacture pressure on the quarterback.
Here Ray Lewis break down Fitzpatrick’s pass rush smarts.
Pro Football Focus tallied 48 pass rushing snaps for Fitzpatrick in 2017. Of those he had an impressive 13 total pressures on the quarterback.
Fitzpatrick looks fast on tape and gets to his top speed quickly. He ran a 4.46 40 time and at his size that’s not bad at all. Good feet with the ability to transition backward and forward smoothly around the field. One of the only things I don’t like about Fitzpatrick’s game is that he plays with some hip tightness that limits his lateral agility in coverage. When pressing receivers he can sometimes miss on his jam. And, playing the full time outside cornerback position in the NFL might not be his forte. But, I’m confident that on the next level Fitzpatrick has tons of upside and with good coaching will realize that upside quickly. I imagine seeing Fangio deploy a dime package defense with Fitzpatrick in the fold and the Bears looking quick, dynamic and creative.
Yes the idea of him being drafted by the Chicago Bears has grown on me immensely these last couple of weeks and fellow Chicago Bears fans shouldn’t be too upset with the idea as well.
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