Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2018 10:41:37 GMT -6
Bears reportedly tried to trade up for Calvin Ridley in Round 1
The Chicago Bears wanted a wideout in the draft and eventually got one in Anthony Miller.
Matt Eurich - 63 minutes ago
247sports.com/nfl/chicago-bears/Bolt/Bears-reportedly-tried-to-trade-up-for-Calvin-Ridley-in-Round-1-117843214?
Near the end of the first round of the NFL Draft, rumors started to swirl suggesting the Chicago Bears were trying to trade back into the first round. At the end of the day, Chicago stood pat, ending the first round with Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith at the No. 8 spot. After that all unfolded, the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport suggested the Bears actually had tried to trade back into the first round to select Alabama wideout Calvin Ridley.
"Nothing is more important than giving Mitchell Trubisky big-time targets," said Rapoport on Friday, via NBC Sports Chicago's Paul Roumeliotis. "The Bears tried for that last night, attempting to trade up for Calvin Ridley, the Alabama receiver. Instead it was the Atlanta Falcons who took him."
Atlanta ended up taking Ridley with the 26th overall pick. Had the Bears tried to trade up it would have likely cost them a lot of draft capital. Ridley was viewed by many as the best receiver in this year's draft. In three years at Alabama he caught 224 passes for 2,781 yards with 19 touchdowns and rushed for one touchdown. Since the Bears were not able to pull the trigger on a deal to move up for Ridley, they found their answer in the second round with another draft-day trade.
Bears general manager Ryan Pace did not deny on Thursday night after the first round that he was trying to move back into the first.
"We were exploring some different options to come back in," he said in his press conference when asked about the rumors of wanting to get back into the first round. "We’re always going to be aggressive if there are players we like."
After taking Iowa center James Daniels with the 39th overall selection, the Bears did not hold any more selections until the fourth round that began on Saturday morning. Not wanting to miss out on a top talent, Pace moved back into the second round, trading a 2019 second-round pick and the 105th overall pick (fourth round) to the New England Patriots for selection No. 51. With that pick the Bears took Memphis wide receiver Anthony Miller.
A walk-on at Memphis, Miller has earned his spot in the NFL. After not seeing the field as a freshman, Miller caught 47 passes for 694 yards with five touchdowns and rushed for two touchdowns that season in a reserve role. He jumped into a starting role in 2016, catching 95 passes for 1,434 yards with 14 receiving touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. In his final season in 2017, Miller caught 96 passes for 1,462 yards with 18 touchdowns.
Miller graduated from Memphis as the team's career leader in receiving yards with 3,590, with the most yards in a single season with 1,462 yards and set school records with single-game records for most receptions, yards and touchdowns. He was also named a to the All-American Athletic Conference All-Conference First Team in 2017.
The Bears may have missed out on a chance to snag Ridley in the first round of this year's draft, but the team still has to feel very good about the potential of Miller in Chicago's new offense in 2018 and beyond.
Author: Matt Eurich @matteurich
