The Chicago Bears are in the midst of trying to reestablish their pipelines to college football ever since they seemed to run dry about eight years ago. Most of the prospects they've drafted in that span haven't worked out well. Still, there is a tried and true method they could seek to employ that has worked for them plenty in the past.
Why not target players who were highly productive in college? Sure, it doesn't always translate to the NFL but there are plenty of examples where talented athletes who excelled at the collegiate level carried it right over to the pros. In fact the 2017 College Football Hall of Fame class is the perfect example of this.
This is important to note because Bears fans will recognize one of the faces in this group almost immediately. (continue to next page from top)
Joining a star-studded cast that included Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk, future first ballot Hall of Famer Peyton Manning and two-time national champion Matt Leinart is none other than former superstar middle linebacker Brian Urlacher.
https://twitter.com/sportscenter/status/818468750311755777
https://twitter.com/AdamHoge/status/818472433367838721
Urlacher was a shooting star in college football. Few notable prospects had ever come out of the University of New Mexico by the late 1990s. Then word began to filter out about this young man playing on their defense. A physical freak of nature who played safety and linebacker and could do things athletically men 6'4" and 250 lbs shouldn't be able to.
Not only did Urlacher finish his collegiate career with 447 tackles, 11 sacks, 11 forced fumbles and three interceptions. He also spent time on offense on special teams where he collected six touchdown passes and returned five kicks for scores. His versatility was evident every time he stepped on the field.
Even so his small school background caused some teams to hesitate during the 2000 draft, worrying he'd gobbled up weak competition. The Chicago Bears had no such misgivings. They made him the #9 overall pick in the draft. What they got in return was an eight-time Pro Bowler and 2005 NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
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Just proof that players who are clearly gifted and insanely productive stand a good chance of having a pretty good professional career.
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