The Chicago Bears haven't exactly been subtle in their pre-draft preparation. Pretty much everybody recognizes the team is looking for more help at cornerback. They already signed Tre Roberson and Artie Burns as free agents. Odds are they will look to add another body in the draft to fuel the looming competition for the CB2 spot vacated by Prince Amukamara.
The obvious question is who that will be. According to Tony Pauline of the Pro Football Network, one name they've kept apprised of in recent weeks is L'Jarius Sneed of Louisiana Tech.
"Many are well-acquainted with junior cornerback Amik Robertson, who’s presently graded as a third-round pick by teams, but keep an eye on teammate L’Jarius Sneed.
Sneed, who looked fantastic at corner in 2018 before he moved inside to safety as a senior, is graded as a potential early-mid fourth-round pick by teams and has had more than a dozen teleconference interviews in the lead-up to the draft, even though he participated in the combine.
Sneed has been interviewed by coaches from the New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers, with the latter interviewing him twice. The Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons are also interested in Sneed."
Sneed would bring speed to the Chicago Bears defense
It's fair to wonder what might've happened had Sneed stayed at cornerback in 2019. He had three interceptions, 1.5 sacks and eight pass deflections in 2018. Then his coaches decided to move him to safety. While he still had a good year, it's fair to say he wasn't quite as flashy from that position. He might be getting more attention right now if he'd stayed at corner. Especially after running a 4.37 at the scouting combine in February.
The kid is a ballhawk. In the past two years, he delivered three interceptions returned for touchdowns. He had four in high school too. So it's a natural gift. Most of the criticisms around him are fundamentally-based. He must work to clean up his hand-fighting technique and tackling mechanics. All things the Bears coaching staff can fix with a little time. The talent this young man has is off the charts.
