Small School Pass Rusher Getting "A Lot" of Attention from Bears

The Chicago Bears Rickey Neal connection is something that first popped up a few months ago after the East-West Shrine game. Most chalked it up to GM Ryan Pace and his workaholic staff doing their usual in-depth study on potential prospects they might considered later in the draft or in undrafted free agency.

While that likelihood remains unchanged, it's becoming clearer that the interest from the Bears might be more significant than first thought. Tony Pauline of Draft Analyst indicated as much on his Under-The-Radar series for top college defenders people aren't talking about. The Bears were listed as one of the teams most interested in the Northern Iowa defensive end.

"He’s a terrific pass rusher who accumulated 29.5 tackles for loss as well as 17.5 sacks the past two seasons. An explosive athlete who shows terrific speed off the edge as well as in pursuit, Neal turned in a solid pro day by timing 4.75 seconds in the 40 and 7.29 seconds in the three-cone.

Primarily lining up at defensive end in college, his 6-foot-1, 235-pound frame will likely stand over tackle at the next level. Neal is getting a lot of interest from the Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders."

Chicago Bears Rickey Neal interest would help depth on the edge

As of now the Bears likely feel comfortable with their situation at outside linebacker. Khalil Mack and Leonard Floyd remain in place as starters. Aaron Lynch has returned on a one-year deal to be the #3 guy. It's possible they may try to avoid grabbing another option in the draft, at least for this year so they can focus at other more pressing positions.

That doesn't mean they should not add a body or two to the competition. Even if it's an undrafted free agent. Neal has prowess as a pass rusher. His numbers prove that much. The big concern with him is obviously his size. Being a good pass rusher in the NFL isn't easy when you're short and have to go against tackles that are routinely 6'5 to 6'7 and over 300 lbs.

This is not to say it's impossible. Lorenzo Alexander? Elvis Dumervil? Dwight Freeney? James Harrison? All of those great players faced the same scrutiny as Neal and had success. It will be up to him to prove that his production was real and not just the product of playing weak competition.