The Chicago Bears had a lot of people nervous as they went through the first six rounds without addressing their offensive line at all. This despite the front struggling quite a bit last season. Well, better late than never. Holding the #226 and #227 picks in the 7th round, GM Ryan Pace decided to spend both in that area. The first went on Arlington Hambright out of Colorado and the other Lachavious Simmons from Tennessee State.
While both obviously fell to the 7th round because they have question marks about their games, they do share something in common. Both bring some serious attitude to the table. Hambright is the more well-known of the two, lauded for his good mixture of power and agility. He has fundamental issues that need cleaning up but some building blocks are there.
"He plays with a good combination of agility and play strength to fit with a zone scheme or pin-and-pull rushing attack as a guard who can get into space and land on the move. His stiff punch can discombobulate lesser college rushers, but an NFL offensive line coach will need to correct the oversetting and lunging in order for Hambright to hold up against pro competition."
As for Simmons, he's a bit of an unknown. However, there is an undercurrent of excitement about him. Despite coming from a smaller school, he has great size and athleticism to go along with surprisingly good footwork. He brings a mauler mentality to the run game too.
Chicago Bears improved their depth if nothing else
Some people will still have questions about the starting positions on the offensive line. However, nobody can say a word about the Bears' depth. Both of these kids have talent and are under a coach in Juan Castillo who understands what's needed to get it out of them. With a little luck, maybe one will become a starter in the future. Either way, both are pretty cool stories.
Hambright actually played for three different schools, transferring from Grand Valley Community College to Oklahoma State, then heading off to Colorado where he found his home. Simmons has the honor of being the first pick from Tennessee State for Chicago since they drafted an unheralded kid names Richard Dent back in 1983.
