The Chicago Bears Undrafted Rookie Who Screams Hidden Gem

Most undrafted free agents who sign with a team never work out. They went undrafted for a reason, after all. Still, there are occasional times when an organization finds somebody who morphs into a legitimate player. Roy Robertson-Harris, Sam Mustipher, and Jack Sanborn are some of the more recent names that have accomplished this. GM Ryan Poles was active immediately following the 2024 draft, scooping up nine names as of the time of writing this. There are some interesting names, including Illinois defensive tackle Keith Joseph. While he is the favorite of many to compete for a main roster spot, that might not be the case.

The name people should be watching is Jamree Kromah. He was a complete unknown going into the 2023 season, having spent most of his college career in anonymity at Rutgers. That changed when he transferred to James Madison, exploding for ten sacks and 19.5 tackles for a loss. It wasn't against second-tier competition too. Their schedule featured legitimate programs like Virginia, Troy, Utah State, and Coastal Carolina. Kromah dominated anyway. For somebody so inexperienced, his impact was hard to ignore.

His size, 35-inch arms, explosiveness, and strength finally seemed to coalesce into something serious. The trick is figuring out his best position in the pros.

The Chicago Bears likely have a position switch in mind.

Kromah played defensive end in college but doesn't seem to have the necessary bend for that spot. On the other hand, his length and lower body power could make for a strong interior pass rusher. The trick is he will have to add weight. He's only 271 lbs at the most. A defensive tackle in Matt Eberflus' scheme should generally be at least 290. That is why Kromah feels like somebody who could spend a year on the practice squad reworking his body. That is what Robertson-Harris did a few years ago, and it worked out.

Then again, Eberflus has never had a problem working with players who have tweener frames. He loves guys who can play inside and outside. They can be so valuable on stunts. Gervon Dexter is a perfect example. Kromah isn't as big, but he is similar in length and has enough power to offer interesting matchup variety. Much of this depends on how he performs in training camp and the preseason. Yet the numbers don't lie. The Chicago Bears have a serious prospect here. If he were coming from a bigger school, he almost certainly would've been drafted.