Bears Draft Target: Dallas Turner |
The next four weeks will be exciting regarding the Chicago Bears and what they do as a franchise. This is a team sitting at 5-8 on the season, but after winning two straight games, they have put themselves in a position to be only one game out of the final playoff spot, so there is a ton to play for the rest of the way.
Not only that, but the final four weeks will be viewed as an audition process, as several guys on this team could be playing for their jobs the rest of the way. That leads us into the upcoming NFL draft, where the Bears will be the center of attention again. The Bears will have the No. 1 overall selection for the second straight season after getting that pick from Carolina as part of the DJ Moore deal. The Bears also have an additional first-round pick, giving them two picks possibly in the top five. Talk about the potential to draft two franchise-altering players; the Bears are in a great position as long as Ryan Poles can hit on the guys he takes. The biggest question surrounding these picks is whether or not the Bears keep that No. 1 pick or trade it away for a slew of additional picks down the road. Given how Justin Fields has looked the past five weeks, the Bears are more committed now to Fields than in the past, leaving the door open for the Bears to trade that pick to someone else. If that happens, the Bears will still pick twice in the first round, but look for one pick closer to the top 10 instead of two in the top five. When you look at the options the Bears will have after the top selection, there will be an abundance of players for the Bears to choose from, and all of them, you can make a case that would fit this team's needs. One of the needs the Bears will be looking to address once again is the pass rush, which has been an area of concern for the better part of two years. Adding Montez Sweat at the deadline this season has drastically improved this team's pass rush and has turned the Bears defense into a top 10 unit along the way. The Bears also have Yannick Ngakoue on the other edge, but he has been very quiet since about week three and will most likely be back on the free-agent market in four weeks. With that expected to happen, the Bears may look at pass rush options at No. 5, where DE Dallas Turner (Alabama) comes into play. It's no secret that the Bears have struggled with drafting players, but one thing they have always done well with is getting pass rushers. That is where Turner comes into the equation, and considering how serious the Bears take their pass-rushing options, he could be worth a look at pick No. 5. Turner is viewed as one of the best, if not the best, pass rushers in this year's class and would be a player who would immediately step in and contribute on the defensive end. At 6-4 251 pounds, Turner would be the perfect size for an LB or even an EDGE rusher, but for a defensive end, he is small and will need to put on some weight. How much weight would be up to the coaches to decide, as well as his overall fit in the NFL? Regardless of what position you tell him to play, the message to him would be to rush the QB, and that shouldn't be an issue. Take this season, for example; Turner has accumulated 50 tackles while also picking up a career-high nine sacks. That comes after two seasons where he had 12.5 combined sacks, so this has been Turner's breakout season. Turner also forced two fumbles this season to go with two career fumble recoveries, as he has done a great job finding the football. This has been the season Turner was waiting for, but it's not like he wasn't a good football player before this. He was lost in the mix of last year's No. 3 pick, Will Anderson Jr, so there is a great chance he went unnoticed until this season. While rushing the QB is a massive strength for Turner, his overall coverage skills are not, and they may be something that he needs to work on, depending on the position he goes to. However, Turner has played under Nick Saban for the past three seasons and has been widely regarded as one of the more intelligent football players in the program. Any additional work added to his plate shouldn't be an issue for him to learn quickly.
