Ideal team-prospect fits for the 2021 NFL Draft

NFL Team: Chicago Bears – Richie Grant, S, UCF

Richie Grant

While they somehow sneaked into the NFL playoffs, thanks to the seven-seed being added for the 2020 season, the Bears defense was the only reason this team was even in games for about two-thirds of the season, as long as Akiem Hicks was healthy.

Yet, they fell off dramatically at the end of the year. With Eddie Goldman coming back this season and Roquan Smith turning himself into a superstar at the linebacker position, that front-7 could be special.

I like most of their pieces in the secondary, with rookie CB Jaylon Johnson immediately excelling in that system. The one spot they should still be looking to upgrade – and what I thought they should have done last year when now-Super Bowl champion Antoine Winfield Jr. was on the board for them mid-way through the second round – is find another safety to complement Eddie Jackson’s skill-set.

He wasn’t his usual self in 2020 either. He went without a single interception and had way too many missed tackles (13). However, a lot of that had to do with Chuck Pagano’s scheme where they played a ton of simple, deep coverage in a bend-but-don’t-break mold to complement their lackluster offense.

That left the middle of the field wide open and didn’t allow Eddie to have that ball-production we usually see from him while putting him in way too many one-on-one tackling situations.

Tashaun Gipson had a decent year, but I think Richie Grant would be an excellent tandem partner to pair up with their former All-Pro.

Grant could be used closer to the line of scrimmage. He shoots up the alley with conviction against the run and can take on some single-high duty as well, thanks to his instincts.

So adding him, would make those Chicago safeties pretty interchangeable and give them two guys with a quick trigger. I could see there being some momentum for Grant, similar to what happened a couple of years ago with Darnell Savage coming out of Maryland.

But if they trade up into the high 40s, that could do the trick, and if we don’t see a safety taken in the first round, that could push him back as well.