Bears’ former scouting director breaks down top NFL Draft prospects

On this episode of Football Night in Chicago, Bears’ former director of scouting Josh Lucas joins David Haugh to demystify NFL Combine interviews, evaluate the depth of this year’s draft class and give his takes on some top prospects including Jared Verse, Dallas Turner, Rome Odunze and more.

#ChicagoBears #calebwilliams #NFLDraft

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Bears’ former scouting director breaks down top NFL Draft prospects
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THEN, THEY HAD ME ON THE DARTS. I WAS LIKE, IS THIS REAL? >> FUN AND GAMES WITH THE BEARS IN INDIANAPOLIS, WITH FORMER DIRECTOR OF SCOUTING, JOSH LUCAS IS IN STUDIO WITH US. BUT FIRST, WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THESE MEETINGS IN INDIANAPOLIS, JOSH.

THANKS FOR JOINING US, @#AND WH IT MEANS TO THE PROSPECT, WHAT IT MEANS TO THE TEAMS. TAKE US IN THAT ROOM. HOW IMPORTANT ARE THESE 15 MINUTE SPEED DATING SESSIONS? >> IT’S JUST A TINY SEGMENT OF YOUR INTERACTION WITH THE

PLAYER FOR THE WHOLE PROCESS IN THE SPRING. AS YOU HEARD, SOME TEAMS MAKE IT FUN. @# WE ALWAYS TRIED TO MAKE SURE WE COULD DO THE BEST WE COULD IN GATHERING FOOTBALL INTELLIGENCE. WE WOULD SPEAK TO THEM FOR ABOUT FIVE MINUTES ABOUT THEIR

BACKGROUND, ANYTHING YOU NEEDED TO GET ANSWERED, AND THEN OUR POSITION COACH WOULD GIVE THE EXACT SAME TEST @#TO EACH PLAYE AT THAT POSITION, SO IT WAS APPLES TO APPLES. IT GIVES YOU A FEEL FOR THEIR ABILITY TO LEARN, AND SEE HOW

WELL THEY KNOW AND CAN EXPLAIN OFFENSE. >> THE BEARS WILL GET A FEEL FOR CALEB WILLIAMS FOR THE FIRST TIME. THEY WILL @#MEET WITH CALEB WILLIAMS IN INDIANAPOLIS, IN THE HOTEL SUITE. HOW IMPORTANT IS THAT MEETING? AND WHAT YOU WANT TO KNOW MOST

IF YOU ARE RYAN POLES? >> I THINK, AGAIN, IT’S GOING TO BE 15 MINUTES, COMPARED TO HOURS AND HOURS THEY ARE GOING TO SPEND WITH CALEB WILLIAMS IN THE NEXT TWO OR THREE MONTHS. @# HIS DEMEANOR, HOW RELAXED HE IS

, HE IS GOING TO BE ASKED SOME TOUGH QUESTIONS. A LOT OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA STUFF. I WOULD JUST WANT TO SEE HOW HE INTERACTS WITH THE ROOM. >> IS HE WEARING NAIL POLISH? >> WHO CARES? >> THAT’S ONE @#OF HIS THINGS, THOUGH.

THAT’S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT FANS HAVE MENTIONED, HIS DEMEANOR. HE IS SENSITIVE. IS HE EMOTIONAL? THESE TYPES OF PERSONALITY TRAITS? >> AGAIN, YOU ARE ONLY GOING TO HAVE A FEW MINUTES. THEY WILL GET THEM ON HIS TAPE

AND HAVE HIM GO THROUGH SOME STUFF, WHAT HE WAS DOING AT USC, TO @#SEE HOW HE THINKS, AND HOW HE CAN TALK FOOTBALL. BUT AGAIN, THIS IS JUST A SMALL, SMALL SAMPLE SIZE. NOT MUCH IS DETERMINED IN THESE 15 MINUTE INTERVIEWS.

>> THE BEARS ALSO DRAFTING NINTH. OH, BY THE WAY, DRAFTING NINTH IS A BIG DEAL. YOU HAVE BEEN IN THAT SPOT IN YEARS PAST, BECAUSE THAT IS STILL A DAY ONE STARTER. @# THAT IS STILL AN IMPACT PLAYER. WHAT IS AT THE BEARS ARE

LOOKING FOR? HOW BIG OF A ROLE — HOW IMPORTANT IS THAT DRAFT PICK THIS YEAR TO THE BEARS? >> HERE IS WHAT I CAN TELL YOU. IT IS ADVANTAGE, CHICAGO BEARS. THIS IS A GOOD DRAFT@#, ESPECIALLY, WHEN YOU’RE TALKING THE TOP 10, 15 PLAYERS.

I HAVE BEEN PART OF DRAFTS IN 2016, WHERE WE WERE SWEATING AT PICK NINE. LEONARD FOLEY. THERE WAS ONE OTHER GUY, MAYBE, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO @#PICK AT NINE IF HE WAS NOT THERE. I HAVE BEEN IN DRAFTS IN 2018,

BUT VERY SIMILAR TO THIS YEAR. WE KNEW WITH CONVICTION WE WERE GETTING A PLAYER THAT WE LOVED. WE TOOK ONE AT EIGHT, AND I CAN TELL YOU, THERE WERE THREE OR FOUR PLAYERS @#STILL LEFT THAT HAD CONVICTION ON. THIS YEAR REMINDS ME OF THAT.

THE BEARS HAVE SEVERAL MEANS, WE KNOW. PASS RUSHER, WIDE RECEIVER, IF YOU WANT TO TAKE AN OFFENSIVE TACKLE, THEY ARE GOING TO GET A GOOD PLAYER. >> LET’S LOOK AT SOME OF THOSE PROSPECTS. @# IF THE BEARS GOT A ROW QUAN

SMITH CALIBER PLAYER AT THAT SPOT, THEY WOULD BE LAUGHING. THEY WOULD LOVE THAT. >> THE PLAY DEMEANOR. THIS DUDE IS IN ASS KICKER. IT’S NONSTOP. HE IS POWERFUL. @# HE IS LONG. HE WAS — HE WOULD LOOK GREAT IN A BEARS UNIFORM.

THE CITY WILL LOVE THIS GUY. HE IS NOT A TOP ATHLETE. DALLAS TURNER HAS A LITTLE MORE UPSIDE, BUT THIS GUY IS A DOUBLE ALL DAY LONG. HE IS @#NOT GOING TO MISS. IT’S A SAFE PICK AT A POSITION YOU NEED.

>> LET’S TALK ABOUT DALLAS TURNER, THE EDGE RUSHER FROM ALABAMA. THAT SEEMS A LITTLE BIT HIGH FOR HIM TO WOULD HE BE A GUY, THAT IF THE BEARS TRADED DOWN, THAT THEY MIGHT TARGET? >> YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO TAKE HIM AT NINE.

THIS IS THE MOST COMMON CONVERSATION @#WE HAVE IN DRAFT ROOMS EVERY YEAR, WHERE YOU ARE COMPARING TWO PLAYERS AT THE SAME POSITION. YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GETTING. THIS GUY HAS MORE TALENT. >> FLOOR VERSUS CEILING. >> HIS WOW IS WOW, BUT YOU

DON’T SEE IT CONSISTENTLY. WHAT I @#ALSO LOVE ABOUT TURNER HE CAN PROBABLY PLAY MULTIPLE POSITIONS. HE CAN GIVE YOU MORE COVERAGE OR VERSATILITY. HE REMINDS ME A LITTLE BIT OF LEONARD FLOYD IN THAT WAY, BUT HE IS A BIGGER, MORE EXPLOSIVE,

MORE POWERFUL PLAYER. >> DO YOU CONSIDER LEONARD FLOYD A SUCCESSFUL DRAFT PICK? HE DID HAVE @#SOME GOOD YEARS WITH THE BEARS, BUT HE HAD BETTER YEARS AFTER HE LEFT? HE IS STILL IN THE LEAGUE, BUT CAN HE FULFILL THAT POTENTIAL AND REACH OUT CEILING?

>> I THOUGHT IN MY SEVEN YEARS IN CHICAGO, HE WAS THE MOST UNDERAPPRECIATED PLAYER IN MY SEVEN YEARS. VIC LOVED HIM. HE FIT THE DEFENSE SO WELL BECAUSE OF HIS VERSATILITY.@# WE KNEW HE WAS NEVER GOING TO BE A 15 SACKETT GUY.

HE CAN DO SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS. HE CAN RUN VERTICAL AT THE TIGHT END. YOU CAN TRUST THEM IN THE FLAT AGAINST THE BACK. HE WAS SO UNDERAPPRECIATED, ESPECIALLY WITH KHALIL ON THE OTHER SIDE. >> @#BACK TO THIS YEARS DRAFT

CLASS, BYRON MURPHY, A GUY FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, DEFENSIVE LINEMAN, HOW DOES HE FIT INTO THAT CONVERSATION ABOUT FLOORS AND CEILINGS? >> WELL, BYRON MURPHY, WOW. THIS GUY IS A FOOTBALL PLAYER. HE MIGHT NOT GO IN THE TOP 10 FOR ONE REASON ONLY.

HE DOES NOT HAVE IDEAL @#HEIGHT AND LENGTH, AND IT DOES SHOW UP ON THE TAPES, BUT WHEN YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT POWER, LEVERAGE, INSTINCTS AND AWARENESS, PRODUCTION, AND SCHEME, CAN PLAY IN AN ODD FRONT, EVEN FRONT. FOR THE BEARS, @#HE CAN PLAY TH

THREE, HE CAN PLAY THE NOSE, AND HE CAN RUSH THE PASSER. >> A LOT OF GOOD WIDE RECEIVERS PRELIMINARY ABOUT ONE OF THEM. OBVIOUSLY, WITH THE BEARS, THEY NEEDED A COMPLEMENT TO D.J. MOORE. >> ANOTHER JUST OVERWHELMINGLY TALENTED GROUP OF RECEIVERS.

I, PERSONALLY, THINK THAT@# HARRISON AND THE LSU GUY ARE ONE AND TWO, AND THEN THERE IS A GAP. THE USC GAME, AT THE MICHIGAN GAME, THERE WERE CONCERNS WHEN HE WAS MATCHED UP AGAINST LEGIT NFL CORNERS.@# WE CAN DO — HE REMINDS ME, HE

DOES NOT HAVE GREAT SPEED. HE HAS SIZE, RARE BALL SKILLS, HE REMINDS ME OF DEVANTE ADAMS. >> 30 SECONDS LEFT, MITCHELL, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT HIM? WHERE DOES HE GO IN THIS DRAFT? NINE WOULD BE HIGH. @# >> I DON’T THINK THAT HE WILL

CLIMB TO THE TOP 10. I’M TELLING YOU RIGHT NOW, IN THREE OR FOUR YEARS, HE WILL BE ONE OF THE TOP TWO OR THREE RECEIVERS THAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT IN THE NFL. THIS GUYS TALENT IS OFF THE CHARTS. I THINK THERE IS SOME

QUESTIONABLE CHARACTER ISSUES@# THEY NEED TO FIGURE OUT. IF YOU GET COMFORTABLE WITH THIS KID AND WANT HIM IN YOUR BUILDING, THIS GUY IS A TOP 10 TALENT. I’M TELLING YOU RIGHT NOW, HE IS SPECIAL, AND HE HAS A HUGE UPSIDE.

>> JOSH LUCAS, THANK YOU FOR