Matt Nagy comes directly from the Andy Reid coaching tree. There is not another head coach in the NFL he’s ever worked for. Nagy came up in 2008 as a coaching intern for the Philadelphia Eagles. He later followed Reid to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2013. That style of coaching and management is all he knows. So it stands to reason Nagy will take much of what he learned and apply it to how he runs the Chicago Bears.
This includes a strategy on how to attack the NFL draft. Now it was made clear before the head coaching search even started. GM Ryan Pace holds the final decision over the 53-man roster. That hasn’t changed. That said he’s also made it clear that it will be a collaborative effort between himself and Nagy to find the best possible players for this team.
Pace may pick the actual players, but Nagy will have say in the types of players he wants. He also likely will place a priority on which position groups he wants given the most attention. Every coach can be different in this regard. Some may prefer going after the skill positions early. Others might like to keep it simple with the big uglies on the lines.
To figure out where Nagy might lean, one must look to the man who mentored him in Reid.
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Bears 2018 draft strategy may actually benefit from Reid influence
Reid became a head coach in 1999 with the Eagles. He was fired in 2013 and quickly scooped up by Kansas City. In that time his teams have made a total of 16 picks in the first round of the draft. I looked back through the history and pinpointed which positions were targeted. Then I compiled how many times each one saw early action. The results that came back were fairly conclusive.
- Quarterback – 2
- Cornerback – 2
- Edge Rusher – 3
- Offensive Line – 3
- Defensive Line – 4
- Wide Receiver – 2
Of those 16 picks made, 10 of them ended up being for players who primarily focused at the line of scrimmage. Either linemen or pass rushers. Also none of the cornerbacks or wide receivers taken were top 10 picks. In other words given how high the Bears are drafting it’s a safe bet they’ll be going after an edge rusher or a lineman.
Not like this is a poor strategy either. To date four of the 10 players Reid drafted with this strategy ended up a Pro Bowler or an All-Pro. Another three became long-term (3+ seasons starting) contributors in their various roles. That’s a solid hit rate.
Early draft breakdowns hint that the 2018 class will have some intriguing talent in the trenches and at edge rusher. With both cornerback and wide receiver looking weak, this leans heavily towards the idea that Pace, Nagy and the brass will follow the Reid blueprint in hopes of getting an instant impact player to help the team win.
