Fans aren’t really giving much attention to the Chicago Bears Senior Bowl buzz. Why should they right? It’s not free agency. It’s not the draft. There isn’t much incentive to watch the practices and games. Except that couldn’t be further from the truth, and the team brass know this. Word has already come down that both GM Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy will be present in Birmingham for every moment of the festivities.
They understand that this week of football action is in fact more valuable than any other during the lead up to the NFL draft in April. That includes the scouting combine and the pro days. This is because it gives them a chance to see many top prospects (and some hidden gems) handle NFL-level coaching, practices and game situations.
Small school prospect to watch at the Senior Bowl — Dubuque CB Michael Joseph (DIII). Ball skills. And he hits. pic.twitter.com/7QFVxA8m60
— Matt Bowen (@MattBowen41) January 22, 2018
One can’t say the Bears haven’t used it to their advantage recently. Starting center Cody Whitehair was their most valuable find to date. Linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski has also proven a quality scoop as well. What many fans may not be grasping though is that some of the most important players in franchise history have come up via the Senior Bowl.
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Chicago Bears Senior Bowl alum is a who’s who of former greats
Truth be told this event hasn’t really become a thing among fans until the past few years as the pre-draft process became more and more magnified. However its important, especially to Chicago became huge as far back as the 1970s. It was at the 1975 Senior Bowl where the Bears brass got a close look at a young running back out of tiny Jackson State named Walter Payton.
A few years later new head coach Mike Ditka and GM Jim Finks were hoping to get a quarterback. Down in Birmingham they had a chance to see a skinny kid from BYU name Jim McMahon in action. In 2000 the Bears weren’t sure where they’d go with their #9 overall pick. That is until a mammoth safety from New Mexico named Brian Urlacher started going through drills and game action.
Three years later the same thing happened again, this time with a brass kid out of Arizona who called himself Lance Briggs. Last but not least? A smooth, versatile running back from Tulane took home MVP honors in 2008. That was really the first people had truly heard of Matt Forte.
Suffice to say the Senior Bowl has been good to the Bears in years past. It’s been at its best when they have good eyes in the front office as they seem to do now with Pace. Could the next superstar be laying in wait for them at this year’s festivities? Maybe you should tune in to find out. That way when the draft rolls around you might have an idea of just what this team is getting.
