Next to a passer, the most important position in pro football is the pass rusher. If you can’t throw the ball well, you have to make sure the opponent can’t either. This has been a persistent issue for the Chicago Bears defense. Injuries have played havoc with the position. Leonard Floyd is recovered from a season-ending knee issue. Pernell McPhee and Willie Young were cut. Right now the edge position is looking shaky and thin.
Common sense says it was going to be in play at #8 if the right player was available. That didn’t happen. Then the second round went by. No such luck. At last, going into Day 3 of the action, it seems GM Ryan Pace and the Bears brass found their guy.
With the #181 pick in the 2018 #NFLDraft, we select… Kylie Fitts, LB, Utah.
Welcome to Chicago, @K_Fitts11! 🐻⬇️ #BearsDraft pic.twitter.com/oeZeP9hhaZ
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) April 28, 2018
Kylie Fitts gets Cappa on a spin move. Whew pic.twitter.com/5Lxw2UCREI
— Billy Marshall (@BillyM_91) January 24, 2018
Subscribe to the BFR podcast and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
Wow, what a play by LDE #11 Kylie Fitts. Stacks up everyone and ruins this play plus makes the tackle pic.twitter.com/cXNrMixPaB
— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) January 7, 2018
Kylie Fitts certainly has the athletic capacity to play outside linebacker for the Bears. He flashed it several times at Utah. At the scouting combine, he ran a respectable 4.69 in the 40-yard dash at 263 lbs. His three-cone drill was also 6.88 seconds. For those who don’t know, top NFL pass rushers typically need to go sub-7.0 seconds.
So why did he end up falling? Fitts had some health problems. He was great in 2015 as a sophomore, racking up seven sacks in his first year as a starter. Then the next two seasons he missed several games. In 2017 he made it through eight with just 3.5 sacks. The tape shows a player that is strong, quick and dynamic when his body is right. Getting him in the sixth round is potentially good value.
He certainly eases the glaring depth problem the Bears have at edge rusher. It will be interesting to see if he’s the only one before the end of the day. The Bears have one pick left and the main rush of undrafted free agency still to come.
