With so many pro days across the country, the Chicago Bears brass can’t be everywhere at once. So they have to trust their scouts and even their assistant coaches to attend certain events to gather necessary data for the upcoming draft. Whenever the latter becomes public knowledge, it offers a clue about who they might be looking at. Wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert was spotted at the Cincinnati pro day this past week, indicating that the Bears were watching Bearcats receiver, Alec Pierce. Now it seems defensive line coach Travis Smith popped up at the Penn State pro day. That offers an obvious hint he’s there to monitor Arnold Ebiketie.
Born in Cameroon, he took up football when he attended high school in Maryland. This led the young defensive end to earn a scholarship from Temple University. He showed steady progress over the next three years but failed to have a breakout season. So in 2021, he transferred to Penn State. Their coaching staff seemed to figure out how to use him correctly because he exploded for 9.5 sacks and 18 tackles for a loss.
It is easy to see why NFL teams are intrigued by him.
Ebiketie has said he models his game after future Hall of Famer Von Miller. It is easy to see that from watching him play. His burst off the snap is impressive, and he shows the ability to bend the edge without losing steam. The motor never stops for him and goes 100 mph on every snap. The hand-fighting technique is also solid. Combine all that with 34-inch arms, and he has the necessary dimensions to thrive in the pros. Kyle Crabbs of The Draft Network compared him to Philadelphia Eagles sack specialist Josh Sweat.
#PennState EDGE Arnold Ebiketie is long and twitched up. He’s making his push for the 1st round. pic.twitter.com/Amn9p9t6As
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) February 2, 2022
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Just finished PSU EDGE Arnold Ebiketie's film – can't wait to see what he does in Mobile
Stand up rusher that can win with speed to the outside+turn the corner, straight power or even counter inside
He's got a reel of demolishing QBs ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/bzNGVPvHjC
— Connor Rogers (@ConnorJRogers) January 9, 2022
Arnold Ebiketie of Penn State swipes the blocker’s low-setting hands & keeps getting vertical. If you beat the hands, you beat the man!@A7chronic is one of 324 prospects invited to the 2022 NFL Combine! #passrush #nfldraft #weare
Video Credit: Real Bucs Talk/YT pic.twitter.com/tLwBNLx9fF
— DLineVids (@dlinevids1) February 19, 2022
The leading problem evaluators seem to have with Ebiketie is his size. At 6’2, 250, he is on the smaller side for traditional edge defenders. This has made him a liability at times in the run game. Opponents can often overwhelm him by throwing much bigger offensive linemen in his direction. While his frame has room to add more mass, nobody can be sure if he’s able to fix that part of his game.
Bears aren’t likely to worry about that with Arnold Ebiketie
Though they will run a traditional 4-3 defense under Matt Eberflus, he’s proven in the past he can make great use out of players like Ebiketie. Go back and look at the 2019 and 2020 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts when he employed Justin Houston at defensive end. The longtime edge rusher also had questions about his size coming out of college. That is why he played in a 3-4 for Kansas City. However, he still managed to collect 19 sacks in two years for Eberflus, all while the team fielded a run defense that ranked 7th and 2nd those two years.
Houston accomplished this by adding weight.
Typically around 250-255 lbs, he got up to 270 lbs around that time period. This is likely what will happen with Arnold Ebitketie. If the Bears were to draft him, they’d use him as a designated pass rusher early in his career. At the same time, their training staff will work to help build his body up with more good weight. He would have enough mass by year two or three to make him a better all-around defender.
Projections have Ebiketie going somewhere in the 2nd round. With Khalil Mack already gone and Robert Quinn pushing into his mid-30s, it isn’t a surprise the Bears are hunting younger options.
