While the majority of Bears fans are focused on the number one overall pick, what’s more important is how they use their day two picks. Here are some guys I like for the Bears. Two on offense, and one on defense.
Xavier Hutchinson – WR Iowa State
Height- 6’3, Weight- 205 lbs, Age- 22
- Strengths – Size, Route Running, Blocking, Contested Catches, Versatility, Play to Play Effort
- Weaknesses – Long Speed, Opposing DB Quality, Release Package
What a player. Xavier Hutchinson was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award with Marvin Harrison Jr and Jalin Hyatt. I thought that was high praise, and boy I was wrong. There’s a lot to Xavier Hutchinson’s game that’s easy to like. The first thing that you need to talk about with Hutchinson is his prototypical size. He’s 6’3 205 lbs, almost the perfect size for an NFL X Wide Receiver, the most valuable part of a traditional offense other than a Quarterback and Left Tackle. For a guy as big as he is, he runs really sharp, clean, and crisp routes. He’s fun to watch as a blocker. The offense can be running a run play to the opposite side of the field from where Hutchinson is and he’ll still hold his block on the corners. He cares about the little nuances of playing Wide Receiver. The effort on a play to play basis is something that NFL teams will fall in love with. He also displays tremendous versatility. He split his snaps between the slot and the X receiver position, something that’s an extremely rare trait in a receiver. Hutchinson lacks really high level long speed, but he’s not slow by any stretch of the imagination. He doesn’t have a bad release, but I don’t see a ton of versatility in the way he gets off the line of scrimmage, so a good Corner in the NFL could pick up on that and make him easy to stop. I don’t recall Hutchinson going against a high level Corner in his time in the Big 12.This isn’t a weakness necessarily on Hutchinson’s part but it can definitely be a negative for some teams, and they could see a world where Hutchinson struggles against premier NFL Cornerbacks.
Zay Flowers- WR Boston College
Height – 5’9, Weight- 170 lbs, Age- 22
- Strengths – Speed, Twitchiness, Release Package, Route Running, Balance
- Weaknesses – Drop issues, Contested Catch, Blocking
So many teams need playmakers at Wide Receiver. The emergence of the Shanahan-style offense and Deebo Samuel have made teams start looking for guys who can impact the game in a similar way. Last year, Treylon Burks was a guy who had a high draft stock because he had the size of AJ Brown with the athleticism of Deebo Samuel. Zay Flowers is definitely undersized, but for the role he plays, it doesn’t concern me. He has electric speed and he’s able to get to his top speed very quickly. The biggest thing that you’ll notice however is how easy it is for Flowers to make guys miss in the open field. When watching Flowers, he displays a variety of releases, making it tricky for defenders to stay with him from his very first step. This also allows for Flowers to be a good and free route runner. He has great fluidity in his hips, making his cuts look effortless. The balance shown by Flowers when working against the sideline is some of the best in this draft. One thing that’s apparent is that Flowers has to work on his hands. There are definitely some drop issues. His small frame doesn’t allow him to make tough and contested catches on a regular basis. Another thing that is limited by his size is his tenacity and effectiveness as a run blocker. One of my overall crushes of the draft because of his upside. Hard to make a comparison for him, but he’s got superstar potential.
Siaki Ika – DT Baylor
Height- 6’5, Weight- 358 lbs, Age- 22
- Strengths – Power, Size, Block Shedding, Run Defense
- Weaknesses – Athleticism, Pass Rush Moves, Length, Conditioning
Siaki Ika is a guy who I have a tad bit higher rated than most. The strength displayed by Ika against offensive lineman is top tier. He showcases good power that allows him to penetrate the interior of the offensive line. He doesn’t put up great stats, but in the NFL, I expect his pressures to translate to TFL’s and some sacks. He has ridiculous size even for a nose tackle. This size alone forces offenses to double team him especially on run plays. They do this because he’s so good at shedding one on one blocks that whenever a Runningback is next to him he can just disengage and drop the ball carrier. He’s a run game specialist. Whoever drafts this guy is going to get a huge boost to their run defense right away. As expected, he doesn’t have great athleticism. Not a huge deal for a run defender, but it isn’t a positive, that’s for sure. He doesn’t have many pass rush moves, although he did break out a pretty sweet spin move against West Virginia so that was something. He doesn’t have ideal length. There’s not anyway for him to get better length, so he’ll have to alter some other aspects of his game. There are certainly some questions about if he’ll be able to hold up over the course of an NFL game at his size. If he needs to, he can lose 25 or 30 pounds and still be effective at his position. Good player all around. He won’t go before Bresee because Bresee offers more as a pass rusher, but Ika is a better overall player.
