Bear Digest

Bears Get an Eyeful from LSU Receivers and Jayden Daniels

Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus saw WR Malik Nabers do 4.35 seconds in the 40-yard dash and leap 42 inches at LSU's pro day.

Gene Chamberlain

Malik Nabers put on an athletic display catching passes Wednesday at the LSU pro day.
Malik Nabers put on an athletic display catching passes Wednesday at the LSU pro day. / SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY Network / USA
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If the Bears are looking for special athletic ability in a wide receiver, they saw it at Wednesday's LSU pro day.

And the quarterback was pretty decent, too.

Wide receiver Malik Nabers posted extremely strong efforts in the 40-yard dash and the vertical leap and then he and Brian Thomas Jr. chased passes from Jayden Daniels one final time at LSU.

Daniels threw well downfield, missing only a few deep passes early and hit two nice back-to-back throws deep to Nabers and Thomas. His real success came when he weighed in and was 210 pounds.

The 6-foot-3 3/4 quarterback had been listed in several places at 185 and 190 pounds but he appears to have gained some weight and strength. Daniels is generally regarded as the second- or third-best QB in the draft.

The Bears were represented by GM Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus, and they got an eyeful from Nabers as he ran 4.35 seconds in the 40-yard dash and had an astounding vertical leap of 42 inches. Eberflus was one of six head coaches attending and every team was represented. Poles made it back to Chicago in time to go to Wednesday night's Bulls game with Indiana.

The Bears have bigger needs at edge rusher and quarterback than wide receiver but it's possible they're looking for an elite receiver with 32-year-old Keenan Allen becoming a free agent after his first Bears season. `

Although the jump by Nabers was outstanding, it was half an inch off the best at this year's scouting combine. The record for the combine is 46 inches by Gerald Sensabaugh in 2005.

Thomas didn't time as he had taken part at the combine and ran the second-fastest time of 4.33 seconds. However, he was involved in the pass-catching work on the field.

"To be completely honest, I think I would have beat them," Daniels said to NFL Network, laughing afterward.

LSU coach Brian Kelly wasn't suprised by any of the performances.

"Physicality and ability to separate from great players, there has to be something you look for,” Kelly said of Nabers, according to Zack Nagy, writing for FanNation's LSU Country. “When you watch film, you see him separate from great players in the SEC. Today you saw a 42-inch vertical and a 4.3 (40-yard dash). This ability to separate on the field is now backed up by the physical prowess you see with a 42-inch vertical and a 4.3 (40-yard dash).

“It validates what you see on film and that it’s backed up by great physical traits. I think what it does more than anything else is that it shows he can separate with the ball in his hands, he can be explosive after the catch. Now it comes down to who is the kind of guy who you want to get the ball in their hands. I don't think there's a better receiver in the country."

Nabers is ranked as the third-best wide receiver on Mel Kiper's big board and potentially a pick by the Bears at No. 9 if available. Thomas is also regarded on many mock drafts as a first-round pick.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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