Bear Digest

Bears Looking at All Possibilities with Latest Top 30 Visit

Lineman JC Latham from Alabama is the latest Top 30 visit for the Bears, who need to be ready in case they were to trade back.

Gene Chamberlain

Alabama lineman JC Latham is on the Bears Top 30 list according to an ESPN report, as they look at all possibilities.
Alabama lineman JC Latham is on the Bears Top 30 list according to an ESPN report, as they look at all possibilities. / Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK
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Consider it being ready for anything.

The Bears will have Alabama offensive lineman JC Latham at Halas Hall for a Top 30 visit, according to a report by ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Latham is 6-foot-5 3/4, 329 pounds and although he played tackle he could also project as a guard depending on the team.
His 33 3/4-inch arms are bottom 33% for offensive tackles measured at combines according to Mockdraftable. However, he has tremendous wingspan at 85 1/8 inches, top 9% for tackles.

The Bears probably are not looking for tackle or guard early, but if they were to trade back and a very high quality offensive lineman was available it's possible they would take him. The point is to get better and if they see Latham as better than Braxton Jones then maybe they'd switch up the tackles.

More likely, it's a matter of being ready for that possible trade back. If all of the three top receivers are gone and other players are unavailable they like, trading back and picking

Latham has come up the board. He was 11th on Mel Kiper's latest updated top 25, trailing only Notre Dame tackle Joe Alt and Washington guard/tackle Troy Fautanu among offensive linemen.

Kiper's big board has Alabama edge Dallas Turner ranked ninth and it would be filling a real need for the Bears to take him at No. 9 overall. Their biggest lineup hole is edge rusher and it's the position coach Matt Eberflus brought up immediately at the combine when asked where they needed to add talent.

The Bears visited Monday with Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harris Jr., Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy and edge UCLA rusher Laiatu Latu at Halas Hall. They are also visiting with center Jackson Powers-Johnson from Oregon.

Bears Reported Top 30 Visits

T JC Latham, Alabama

RB Dylan Laube, New Hampshire

RB WR Rom Odunze, Washington

CB Elijah Jones, Boston College

CB Cam Hart, Notre Dame

C Zach Frazier, West Virginia

C Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon

DE Dallas Turner, Alabama

CB Nehemiah Pritchett, Auburn

QB Caleb Williams

TE Brock Bowers, Georgia

WR Jha'Quan Jackson, Tulane

TE Ben Sinnott, Kansas State

TE McCallan Castles, Tennessee

T Tyler Guyton, Oklahoma

DT Graham Barton, Duke

RB Andru Phillips, Kentucky

S Kamren Kitchens, Miami

WR Malik Nabers, LSU

WR Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State

DE Laiatu Latu, UCLA

WR Xavier Worthy, Texas



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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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