Bear Digest

Possible Physical Safety for Bears Draft

The lack of a younger starting safety alongside Eddie Jackson has been an issue for three years but the Bears took a look Wednesday at Penn State's Jaquan Brisker, one of the top five safeties in the draft.

Gene Chamberlain

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Eddie Jackson hasn't been the same player since sidekick Adrian Amos was allowed to leave in free agency for Green Bay in 2019.

The Bears' decision meant the loss of a more physical safety, at least perceived as less adept in coverage than Jackson. And the Bears never replaced Amos with a more physical safety, instead using a rent-a-veteran approach with Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Tashaun Gipson. Both were better at coverage than being physical.

The Bears are not looking for a box-type strong safety as much as a cover-2 safety who can be physical and come down near the line when required.

It explains why they had highly ranked Penn State safety Jaquan Brisker at Halas Hall for a visit Wednesday, according to his Instagram account.

A player on the opposite end of the passing spectrum and the draft also visited the Bears Wednesday, according to his Instagram account. They had SMU wide receiver Danny Gray in, a player with blazing speed but not regarded as a Day 2 draft pick the way Brisker is.

Brisker is 6-foot-1, 199 pounds and ran a 4.49-second 40-yard dash while doing a 34 1/2-inch vertical leap. Brisker has displayed versatility, moving into the box but also playing out of it and even covering in the slot.

"He is a tackler you can rely on in the back end," NFL Draft Bible concludes in a scouting report. "He does not possess NFL abilities as a pass defender yet and will have to develop those."

The Bears have been linked with cornerbacks, wide receivers and offensive linemen so far in the run up to the draft but there have been few mentions of a safety until now. They are not exactly set at safety, either.

With Jackson back, they currently have only two other safeties on the roster. And neither Dane Cruikshank nor DeAndre Houston-Carson have been starters, so it would apear they will be thinking safety at some point.

As for their interest in Gray, if they do not come up with a receiver early then he could be an option later. Or he simply could be a second receiver from the same draft but in a later round.

Gray is viewed by ESPN's Jordan Reid in a seven-round mock draft as a sixth-round pick. NFL Draft Bible cals him the ninth best inside receiver in the draft, although it's not at all apparent his abilities are suited for playing the slot.

The Bears have the 186th pick in Round 6 but no picks in the seventh round. They have two fifth-round picks, Nos. 148 and 150.

In Gray's case, the talent is very apparent on the stop watch and in his stats. Gray ran 4.33-second for the combine's 40-yard dash, the fourth-fastest time recorded among receivers at this year's combine.

Gray is a former Texas state sprint champion, and at 6-foot, 186 pounds, he showed NFLDB he "...has an elite second gear to pose a threat downfield."

Gray played junior college ball at Blin College before going to SMU and dominated with 54 catches for 877 yards and eight touchdowns, then for the Mustangs he caught 82 passes for 1,251 yards and 13 touchdowns with a 15.3-yard average in two seasons.

The Bears also had a visit Wednesday from a player likely to go undrafted now, especially following an unfortunate injury. Northern Illinois University fullback Clint Ratkovich came to Halas Hall but had already torn an ACL during a workout for the Packers last week.

Ratkovich is 6-foot-1, 228 pounds and had a nice short burst when healthy. The reason he is regarded as a fullback is he excels as a blocker.

The Bears and Packers both expressed interest in him and attended an NIU pro day when Ratkovich was clocked at 4.64 in the 40, but then he suffered the ACL tear and is ulikely to be available until 2023.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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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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