Florida's Fowler may be a great fit for Bears

INDIANAPOLIS - Florida's Dante Fowler seems like a perfect fit for a Chicago Bears defense transitioning from a 4-3 to a 3-4 scheme.

Fowler was an impact player in Florida coach Will Muschamp's defense, whether he lined up at end or linebacker, and he's expected to be drafted in the top half of the first round. He had 8 ½ sacks last season and 15 tackles for lost yardage.

"I really can play anywhere," the effervescent Fowler said Friday at the NFL Scouting Combine. "Coach Muschamp's defense was multiple; we played a 3-4 and a 4-3. My freshman year, I played a lot of defensive end.

"My junior year, we played a lot of 3-4, so I was the Buck (linebacker). I stood up and just roamed; I played all over the place."

For a Bears team that will prioritize improving its edge pass rushers, the 6-foot-2½, 261-pound Fowler has the scheme experience to get after the quarterback whether he has his hand in the dirt or is standing up at linebacker.

"I can play linebacker to D-end to edge rusher," he said. "I can do a lot for a team. I create a lot of problems for the offense, really just stressing out (offensive) coordinators."

Fowler has an engaging personality to go with the impressive film and top-notch measurables. He appears supremely confident without any trace of arrogance, as when he was asked what separates him from others at the same position in the draft.

"I can do it all," Fowler said. "I can rush really good, and I can drop back in coverage. I like to go out there and mess with the receivers. I can play in the flats and in the curls."

Asked about his outgoing nature, Fowler said: "I don't like to be rude. You don't want to be all kinds of grumpy and rude. You get wrinkles from all that stuff. I'm not trying to get that."

Most draft analysts have Fowler, Nebraska's Randy Gregory and Missouri's Shane Ray lumped together near the top of the first round, but NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock gives the nod to Fowler.

"They're (all) a little different," Mayock said. "It depends what your flavor is. I think the best fit for a 3-4 is Dante Fowler over those other two guys.

"Now, Gregory and Shane Ray are gifted, long (and) they're going to get bigger and stronger. But the way I look at (prioritizing) the 3-4 outside linebacker in order, No. 1, you have to be a great pass-rusher or have the ability to develop into one. No. 2, you've got to set the physical edge, and No. 3, you've got to be able to drop in coverage, and that's the least important of the three. I think Dante Fowler is the guy that checks off all three of those boxes."

Clemson's 6-foot-3 defensive end Vic Beasley may be a half a notch below those three, but after weighing in at 246 pounds here, he looks as if he also has the versatility to play down in a 4-3 or stand up as a 3-4 outside linebacker. Beasley played at 236 last season, when he had 12 sacks to push his career total to 33.

Even with the extra weight, Beasley would be a linebacker in any 3-4 defense, and that's where he would fit best with the Bears.

"A lot of teams see me as a 3-4 outside 'backer," Beasley said. "I'm willing to play defensive end in a 4-3 at the next level, but the majority of teams want me to play outside linebacker, and I'm fine with that."

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