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Chicago Bears sign third-round DE Jonathan Bullard

The Bears completed the process of signing their nine 2016 draft picks Monday when third-round defensive end Jonathan Bullard signed a four-year contract.

Bullard was the 72nd overall selection after starting 36 games at Florida, where he had 178 tackles, 12 sacks, 33½ tackles-for-loss and 5 pass breakups. He was an All-America pick and all-SEC honors last season when he totaled 66 tackles, 17½ tackles for loss and 6 ½ sacks. His tackles for loss last year were the most by a Gator since former Bear Alex Brown had 18 in 1999.

Eddie Goldman, the Bears' 2015 second-round pick, is the starting nose tackle in the base 3-4 defense, and unrestricted free-agent addition Akiem Hicks will anchor one end. Bullard is expected to compete with returning players Ego Ferguson, Mitch Unrein, Will Sutton and Cornelius Washington for playing time at the other end.

The 6-foot-3, 285-pound Bullard played end and tackle in the Gators' 4-3 defense and could move inside to tackle in passing situations to give the Bears an extra pass-rush presence.

Bullard is a better run defender than pass rusher at this stage of his career. But general manager Ryan Pace expressed his optimism regarding Bullard's pass-rush skills, specifically his quick first step.

"When you watch the tape on him, there's one thing that you can't coach with these guys is get-off," Pace said. "His get-off is excellent. I think there's a lot of advantages just from that alone.

"We see him more as a 3-4 defensive end for us. He played defensive end (at Florida) and bulked up a little bit more this past season, added to play more of a 3-technique (tackle) position."

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