Bears use fourth-round picks to add defensive playmakers

Armed with a trio of fourth-round picks in a draft he and his staff considered deep in talent, Bears general manager Ryan Pace went back to work Saturday on the job of rebuilding a defense in need of play-makers.

"Now we've got a lot of swings at those players," Pace had said Friday night. "I know our scouts and coaches are fired up to have that ammunition."

Pace used all three fourth-round picks on defense, adding West Virginia linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski, Miami safety Deon Bush and Northern Iowa's Deiondre' Hall, who has starting experience at safety and cornerback.

The Bears traded up four spots, to 113th overall, to get Kwiatkoski, sending their 117th overall pick and their 206th pick in the sixth round to the Los Angeles Rams in return.

The 6-foot-2, 243-pound Kwiatkoski has enough size and agility to play multiple linebacker positions and is expected to be an immediate special teams contributor. He started at least nine games at each of the three LB positions in West Virginia's 4-3 defense. He's considered better vs. the run than in coverage, although he picked off 3 passes last year and 6 in his career.

The selection drew enthusiastic approval from the Bears' 2015 first-round pick Kevin White, a former Mountaineer who was his teammate for two years and lived two doors down from him in Morgantown. Kwiatkoski lived last season with White's younger brother Ka'Raun who, like his brother, is also a wide receiver.

The lunch-bucket linebacker was a three-year starter and the Mountaineers' leading tackler all three seasons with a total of 275 hits. He came to West Virginia as a 205-pound safety but after his redshirt season that changed.

"We got a new defensive coordinator," Kwiatkoski said. "As soon as he came in, he pulled me into his office and said, 'You're moving to linebacker.' I was open to the idea. I didn't really know much at the time but after that first year at linebacker, it was a smooth transition."

Kwiatkoski is a productive, reliable tackler and a high-effort player with a good motor, smarts, instincts and speed. He plays with a sense of urgency and gets high marks for his blue-collar mentality, competitiveness and character.

"I'm a hard-nosed linebacker," Kwiatkoski said. "I like to hit and be physical, but also be versatile."

Eleven picks later in the fourth round (124th overall), the Bears got Bush, another player well known for big hits.

Draft analyst Nolan Nawrocki wrote of Bush: "Seeks out high-speed collisions and uses his body like a weapon. Runs the alley and smacks ballcarriers - unafraid to stick his facemask in someone's chest."

The 6-foot, 199-pound Bush plays faster than his 4.59 40-time and hits harder than his narrow frame would suggest. He forced 5 fumbles in 2014.

"I take big pride in being a big hitter," he said. "That's how I grew up playing the game. I've been trying to be the best hitter on my team since (early on). That's how I like to play the game of football. I like to play tough.

"I like to put fear in my opponent. That's a big thing in my game."

Three picks later (127th overall), the Bears got more help for the secondary with the lanky, versatile Hall, who's 6-foot-2 and 199 pounds with 34 3/8th-inch arms, similar to the biggest offensive linemen.

Hall, who compares his style of play to former Bears cornerback Charles Tillman, was the Missouri Valley Conference defensive player of the year in 2015 despite playing with his broken right hand in a cast for seven weeks. He still managed 6 interceptions to give him a career total of 13, including a UNI-record 4 pick-6s.

"My length at corner helps me out at the point of attack, getting a hand on the receiver in those first five yards," Hall said. "Down the field, even at safety, if (the ball's) in a difficult spot, my arms are so long it allows me to make plays."

Hall started five games at corner and 10 at free safety for the FCS runner-up Panthers. He started 14 games at cornerback as a junior and started games at corner and safety as a sophomore.

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