Being picky: Bears showed in draft that they have a type when choosing players

The Bears added seven players during the three-day NFL draft this weekend. They used their first-round draft pick to take Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman and then added three players on the offensive side Friday in the second and third rounds. Chicago added three more defensive players in the last four rounds Saturday.

Teams’ attention will now turn to signing undrafted free agents over the next few days before rookie minicamp. The Bears are scheduled to host theirs on May 8-9.

Here are three of the most interesting things the Bears said Saturday.

On the lack of top defensive line selections

The draft seemed like a way for the Bears to boost their defensive line after they didn’t make a big splash during free agency. But Chicago didn’t find solutions on the line with their top draft picks, instead waiting until the sixth round to take defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg.

Bears general manager Ryan Poles said the Bears stayed disciplined to their draft board, which prevented them from reaching on a prospect with their early draft picks. Instead they chose the best player available at each spot.

“I like the approach that we had,” Poles said. “Came away with some really good players. With any position, we’re going to stay active and see what opportunities pop up, and if we can improve our football team, we’ll do it.”

Bears coach Ben Johnson and Poles have previously said they’d like to see more production from the defensive line. The unit struggled to stop the run and gave up the sixth-most rushing yards per game (134.5). It also couldn’t consistently pressure the quarterback and provide support for edge rusher Montez Sweat.

But Johnson felt the fix to their issues could be solved internally rather than externally. He said the Bears could do a better job of coaching the defensive line now that they’re heading into their second season together.

Johnson also believed players like Sweat, Dayo Odeyingbo, Shemar Turner and Austin Booker will continue to improve next season.

“The combination of us being able to coach better and those guys taking the next step as part of this system, we’ve got some pretty good pieces to work with,” Johnson said.

On looking for the right players

With a year under his belt, Johnson learned about the type of DNA he wanted his team to have. That was reflected in this weekend’s draft.

“We’re looking for high-level competitors,” Johnson said. “Guys that if you took football away from them, they really don’t know what to do with themselves. It’s a huge part, they eat it, they sleep it, they breathe it and I think we’re able to identify those type of guys. When you have guys like that, they usually find a way to come out on top.”

That seemed to be a common theme with each prospect over the three days of the draft. As Bears scouts went through the physical traits that each prospect had and made them an attractive draft candidate, they also mentioned how each prospect was hard wired to work hard and give the most to his team.

Poles reiterated that point during the previous two nights of the draft. The Bears streamlined their search looking for specific players who fit that criteria.

Finding out whether a prospect has that DNA takes work. Bears personnel look at the personal character, the football character, the makeup to make sure the prospect checks all the boxes. But for Johnson, he can see whether a prospect has it during the first 20 plays of their tape.

“Fortunately we’re able to get some guys in for top 30 (visits), get to know them a little bit better,” Johnson said. “The (NFL scouting) combine’s a huge part of that process as well. Like I alluded to before, sometimes we send coaches out to meet with guys individually as well as individual pro days. I think we do a pretty good job. But it always starts with the tape in my opinion. That’s always the No. 1 thing that we should be looking for.”

On looking for specific skillsets

Over three days there were some draft picks that seemed to be selected for specific situations. All three of of Friday night’s picks were a good example.

The Bears chose center Logan Jones, tight end Sam Roush and wide receiver Zavion Thomas, who all seemed to fit specific roles for Johnson. Jones was a center who fit Johnson’s mold at the spot. Roush was a third blocking tight end. Thomas was a weapon whose speed could be used on specific plays.

Johnson used both the tight end and wide receiver spots as example. The Bears love what Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet add to the tight end position and what Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III do in the wide receiver room.

But Johnson’s looking for the missing link to help take each room to another level.

“We want to find guys that help complement the skill sets,” Johnson said. “Like I said, the non-negotiable is be the type of players that we want to be in so that we can bring the vision of the football to life.”

Poles said communication between him and his staff and Johnson and the coaching staff is essential to making those types of selections come to fruition.

“I think the biggest thing is just our communication, and the communication with the front office and the coaching staff as we’re watching these players and handing that off to our coaches, we’re talking about, how are we going to use this player in our system?” Poles said. “How would you use them? Where can we emphasize their strengths of their game? So we talk about that a lot, and that goes into the draft, so we have clarity in terms of how that player is going to come in and impact our team.”