Bears' 7th-round Braverman thriving on new challenges

The Bears' roster lists seventh-round draft pick Daniel Braverman at 177 pounds, but the 5-foot-10 slot receiver from Western Michigan is probably closer to 200 pounds with the extra weight he's carrying.

"I grew up with a chip on my shoulder," he said, "just being from South Florida and always having to prove myself on the field. So it's just been with me, and that's just who I am really as a person."

The Sunshine State is flush with football players bigger and faster than Braverman, especially in his native Broward County, nearly all of whom possess superior measureables but not nearly as much heart and desire.

"There's great talent everywhere," he said. "Everywhere you look there's a new five-star or four-star (prospect). I was just the undersized kid who wasn't that highly profiled. Every game, you're playing with at least 10 D-1 (FBS-level) guys on the field. My team had about 18 D-1 players. So it's just trying to prove yourself and that you belong on the field."

Braverman was rated a three-star recruit by Rivals.com. He barely registered on the NFL radar until last season, while he was catching 108 passes for 1,367 yards and 13 touchdowns. But that wasn't enough to get him invited to the Scouting Combine, and he watched as 229 players were drafted before he was snagged by the Bears.

It may have seemed as if Braverman's decision to leave Western Michigan with a year of eligibility remaining was ill-advised. But he doesn't second-guess himself.

"One thing Michael Jordan said, once he makes his decision he never looks back on it," Braverman said. "You can't regret anything. You've got to look forward. As the rounds kept passing, I was stressing, I'm not going to lie. But everything happens for a reason, and I'm here right now with the Chicago Bears, and I'm just trying to take it all in and work as hard as I can."

Braverman proved he could compete with the big boys last season against Ohio State when he caught 10 passes for 123 yards against the Buckeyes. And he looks like he belongs on the Halas Hall practice fields during Bears OTAs, showing sure hands and darting in and out to elude tacklers after receptions.

The competition has been ratcheted up a few notches from the rookie minicamp a couple weeks ago, but Braverman is familiar with stepping up to meet every level of competition he's encountered along his path to the NFL.

"It's just learning from your mistakes," he said. "No one's perfect. You're going to fail; it's just how you react and how you overcome adversity, (then) watching tape and getting better from that and getting ready for tomorrow. The speed picked up a little bit (during the first OTA practices), but that's football."

Trying to break into a receiving corps that already includes players with much more impressive pedigrees like Alshon Jeffery, Kevin White and Eddie Royal, plus veterans Marc Mariani, Marquess Wilson, Joshua Bellamy and Deonte Thompson, Braverman faces an uphill fight for playing time and even a roster spot. But no one relishes a challenge more than Braverman, who thrives on it.

"It's an everyday process," he said. "One of my mottoes is: 'One day better.' And that's what I take with me. As soon as I wake up, I've got to do something striving toward getting myself better as a football player and as a person."

• Follow Bob's Bears reports on Twitter @BobLeGere.