{"id":114094,"date":"2024-04-21T01:57:43","date_gmt":"2024-04-21T01:57:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/?p=114094"},"modified":"2024-04-21T01:57:56","modified_gmt":"2024-04-21T01:57:56","slug":"bears-warned-against-drafting-stud-offensive-tackle-in-1st-round-nguyensa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/bears-warned-against-drafting-stud-offensive-tackle-in-1st-round-nguyensa\/","title":{"rendered":"Bears Warned Against Drafting \u2018Stud\u2019 Offensive Tackle in 1st Round"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/GettyImages-1827233412-e1713658200874.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"JC Latham, Alabama\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" data-dom-ready-time=\"643\" data-img-load-time=\"951\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Getty\u00a0Offensive tackle JC Latham of Alabama.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The\u00a0Chicago Bears\u00a0have a multitude of options with the 9th pick in the NFL draft, but there are a couple of prospects from whom they may want to steer away.<\/p>\n<p>Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report suggested\u00a0on Friday, April 20, that Alabama offensive lineman\u00a0JC Latham\u00a0is among the group of players that don\u2019t fit with Chicago\u2019s build as well as other first-rounders might.<\/p>\n<div>\n<blockquote><p>The Bears could use another tackle to pair with\u00a0Darnell Wright, giving them two first-round pass-protectors to keep Williams clean. However, pairing JC Latham\u00a0with Wright could spell problems for the Bears.<\/p>\n<p>Wright is a physical tackle, but he struggled as a pass-blocker as a rookie. According to\u00a0Sports Info Solutions, he had only four blown run blocks, but he had 31 blown pass blocks, eight sacks allowed and six holding penalties.<\/p>\n<p>Latham is a similarly built prospect with a kindred skill set. He\u2019s a bulldozer of a run-blocker, but he has some deficiencies in his pass protection. \u2026 Latham also spent his collegiate career at right tackle, so either he or Wright would have to flip to the left side. That would make this pairing an even more questionable fit.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>JC Latham May Be too Similar to Darnell Wright to Make Sense for Bears<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_4984524\">\n<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/GettyImages-2053122874-e1713399732948.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" alt=\"JC Latham, Alabama\" width=\"782\" height=\"440\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4984524\" data-lazy-load=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/GettyImages-2053122874-e1713399732948.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-4984524\">GettyOffensive tackle JC Latham of Alabama.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Latham probably wouldn\u2019t be Chicago\u2019s outright pick at No. 9, as most reliable mock drafts have him coming off the board somewhere in the low double-digits. However, he makes more sense in the range of picks where the Bears might land should they decide to move back and amass some extra Day-2 draft capital via a trade.<\/p>\n<p>NFL Network\u2019s Peter Schrager predicted\u00a0in a mock draft on April 16 that Chicago will trade back with the\u00a0Indianapolis Colts, sending them the 9th selection in exchange for the 15th pick and a second-rounder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter piling up more draft capital by trading back, the Bears still land a stud offensive tackle,\u201d Schrager said. \u201cLatham could be the second OT taken on draft night \u2014 some teams like him\u00a0<em>that\u00a0<\/em>much. If the board falls this way, Chicago adds a big, pedigreed bookend who can join last year\u2019s first-round tackle,\u00a0Darnell Wright, in protecting the new franchise quarterback\u00a0Caleb Williams.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Bears Should Have Several Quality Options With 9th Pick, Including Edge Jared Verse<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_4983947\">\n<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Jared-Verse-e1713378009333.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" alt=\"Dolphins draft predictions target Jared Verse and Laiatu Latu in round one.\" width=\"782\" height=\"440\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4983947\" data-lazy-load=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Jared-Verse-e1713378009333.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-4983947\">GettyFlorida State edge rusher Jared Verse.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The 2024 class is chock full of quality prospects at offensive tackle, which should allow the Bears several other options aside from Latham if they decide to move down and draft offensive line with their second overall selection.<\/p>\n<p>Chicago could also decide to address the edge rusher position opposite defensive end Montez Sweat in a trade down.\u00a0Jared Verse\u00a0of Florida State should still be available in the mid-teens, at least based on Schrager\u2019s version of events.<\/p>\n<p>Wide receiver is also a viable path the Bears could tread. A significant portion of the trade value the No. 9 pick holds prior to the start of the draft proceedings on Thursday, April 25, is the relatively high chance that one of the top three wideouts will still be on the board at that point.<\/p>\n<p>Chicago could draft that player, be it\u00a0Rome Odunze\u00a0of Washington or\u00a0Malik Nabers\u00a0of LSU. Or the Bears could move back and pursue receiver\u00a0Brian Thomas Jr., Nabers\u2019 SEC teammate, who Schrager predicts will come off the board at No. 20 to the\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers.<\/p>\n<p>Considering all the options Chicago has alongside the three premium positions it can\/should address, the Bears don\u2019t have to pigeonhole themselves, which will make the draft all the more interesting for fans in the Windy City.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty\u00a0Offensive tackle JC Latham of Alabama. The\u00a0Chicago Bears\u00a0have a multitude of options with the 9th pick in the NFL draft, but there are a couple of prospects&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":114095,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114094"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114094\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114096,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114094\/revisions\/114096"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}