Breaking Down the Chicago Bears Sixth Round Pick: William & Mary Free Safety - DeAndre Houston-Carson

The NFL Draft has come and gone, and it appears that the Bears have a plan in place. Did I agree with that plan at every twist and turn? No, not really, but I also really enjoyed some of their moves so it all balances out. And they were active, and that definitely made for an exciting weekend. But what's done is done. The picks I like will obviously work out, and hopefully my genius fails me on the picks that I didn't like. So far, I have had the chance to break down:

First Round Pick: Leonard Floyd, Linebacker, Georgia
Second Round Pick: Cody Whitehair, Offensive Guard, Kansas State
Third Round Pick: Jonathan Bullard, Defensive Lineman, Florida
Fourth Round Pick: Nick Kwiatkoski, Linebacker, West Virginia
Fourth Round Pick: Deon Bush, Safety, Miami
Fourth Round Pick: Deiondre' Hall, Defensive Back, Northern Iowa
Fifth Round Pick: Jordan Howard, Running Back, Indiana

Next up, we have the Bears sixth round pick, DeAndre Houston-Carson, a free safety out of William and Mary. To say I knew nothing about Houston-Carson would be completely accurate, as I had never even heard his name before the Bears selected him late in the draft. I had pretty much assumed that this was going to be a quick and easy one, because who on God's green Earth would cut up tape of a William & Mary Free Safety? Draft Breakdown, that's who. They had tapes of his games against perennial powerhouses Villanova, Richmond, and Lafayette.

On the positive side of things, DHC is a very adept tackler. He's not putting big hits on guys, but he knows how to wrap up and bring a guy down. On the not-so-positive side of things, he often got taken down the field on blocks and had a really hard time shedding guys once they made contact with him. He was always around the ball, but a lot of times, guys got an extra 5-10 yards because he wasn't able to shake loose a block and make a play earlier.

If you're looking for a highlight, it doesn't get much better than this.

DHC has good coverage, adjusts to an underthrown ball to make the interception., and, most importantly, once he gets the ball in his hands, he looks like the most explosive player on the field as he sprints by everyone for a touchdown.

There is only so much you can see from game tape with a free safety. Although he had the interception, there were also plays where he gave guys way too much space in order to make plays on the ball. Again, it was a very limited sample, but it still wasn't ideal, especially against a slower game at a lower level of college football.

So that's where we're at with DHC. He shows some flashes of athleticism on the field but sometimes seemed a little too hesitant for my liking. There's a reason he fell to the sixth round, and even squinting, it's tough to see more than a special teams contributor out of DHC. There's nothing wrong with that. With all late round picks, you're hoping to find buried treasure, but I'm thinking the Bears may have just found some loose change. That's still better than nothing.