Chicago Bears 2015 Draft Breakdown: The Undrafted Free Agents

The Chicago Bears draft was a mixed bag. Although I would have liked to see them wait on wide receiver, I can understand them being excited about the potential of Kevin White. Eddie Goldman has a high ceiling as a nose tackle, but his inconsistent play is the reason he wasn't a first rounder. Hroniss Grasu is an athletic center that could start immediately. Jeremy Langford runs fast, but I don't see upside or need in the pick, so it was probably my least favorite. Adrian Amos is versatile, but tackling is not in the list of things he can do. Finally, Tayo Fabuluje is super big, surprisingly athletic, but he has a history of being out of shape which is worrisome, but it's a sixth round pick, so it's a nice bet on upside.

After the draft, the Bears signed a number of players, and although usually there wouldn't be enough there for me to break it down, the Bears made maybe my favorite undrafted free agent signing of any team, so I wanted to quickly highlight three of the players that have a shot at making this year's roster.

Shane Carden - QB - East Carolina
I'm not going to beat around the bush. This is my guy. After looking at the incoming crop of quarterbacks, I ranked Carden fourth behind the big two and Brett Hundley. The big knock on Carden is a lack of arm strength, but he was a good decision maker and knew how to read the field. Obviously, a certain level of arm strength is needed, but Carden's mechanics led to his legs being a non-factor in his delivery. If Adam Gase is the right coach to help him generate strength from his legs in his throws, the Bears could have the biggest steal in franchise history. You can check out my in-depth look at Carden here.

Levi Norwood - WR - Baylor
Norwood would have probably been drafted had he been able to flip his 2013 and 2014 seasons. Everything went right for him in 2013 as injuries opened up a spot in the slot where he excelled for the Baylor Bears. In 2014, he was at the opposite end of that injury spectrum where he got injured early and passed up on the depth chart by high upside younger players. The key to somebody like Norwood is his ability to play on special teams, as he will definitely start as the fifth or sixth receiver on the roster. If he can be valuable there, he will be given the time to mature into a threat in the slot.

Jacoby Glenn - CB - Central Florida
Glenn is a young guy who just made plays last year for UCF. In fact, he made so many plays that he was the AAC's co-defensive player of the year and a second team All-American. Coming out as a redshirt sophomore, he is still only 21 years-old, which means he fits into two of my favorite categories. Being young means there is greater room for improvement, and I will always like guys who have a nose for the ball, and his seven interceptions definitely prove that. So why did he fall? Mostly 40 time. It's not size, as he's 6'0" tall, but he did only run a 4.64, and honestly, he wasn't very good in any of the drills. Still, a guy who made plays in college is definitely somebody I want to bring into training camp.

The Bears obviously signed a lot more guys than just this, but I wanted to highlight some of the names I was more familiar with to show their potential to stick with the Bears despite not being drafted. The Bears are not a deep (or talented, for that matter) team, so there will be opportunities. It's up to these guys to go out and earn them.

The Perfect College Football Playoff

So this year is the first year of the College Football Playoff, and as always, there was much controversy in the method to determine the best team in college football. TCU was ranked 3 going into the final week and won by 52 points. They fell three spots in the rankings. Now Ohio State and Baylor were both impressive as well, but it does seem a tad absurd. Everyone's initial reaction is to expand it to 8 teams, but then we are just arguing over the 8th-10th spots.

I have a much better solution. There is a specific committee that is flown into Dallas every weekend to discuss things, so clearly they must have their shit together. So instead of a 4-team or 8-team playoff, why not just let the committee decide how many teams will be involved. This year, it pretty clearly would have been six teams. The top two teams would get a bye (although it is absurd that Florida State was not ranked in the top two, but I could write a whole post on that), and the other four would battle it out to get it down to four teams. With this strategy, you get in all the best teams without any of the extra riff raff.

Now this would put a lot more stress on the committee, because they would basically be shitting on Mississippi State, but that's okay, as you can definitely draw a line between them and TCU. It works no matter how many teams you put in it. TCU, Ohio State, and Baylor all could have lost and Oregon would have played Florida State for the right to play Alabama in the national title game.

There would be some logistical issues about scheduling the bowls with when and where they would happen, but logistics should not be what stops us from finding the one true college football champion. This is what America needs to focus all of its resources on. The battle of these schools in proving their athletic supremacy is essential to what we stand for as a nation. This is a $100 million idea, and sorry student-athletes, there is no leftover money for you.

Thanks in advance for the check, NCAA.