Chicago Bears 2015 Draft Breakdown: Hroniss Grasu

In the third round, the Bears looked to bolster their offensive line by getting a center. That center was Oregon's Hroniss Grasu. Just like in the second round, this was definitely a need pick, as the Bears parted ways with the aging Roberto Garza, so they needed somebody to snap the ball, or otherwise they would always get called for delay of game. Hopefully Grasu provides more than that, and to find out, I took a look at his game against Florida State to see what he brings to the table.

I would say that he moves very well for a center. He appears light on his feet when he is pulling and is pretty fluid in all of his movements. This helps when he is doing a combo block as he is able to help his teammate with a block before moving to the next level to take out a linebacker.

Strength looked like an issue as when Oregon was at the goal line against Florida State, he got stood up and driven backwards by Eddie Goldman (Good news is he will only be practicing against Goldman from here on). Also, he isn't a guy who was ever pancaking guys, even linebackers, but he stayed solid and maintained his block.

Admittedly, using sideline view to judge a center is not ideal. There's just a lot going on, they are rarely responsible for one-on-one assignments, and they can get blurred in the middle of the line. The All-22 is way more ideal, but using what is available, Grasu looks like an above average athlete who may only have average strength. He got pushed around at the goal line by Goldman, but most centers do struggle with the power of 350 pound nose tackles, so it's hard to ding the guy for that. He's a third round center; he's not going to excite you, but he has the ingredients to be solid. 

Chicago Bears 2015 Draft Breakdown: Eddie Goldman

With the seventh pick in the second round, the Bears selected Eddie Goldman, a nose tackle out of Florida State. Since the Bears are transitioning to a 3-4 defense, nose tackle was one of their biggest needs, so on a strictly need basis, this pick makes a ton of sense. Still, reviews were mixed for Eddie Goldman, so I wanted to take a closer look and figure out exactly what the Bears got with this second round pick. Thanks to Draft Breakdown, I was able to watch his games against Florida and Louisville.

I had the following two thoughts after his Florida game:

1. The thing that most worries me about Goldman is that he is SLOW off the ball. Like everybody is moving, and then a beat later, he gets out of his stance. Offensive linemen were on him before he even had a chance to get any momentum going, and it was baffling to see. The ball is usually snapped right under his damn nose, and he was just hanging out in his three point stance, hoping a coach would bring him ice cream (no coach ever did in the games I watched).

2. When he finally got moving, he almost went to just stand straight up instead of plowing forward, so linemen got underneath him. For a nose tackle, I saw a single center or single guard take care of blocking him alone WAY too many times. The number one job of a nose tackle is occupying blockers to help others make plays. If he is getting handled by a single dude, he is really fighting an uphill battle to becoming a valuable asset. He's not going to make a ton of plays, but he has to be good enough to put his teammates in position to make plays.

I seriously thought he may be the worst player in the draft from what I saw in that game. It was shockingly bad. Then I watched his game against Louisville, and he was a completely different player.

He may have still been a hair slow coming off the ball, but it was nothing like the Florida game, and he was still able to get good leverage and power through offensive linemen. He got stood up and blocked easily in the Florida game, but he brought that ass in this game and just powered through Louisville's o-line.

And there was no lollygagging for him. He got after it. This play shows that hustle.

That's not just impressive hustle for a nose tackle, that'd be impressive hustle for a linebacker. He can't quite catch the running back, but he had a little help from his friends.

Watch what he does to the Louisville right guard on this play.

That is simply not fair. Unfair, some might say.

There was a little technique on that last play. You want to just see brute strength from him? Yeah, I can do that.

That center is absolutely helpless there. That's the kind of potential that Goldman brings to the Bears.

After taking everything in, I would say that his ceiling may be even higher than Danny Shelton's. When this guy goes, he GOES, and he looks like an unstoppable force. It's a ton of fun to watch. But this guy could also be released before his rookie contract ends if he is not motivated and shows more of that Florida-Goldman. If the Bears think they can keep him motivated, it should turn into a great pick. A nose tackle's job is take up space, but if Goldman isn't motivated, he'll only be a waste of it.