Chicago Bears Held Their First Truly Controversial Draft Visit
Every year, the Chicago Bears meet with a prospect their fans don’t like. It’s part of the process. Last year, it was Kiran Amegadjie. . In 2023, it was Jonathan Mingo. Now, visits are harmless. They are nothing more than ways to gather information. The problem is that those visits can often turn into draft picks, as Amegadjie showed last spring. Fans might not have the same amount of information as teams do, but they’re not dumb. They often have good reasons to be wary of players and are proven right more than their fair share of times.
Mingo was already traded to another team, and Amegadjie has shown nothing yet to indicate he’s ready to become a starter in the NFL. Now, it appears the Bears have circled another prospect who isn’t making fans happy. Ryan Fowler of The Draft Network reported that the team will host Texas A&M defensive end Shemar Stewart on Monday. Under normal conditions, this would be exciting. Stewart is a physical freak of nature: 6’5, 267 lbs, a 4.59 in the 40, and a 40-inch vertical.
The problem? All of that god-given ability equated to just 4.5 sacks in three seasons with the Aggies.
The Chicago Bears would be taking a huge gamble with Stewart.
There are cases in NFL history where players weren’t productive in college but flipped a switch in the pros. Unfortunately, they are rare. The Bears would be betting that their coaching staff led by Dennis Allen could somehow unlock his full potential when his coaches at Texas A&M couldn’t in three years. Many of his biggest defenders say he managed to get plenty of pressure on the quarterback. He was always active. Conversely, others say he often plays the game like he has no idea what he’s doing. There are no instincts. No plan.
These sorts of gambles aren’t new to the Chicago Bears. Alonzo Spellman had just nine sacks in three years for Ohio State. He ended up becoming a solid player with 32 sacks in seven seasons. They did it again in 1994 with John Thierry. He had just 11 sacks in three years for Alcorn State but blew up the scouting combine. After five seasons, he managed only 12.5 sacks. Allen has a history of taking these types of gambles. The New Orleans Saints did it with Marcus Davenport and Payton Turner. Both ended up disappointments.
A lot of hard feelings will occur if it ends up as fans fear with Stewart.