After a tumultuous 2014 season, the Chicago Bears are looking to rebound in 2015 under new head coach John Fox. They have a number of areas to address this offseason, including some in the secondary. Will Alabama safety Landon Collins be a target of theirs in the NFL Draft?
The Bears are changing to a 3-4 defense and have cornerback Charles Tillman as well as safeties Christopher Conte and Danny McCray scheduled to hit the free agent market on March 10. Chicago has the seventh overall pick, and their top needs are pass rusher, linebacker and defensive back, according to NFL.com. Collins is the 13th overall player on both Mel Kiper's and Todd McShay's big boards.
The two ESPN Insiders have the Bears selecting University of Washington defensive tackle Danny Shelton. However, with plentiful defensive lineman hitting free agency in the next few weeks and only a few accomplished safeties, Collins could be a viable option for Chicago.
The salary cap is expected to increase to $143 million for the 2015 season and the Bears are projected to be $23 million under that number, which gives them a lot of flexibility once free agency begins.
"We're healthy with our cap right now, so if we want to be [active], we can," general manager Ryan Pace told Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune. "Cliff Stein (vice president of football administration) has done an excellent job in that. Again, it's just measuring what positions are strong in free agency versus what positions are strong in the draft, and we're going through that right now."
As a result, with only Devin McCourty, Rahim Moore and Antrel Rolle on the market as the top safeties, the team may opt to fill other needs via free agency and build their secondary through the draft. According to McShay, Collins "has good range in coverage and is a playmaker when the ball is in the air. But where he excels most is in run support."
"There's no question the Bears need additional support in their defensive backfield. And in that regard, Collins is an intriguing prospect," writes Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune. "He certainly passed the eye test at the combine Monday, turning in a 4.52-second time in the 40-yard dash and a 35-inch vertical leap. All that at 6 feet and 228 pounds."
Those capabilities, on top of playing in the best college football conference, should fare well against the top offenses in the NFC, including the division-rival Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions.
We'll see what the Bears' plan is come March 10.
