The Chicago Bears have already begun reshaping their roster in the image of new GM Ryan Pace and head coach John Fox, but the looming 2015 NFL Draft will give the NFL viewing public their first real glimpse into the type of players Pace and Fox are looking to build around in the coming seasons.
Yes, Brandon Marshall is gone. Martellus Bennett may not be far behind. Mercurial talents be warned: Chicago is not the place for you.
The real roster revitalization will come through the draft though, and according to a recent report, the Bears have their sights set on adding a playmaker to Vic Fangio's newfangled defensive scheme at in the first-round.
"I'm told one player the Chicago Bears are very interested in with the seventh pick is Bud Dupree of Kentucky," Tony Pauline of Draft Insider reported.
Dupree, 6-foot-4, 269-pounds, was a team captain for the Wildcats in 2014. According to NFL.com's Lance Zierlein's pre-draft profile, Dupree is a "freakish athlete" who plays with outstanding power and a fantastic closing burst.
"Dupree is an explosive, powerful athlete with a background in basketball," writes Zierlein. "While he's been productive at Kentucky, his tape doesn't always do his potential justice. He must continue to improve as a pass rusher, but his traits are undeniable. Difference between being good and great might be his coordinator."
Luckily for Dupree, if he's selected by the Bears he'll get to work under Fangio - a man whose defenses never finished outside the top-10 in yards allowed per game or total points allowed in four seasons with the 49ers and a guy who was able to take another talented pass-rusher with questionable football acumen in Aldon Smith and turn him into a high-impact playmaker.
After the Bears declined to pick up the 2016 option on linebacker Shea McClellin's contract and despite the addition of the versatile Pernell McPhee in free agency, the formerly formidably Chicago defense could certainly use an injection or three of talent at both linebacker and pass-rusher.
With Dupree's immense athleticism and high character, should he land in Chicago, he has the potential to become the next great Bears linebacker.
