DE Arik Armstead, Oregon
Age: 21
Height: 6-7
Weight: 292
College Career: Was a two-sport athlete at Oregon, also playing basketball. Once he quit basketball in 2014 to focus on football, he took off. Stats (5.5 TFLs and 2.5 sacks in 2014) don’t show the player he is. Took advantage of his rising stock and left the Ducks a year early.
Strengths: Has incredible height and length at the position. Good athlete with fluid movement and change of direction. Can drop into coverage from the defensive line. Still has room to bulk up. Projects perfectly as a 5-technique in a 3-4 defense.
Weaknesses: Not a pure pass rusher. Slow get-off. Still incredibly raw and technique needs a lot of improvement. Can get tougher.
Bears Outlook: The Bears go into the draft incredibly thin on the defensive line and could use a prototypical 5-technique like Armstead. He reminds be a lot of Kyle Long in that he’s a raw player with impressive size and athleticism who is just scratching the surface of his potential. With the right coaching, Armstead will be an All-Pro in the NFL and it would be very interesting to see all the ways in which Vic Fangio could use Armstead’s talent.
More: Hoge’s Entire Bears Big Board
Adam Hoge covers the Chicago Bears for WGN Radio and WGNRadio.com. He also co-hosts The Beat, weekends on 720 WGN. Follow him on Twitter at @AdamHoge.
