Outside of all of the excitement generated by Jon Bostic, Khaseem Greene has quietly been putting together a nice preseason as well. The linebacker out of Rutgers was drafted by the Bears in the 4th round of this past year's draft after a very impressive college career.
There really wasn't much drama by the time he was picked. Sure, Bears fans were paying attention to see who the Bears picked, but once a draft gets into the fourth round there is rarely too much fanfare for any pick, maybe one or two each year that is considered news in any way. Still, Bears fans knew that another linebacker wouldn't be a bad idea, and given his successful college career, the pick was fairly well received.
At Rutgers, Greene was a safety in the beginning who was converted to linebacker for his junior season. Bears fans are familiar with safeties who have been converted to linebacker. They just had one put together a hall of fame career before retiring this past offseason (Urlacher, in case anyone was still guessing). Greene put together a very high number of tackles at weak side linebacker. He also had a solid sack total, and a couple of interceptions. He forced 15 fumbles in his college career, which is an NCAA record, something the Bears surely were paying attention to.
When watching Greene on the field so far in the preseason, what really stands out are his instincts. He's very good at reading offenses. He also has played with solid fundamentals, wrapping guys up when tackling them and not allowing himself to get hung up on any one thing. His athleticism is a bit deceptive. He doesn't look especially fast or athletic, but like the guy he may eventually replace, Lance Briggs, he's still pretty fast and athletic, very much for an OLB. It's just that he doesn't look it. It's very deceptive.
There hasn't been a whole lot of noise about Greene from teammates out of camp, but he has been talked about in tandem with Bostic when other players have said that both of the rookie linebackers know how to be quiet and listen. That shows that he's someone who wants to learn and understands that he has some good veteran players to learn from with guys like Anderson and Briggs.
Jordan Mills was picked in the 5th round. The offensive tackle from Louisiana Tech brings great size, at 6'5" and 316 lbs. He also brings a lot of experience, starting every game since the last 5 games of his freshman year. The pick was generally well accepted, as the offensive line of the Bears was still far from complete after being a complete joke the previous few years.
Mills seemed to really impress coaches throughout camp, because when J'Marcus Webb, who has constantly played well under his physical abilities, failed to impress the coaches, Mills was put right in to be the starter. Starting since the second preseason game, Mills has been very solid. He hasn't set the world on fire and hasn't gained the praise that his fellow right side starter, Kyle Long, has, but he's been just as solid. The Bears offensive line has held up very well for the most part thanks to the work that has been done by everyone, but that includes the two rookies on the right side.
An interesting tidbit on Mills is that his cousin, Tramond Williams, is a starting cornerback for the Green Bay Packers. I don't think I need to actually say it but I will, the Bears biggest rival throughout the team's history. There really isn't a whole lot to be said on Mills from a personal level outside of that, as like with Greene, his good play so far this preseason has been much quieter, but just as sure.
Cornelius Washington was a very interesting, high upside pick by the Bears in the 6th round. Many Bears fans liked the pick. Washington didn't put up the most impressive numbers at Georgia, but he was almost always playing behind someone, and he was also moved quite a bit between OLB and DE. When he did get in he seemed to almost always have a hand in making something happen.
One thing that Washington has that almost nobody at that point of the draft has is his absolutely freakish athletic ability. First, you need to understand, we're talking about someone who is 6'4" and 265 lbs. He's a big boy, no doubt about it. However, despite that size, he has a 39" vertical leap and ran a 4.55 40. To translate, that's very athletic. That's insanely athletic. If that wasn't enough, he put up a very good 36 reps on the bench press as well. That sort of strength and athleticism is very rare.
What this tells us is that if the Bears coaches are able to develop this kid right, he can become an absolute beast off the end. So far in the preseason he hasn't been bad at all. In the third game last night he got a sack as well as at least one other QB hit as well as at least one pass block, and in the first game he really impressed me with his ability to always be where the play was happening, rather he was the one making it or not. Even when the play was on the other end of the field, his speed allowed him to be there, ready to make the play.
This, of course, doesn't make him a superstar by any means, but it does mean that he's at least doing things right so far. At this point, in the preseason, that's really what is asked of these guys, especially late round picks.
Lastly, we have Marquess Wilson. Wilson may have the most interesting story of any of the rookies outside of Kyle Long. He's a very talented wide receiver who fell all the way to the 7th round due to character questions. His actual talent level is said to be second round quality, and that's at the ripe young age of 20. He'll turn 21 in less than a month, so that age is a bit deceptive, but either way, he's a young receiver.
The character issues stem from issues with his coach at Washington State. The coach in question here is none other than the infamous Mike Leach. Wilson was suspended for one game for leaving in the middle of a practice. Soon after that he accused Leach of abuse while leaving the team. He later took those allegations back, but there is still something fishy about the situation. Leach does have a history of possible abuse, so it would not be totally out of the question for the claims to be legitimate, but Wilson having been given some sort of incentive to recant those claims.
The Bears new front office is not a conservative front office, they realized the talent that was just sitting right there and took advantage. Wilson had an excellent first game in the preseason, leading the receivers in receptions and yards. He didn't catch anything in the second game, but in the third game he had a nice catch up the middle for 14 yards, knowing he was about to take a big hit, but still holding on. What seems pretty clear so far this preseason is that the talent is there for him. How it plays out still has to be seen, but the talent is there.
Just remember with all of these guys that claiming a victory for the Bears with any of them would be premature. Sure, they have all looked good so far during the preseason, but this is just the preseason. However, there looks like there may be a serious chance that the Bears might have wound up with someone who can contribute with all 6 picks. Of course, things could still wind up being all a bunch of mirages with these guys. This is only the preseason, but again, there is still plenty of reason to be cautiously optimistic.
At the current time, the only rookies that look like they are ready to be starters are Long, Bostic, and Mills. Then again, if you would have asked me before the second preseason game I would have told you that I didn't think Mills was ready to start. Greene is looking good, but he just doesn't seem like he's ready to start at this point. He's not far off though and next season, if the Bears don't hold on to Anderson, then Greene may be ready to start in 2014. Washington and Wilson may be ready to start before too long as well, but they're not there yet. Just the fact that there are 3 rookies that look like they may be able to start on a good NFL team is outstanding. Again, that is said with caution due to them showing all of this in preseason, but really all 6 draft picks are looking very good.
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