The Chicago Bears weren’t primarily searching for to double-dip at defensive type out on Day 2 of the NFL draft. That’s merely the best way it labored, and now they’ve a possibility to rebuild the doorway with youth from the inside out.
The Bears chosen South Carolina defensive type out Zacch Pickens with the first variety of Spherical 3 (No. 64), 9 picks after selecting Florida’s Gervon Dexter. Whereas it may appear redundant, veterans Justin Jones and Andrew Billings are on one-year contracts and with out future selections on the place, the Bears nearly assuredly would have been signing or drafting tackles subsequent offseason.
Now there could also be hope Pickens and Dexter can develop alongside one another, not in distinction to what the Bears expert with Tommie Harris and Tank Johnson throughout the 2004 draft.
Pickens had a career-high 42 tackles for the Gamecocks remaining season with 2½ sacks, and his disruptive first step affords hope he can improve the within transfer rush.
Jimmy Lindsey, South Carolina’s defensive place coach the ultimate two seasons and now at LSU, spoke to the Tribune about Pickens’ enchancment proper right into a draft prospect. Right here’s that interview, edited for readability.
Be aware: This is part of a sequence of conversations with the college place coaches of this 12 months’s Bears draft picks.
How did you see Zacch develop throughout the two seasons you labored with him?
His soccer IQ truly elevated tremendously. He realized soccer. He realized blocking schemes. He may come off to the sideline and inform me what was going down, and after we watched the tape on Sunday, it was proper. He grew to turn out to be a better fundamental soccer participant using his fingers and dealing to get off blocks.
Zacch obtained a few workforce awards this earlier season. He was a captain along with most glorious senior, workforce MVP and defensive MVP. What went into him being honored?
He truly grew. It was pretty cool to see him develop as a frontrunner. The issue people are going to look out out about Zacch is he’s such a superb teammate and specific individual. Each day he walked into our meeting room, he would say, “The way you doing, Coach? You good? You feeling proper immediately?” And he cheered merely as laborious for walk-on guys who made performs as he did guys on scholarship.
Simply an excellent, unselfish teammate and he did the entire little stuff off the sphere correct. You in no way wanted to concern about him being late throughout the establishing or missing a train or a tutor or analysis hall. I really feel that’s the rationale his play the ultimate two years elevated tremendously from the first two because of he was residing correct off the sphere and he was invested on the sphere. All of that coincides together with becoming an excellent participant.
What type of questions did NFL scouts have for you about Zacch?
Simply what sort of little one he was. How did he perform? How did he examine? Issues of that nature. What does he wish to improve on? What’s he good at? Issues like that. Zacch was an excellent learner.
If a scout requested you which of them recreation tape he should throw on to see Zacch at his most interesting, what would you inform him?
Kentucky (4 tackles, one sack, one transfer deflected). That really was the healthiest he was all through our first six video video games.
What was he requested to do in your scheme?
We’ve got been quite a few. He carried out one-gap, nevertheless inside our one-gap we nonetheless carried out main and secondary gaps and we obtained in some three-down stuff. He carried out throughout the zero, the 4, he carried out the shade and the three. He’s obtained loads of place versatility. I really feel which will help him shifting forward.
Some people have talked about him most likely being at his most interesting as a 3 technique throughout the NFL? How do you see him making his biggest affect as knowledgeable?
He has the skills of a 3 technique because of he has some twitch to him. The Bears are up the sphere, so I really feel that’s going to swimsuit Zacch’s capability set fully.
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Originally posted 2023-05-24 11:37:34.