Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports
Look, I understand. “It’s a fifth-round pick.” But hey, I can still be a little excited, right?
The Chicago Bears took Penn State safety Adrian Amos in the fifth round today, 142nd overall. Now, what’s different about this safety than other ones the Bears have taken in the middle rounds in the past handful of years is the fact that this one is actually a true free safety.
He’s not an in-the-box guy, and the team already has one in Antrel Rolle anyway.
What Bears fans should be stoked about with Amos is that he is a ball hawk. He’s a tremendous athlete who not only repped 225 pounds 21 times at the Combine, but ran a 4.37 40. This guy can fly, and plays very fluidly with the ability to cover deep in the secondary as he had seven interceptions and 22 pass deflections during his college career. Heck, he even played some nickle as a Nittany Lion.
Instead of getting a Major Wright or Craig Steltz, the Bears got a guy who can keep up with NFL receivers and make a play on the ball. Not to mention, he’s a willing special teams participant, and if for nothing else, the Bears need that area of their team to be greatly improved as well.
During the 2015 NFL season, I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up starting at some point. In the meantime, he’ll start a competition with Ryan Mundy and Brock Vereen for the other starting safety spot.
Brian Neal is a contributor for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @brianneal23.
