“Big Cat” Williams on the NFL Draft


In this special offseason edition of Big Cat and The Bears, James “Big Cat” Williams joins Ann Kreiter to break down the Bears draft picks, analyze the first draft under new general manager Ryan Pace, and talk about the changes coming with new head coach John Fox.


New Bears General Manager Ryan Pace conducted his first NFL Draft last weekend. Here is the Bears 2015 Draft Class: 

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ROUND PLAYER POSITION COLLEGE
1 Kevin White Wide Receiver West Virginia
2 Eddie Goldman Nose Tackle Florida State
3 Hroniss Grasu Center Oregon
4 Jeremy Langford Running Back Michigan State
5 Adrian Amos Safety Penn State
6 Tayo Fabuluje Tackle Texas Christian

Pace heaped praise on the players, and explained the attraction of his top three picks: 

On Kevin White

“This guy is dynamic. He’s big. He’s strong. He’s ultra-competitive. If I could stress one word for this player: he’s competitive. You see it after the catch. You see it in the way he attacks the ball in the air. This is a dynamic play-maker for our offense. I can probably tell you right now, the most excited guy in the building is (offensive coordinator) Adam Gase upstairs. This is good guys. This is a big-play weapon for us; a competitive tough player.”

On Eddie Goldman

“When I think about the standout traits with Eddie Goldman, it’s strength, stout at the point of attack. He’s very instinctive. He’s strong. He gets off blocks. I really like the pad level he plays with. He steps up in big moments… This is a stout, strong nose tackle that anchors the middle of your defense. I think he is an ascending player.”

On Hroniss Grasu

“The standout traits for this guy is his quickness and his balance. He’s excellent at the second level. He’s quick on reach blocks. His makeup is outstanding. When you talk about work ethic, team captain, leadership, all those traits that we stress around here, he brings those to the table.”

The NFL Draft provides fans a mountain of football factoids. Here are some interesting tidbits from the Chicago Bears 2015 Draft Class:

Kevin White is the ninth player overall selected by the Bears from West Virginia and the first since linebacker J.T. Thomas in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft.

View a chart of players from West Virgina selected by Chicago.

YEAR ROUND NAME POSITION
1936   1 Joe Stydahar Tackle
1940 11 Harry Clark Halfback
1954 24 Bill Jarrett Halfback
1957 15 Tony Hosek End
1958 1 Chuck Howley Guard
1958 19 Bill Chancey End
1995 2 Todd Sauerbrun Punter
2011 6 J.T. Thomas Linebacker
2015 1 Kevin White Wide Receiver

With the selection of Eddie Goldman, the Bears have now selected a defensive lineman in the first or second round in four of the last five Drafts: Stephen Paea (2011, second round), Shea McClellin (2012, first round), Ego Ferguson (2014, second round) and Goldman (2015, second round). 

With the selections of Kevin White (first round, seventh overall) at wide receiver and Hroniss Grasu (third round, 71st overall) at center, the 2015 NFL Draft marks the first time the Bears have selected at least two offensive players in the first three rounds of the Draft since 2008 (Tackle Chris Williams in Round 1, Running Back Matt Fortè in Round 2, and Wide Receiver Earl Bennett in Round 3). 

With the selections of Running Back Jeremy Langford (fourth round, 106th overall) and Tackle Tayo Fabuluje (sixth round, 183rd overall), this also happens to mark the first time since 2008 that the Bears selected four offensive players in the first six rounds of the NFL Draft.

View a list of the Top 10 schools the Bears have selected from in the NFL Draft.

SCHOOL NUMBER OF PICKS LAST PLAYER SELECTED
Notre Dame 41 Mike Gandy (third round in 2001)
Ohio State 30 Marcus Freeman (fifth round in 2009)
Texas 27 Henry Melton (fourth round in 2009)
Oklahoma 26 Juaquin Iglesias (third round in 2009)
Stanford 24 Michael Okwo (third round in 2007)
Northwestern 21 Corey Wootton (fourth round in 2010)
Arkansas 20 Marcus Monk (seventh round in 2008)
Miami, Florida 20 Patrick O'Donnell (sixth round in 2014)
Illinois 19 David Williams (third round in 1986)
Florida 19 Jonathan Bostic (second round in 2013)
Michigan 19 Anthony Thomas (second round in 2001)

Crystin’s NFL Draft Notebook
Day 1: From Back Room to Row One: Getting In and Staying In

Chicago Tonight assistant producer and assignment desk editor Crystin Immel covered the NFL Draft. On Thursday, April 30, Crystin covered the first round draft picks inside Auditorium Theatre. Read an article about her experience and view a slideshow.

Crystin’s NFL Draft Notebook
Day 2: In Enemy Territory

On Friday, May 1, Crystin Immel, assistant producer and assignment desk editor for Chicago Tonight, visited NFL's Draft Town, where she talked to fans like Don "Bearman" Wachter. Read an article about her second day at the draft and her conversations with fans about team rivalries, and view a slideshow.

Crystin’s NFL Draft Notebook
Day 3: Grading the NFL

The draft picks are all in, and after three days of festivities and thousands of fans pouring into Grant Park, the 2015 NFL Draft in Chicago has concluded. Crystin Immel grades the NFL on the overall fan experience they provided in Grant Park. Read an article and view a slideshow.


Before festivities for the NFL Draft got underway in Chicago, James “Big Cat” Williams cheered on another Chicago team. Watch a video of “Big Cat” singing the seventh inning stretch at Wrigley Field on Wednesday, April 29 during the Cubs game against the Pirates.

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