Tag: Travis Bell

Bears 2023 training camp preview: Interior defensive line

Next up in our Bears training camp preview is the interior defensive line, featuring news faces like Andrew Billings and Gervon Dexter.

Chicago Bears training camp is less than a month away, so it’s time to start looking ahead at the roster the team is bringing to Lake Forest.

We’re unveiling our Bears 2023 training camp position previews, breaking down every player by position and examining the group’s biggest question.

Up next is the interior defensive line, a focus area of the Bears this offseason, signing free agent Andrew Billings and drafting rookies Gervon Dexter, Zacch Pickens and Travis Bell.

Like most teams, the Bears have more defensive linemen on the roster heading into training camp than they will have in Week 1 of the regular season. Most teams will aim to be two-deep at each position, meaning only four of the seven linemen on the depth chart will suit up against Green Bay on Sept. 10.

Here’s a closer look at the Bears’ interior defensive line heading into training camp:

Projecting the 2023 roles of Bears’ 10 rookie draft picks

Here are our projections about the roles the Bears’ 10 draft picks will serve in their rookie seasons.

The Chicago Bears welcomed 10 new faces to their roster during the 2023 NFL draft, where general manager Ryan Poles found some impact players and got great value.

Whether it was landing studs like Darnell Wright, Gervon Dexter, Tyrique Stevenson and Zacch Pickens on the first two days or finding great value on Day 3 with Roschon Johnson, Tyler Scott, Noah Sewell and Terell Smith, Poles’ second draft class has the potential to be an impactful one.

With that in mind, here are our projections about the roles that the Bears’ 10 draft picks will serve in their rookie seasons.

Bears 2023 seventh-round pick: DT Travis Bell

The Bears selected DT Travis Bell in the seventh round of the NFL draft. Here’s a quick rundown on Bell:

The Chicago Bears selected Kennesaw State defensive tackle Travis Bell with the 218th overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft.

Here’s a quick rundown on Bell:

Height: 6-0
Weight: 310
Age: 24
From: Montgomery, AL

Breakdown: Bell is an athletic defensive lineman that wins with energy and athleticism. However, he needs to add more mass to control the line of scrimmage at the NFL level. Bell provides depth to the Bears’ defensive line. He’s undersized for a nose tackle but plays with great intensity and passion. He has a knack for making hustle plays and will fit the HITS culture. — Nate Atkins

Dane Brugler’s scouting report: N/A

Lance Zierlein’s scouting report: “Bell is an interior defender with decent lateral quickness and power at the point of attack. He lacks the overall mass and anchor to eat up blocks inside, though. He has enough foot quickness and hand usage to work his way around blockers but might find his success rate plummet against NFL-caliber competition. Bell has traits to get a look as a one-gapping, even-front nose tackle but might need to fight for a spot as an undrafted free agent.”

They said it: “This is probably one of my favorite human beings,” Poles said. “He is a special person. I didn’t want him to leave after his 30 visit and he didn’t want to leave, either. There’s something different about this guy. He is passionate about the game. When you talk about having a full-time job during the season and showing up to the locker room in your clothes, with your ID badge and your little knife from his job, that tells you what the game means to him. He’s working and football and practice is recess to him, and those are the guys that we want.” — Bears GM Ryan Poles

RAS card

Highlights

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Bears sign four rookie draft picks to contracts

The Bears signed four rookies to four-year deals, including Noah Sewell, Terell Smith, Travis Bell and Kendall Williamson.

The Chicago Bears signed four rookie draft picks to four-year contracts ahead of this weekend’s rookie minicamp.

That included fifth-round linebacker Noah Sewell and cornerback Terell Smith, as well as seventh-round defensive tackle Travis Bell and safety Kendall Williamson.

Sewell, a three-year starter at Oregon, has the potential to be a steal for the Bears. He’s a high-motor, hard-hitting linebacker, who will provide solid depth on this Bears defense.

Smith has a nice combination of size (6-1, 204-pounds), speed (4.41), and length (32 7/8) that Matt Eberflus will love. He’s got developmental upside and could prove to be a late-round steal for Chicago.

Bell, the first player drafted from Kennesaw State in NFL history, provides depth to the defensive line. He’s the kind of high-character guy that Ryan Poles covets.

Williamson, drafted one spot before Mr. Irrelevant, was a great late-round addition. He’s a high-energy player who has real value on special teams.

The Bears have six draft picks who remain unsigned: offensive tackle Darnell Wright, defensive tackles Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens, cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, running back Roschon Johnson and wide receiver Tyler Scott.

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Scouting reports for Bears 2023 rookie draft class

Here’s a look at scouting reports for every player in the Bears’ 2023 rookie draft class.

The Chicago Bears welcomed 10 new rookies to the roster during the 2023 NFL draft, where general manager Ryan Poles addressed some important needs.

That started with right tackle Darnell Wright in the first round and continued on Day 2 with defensive tackles Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens, as well as cornerback Tyrique Stevenson.

Chicago also found great value on Day 3 with running back Roschon Johnson, wide receiver Tyler Scott, linebacker Noah Sewell, cornerback Terell Smith, defensive tackle Travis Bell and safety Kendall Williamson.

Here’s a look at scouting reports for each of Chicago’s rookie draft class from our Nate Atkins, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler and NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein.

1 thing to know about each Bears 2023 draft pick

Get to know each member of the 2023 Bears draft class.

The dust has settled on the Chicago Bears 2023 draft class and the players selected are gearing up to get started in the rookie mini camp. The Bears and general manager Ryan Poles drafted 10 players last weekend who will hopefully help the franchise turn the corner and become relevant again sooner rather than later.

The picks were as follows:

  • Tackle Darnell Wright (first round, pick No. 10)
  • Defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. (second round, pick No. 53)
  • Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (second round, pick No. 56)
  • Defensive tackle Zacch Pickens (third round, pick No. 64)
  • Running back Roschon Johnson (fourth round, pick No. 115)
  • Wide receiver Tyler Scott (fourth round, pick No. 133)
  • Linebacker Noah Sewell (fifth round, pick No. 148)
  • Cornerback Terell Smith (fifth round, pick No. 165)
  • Defensive tackle Travis Bell (seventh round, pick No. 218)
  • Safety Kendall Williamson (seventh round, pick No. 258)

Some players like Wright have been discussed at nauseum leading up to the draft. Other players like Smith and Bell, however, could be relatively unknown to the casual fan. Here is one thing to know about each Bears draft pick.

2023 NFL draft: RAS scores for new Bears rookie class

When looking at this new crop of Bears rookies, there are some impressive RAS scores among them. Ryan Poles clearly has a type.

The Chicago Bears welcomed a new group of rookies following the 2022 NFL draft, including three defensive tackles, two cornerbacks, one offensive tackle, one running back, one wide receiver, one safety and one linebacker.

When looking at this new crop of Bears rookies, it’s clear that general manager Ryan Poles has a type. Every player Chicago drafted had a RAS score above 8.00. The Bears had an average RAS score of 8.93.

RAS — or Relative Athletic Score — was created by Kent Lee Platte and measures a player’s athletic testing to their size as well as historically. Each individual measurement is graded on a scale of 0-10 (with 10 being the highest), where each prospect matches up to those of the same position throughout history.

Here’s a quick look at the RAS scores for the Bears’ 10 draft picks.

Breaking down the Bears’ 2023 draft picks

We’re taking a closer look at the Bears’ 2023 draft class, including breakdowns, player profiles and scouting reports on the new rookies.

The Chicago Bears selected 10 players during the 2023 NFL draft, including right tackle Darnell Wright, defensive tackles Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens, and cornerbacks Tyrique Stevenson and Terell Smith.

They also added a couple of playmakers for Justin Fields in running back Roschon Johnson and wide receiver Tyler Scott, as well as linebacker Noah Sewell and a couple of seventh-round picks in Travis Bell and safety Kendall Williamson.

Now that Chicago has its 2023 draft class in place, it’s time dive in and take a look at what the Bears have in their new rookies.

We’re taking a closer look at the Bears’ draft class, including breakdowns, player profiles, scouting reports from The Athletic’s Dane Brugler and comments from the Bears on all 10 selections.

2023 NFL draft: Experts hand out grades for Bears

Here’s a collection of all of the grades for the Bears’ 2023 draft class, where experts were impressed by Ryan Poles’ sneaky-good draft.

The 2023 NFL draft is officially in the books, and the Chicago Bears came out of it with some promising prospects.

General manager Ryan Poles made some moves to shore up the roster, which started before the draft when he traded the No. 1 pick to the Carolina Panthers for two first-rounders, two second-rounders and wide receiver DJ Moore.

But focusing specifically on the draft class, Poles filled some important needs with offensive tackle Darnell Wright, defensives tackles Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson. He also added some weapons for quarterback Justin Fields in running back Roschon Johnson and wide receiver Tyler Scott. Poles also found some great value picks in linebacker Noah Sewell, cornerback Terell Smith, defensive tackle Travis Bell and safety Kendall Williamson.

Here’s a collection of all of the grades for the Bears’ draft class from various media outlets, where experts were impressed by Poles’ sneaky-good additions.

2023 NFL draft: Highlights of every new Bears rookie

The Bears welcomed a new crop of rookies in the 2023 NFL draft. Check out highlights from all 10 players:

The Chicago Bears welcomed a new crop of rookies in the 2023 NFL draft, which includes 10 players who are looking to make an impact on the team moving forward.

Chicago landed their top offensive tackle in Darnell Wright in the first round. It was a clean sweep for defense on Day 2, with cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and defensive tackles Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens.

On Day 3, the Bears added a couple of skill position players in running back Roschon Johnson and wide receiver Tyler Scott. Chicago selected four defensive players on the final day, including linebacker Noah Sewell, cornerback Terell Smith, defensive tackle Travis Bell and safety Kendall Williamson.

Here are highlights of every new Bears rookie: