Grading the 2021 Bears' rookie draft class
The Bears made a splash last year in drafting Justin Fields. Let's look at the draft class from last season. Keep in mind that the letters' grades are based on where they were chosen.
1. Justin Fields: B
Fields started 10 games last season. He was off to a slow start, but he finished up in great fashion. He started to utilize his legs more and he became a much more dominant quarterback. The lack of weapons around him helped but, make no mistake about it: Justin Fields has a great future in front of him. Fields also dealt with some pretty horrible play calling and an unusual situation with the injuries to himself and to Andy Dalton. However, he still made some amazing plays and he showed some of his clutch genes in a couple of late games. From the reports we heard inside the Bears locker room, Fields started to gain more confidence and became a bigger and bigger leader as the season went on. Look for him to be locked and ready in 2022.
2. Teven Jenkins: C-
Jenkins didn't get to see the field a lot. He missed the first 11 games due to an injury and he only started 2 games. His play on the field was not incredible but the coaches seemed impressed with was they saw. He did have a lot of penalties (7 of them) in two games. This is unacceptable and it will need to be fixed in the future. Jenkins was a guy that would have benefited a lot, by playing in the last few games when the playoffs hopes were dead, but he was injured. He needs to have a great off-season and he could compete for a starting spot in august.
3. Larry Borom: B
Borom saw a lot of actions in his first season. In fact, he played over 630 snaps. For a fifth-round draft pick, he played fine. He gave 5 sacks and had 4 penalties. His size is really impressive, and he showed that he can move very well. Borom will be in the mix for one of the tackle positions next season.
4. Khalil Herbert: A-
Herbert played very well in the absence of David Montgomery. He ran for 433 yards and 2 touchdowns, and he added 96 receiving yards. He was very efficient, and he showed tremendous abilities to break the first tackle on multiple occasions. I was very impressed with what I saw from him. The reason this is not a higher grade is because the sample size was relatively small and because Herbert struggled a bit in pass protection. He could be in line for a lot of opportunities next season as a potential running back #2. He also played very well on special teams as a return specialist.
5. Dazz Newsome: C
Newsome barely played this season. He finished the season with 2 catches and one punt return. The potential is for sure there and he can certainly compete for a roster spot next season.
6. Thomas Graham: B-
Graham saw the field a lot in the Minnesota and in the Seattle game. He played pretty well. He did give up a long touchdown to D.K Metcalf but he then made some nice plays. His advanced metrics were really good, and he graded out well in pass coverage.
7. Khyiris tonga: C+
Tonga saw a lot of action in 2021. In fact, he was on the field for almost 30% of the defensive snaps for Chicago. He was part of the rotation in 15 games. The coaches were very excited about what Tonga can do in the future. He piled up 24 tackles including one tackle for loss. Tonga can develop into a good interior defensive tackle in Matt Eberflus' scheme next season.
