The Chicago Bears came into day three of the NFL Draft with seven picks, including three fourth round selections, but they couldn't wait to get things started, as they traded up in the fourth round to grab linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski out of West Virginia.
The Bears made a trade to move up four spots to get the selection, sending the 117th overall pick and a sixth round pick (the selection they acquired from the Carolina Panthers in the Jared Allen trade) to the Los Angeles Rams for the selection.
During his collegiate career, Kwiatkoski had 303 tackles and six interceptions, and he also had 10 tackles for loss during his final season with the Mountaineers. He'll likely play select downs at inside linebacker, spelling Danny Trevathan and Jerrell Freeman in the Bears' 3-4 defense.
Later in the fourth round, the Bears made their second selection of the day, taking safety Deon Bush out of the University of Miami. A great 40-time at the Combine pushed him up some draft boards, but concerns about his ability to diagnose plays off the snap also caused some teams to hesitate on taking him.
Just a few picks later, the Bears selected another safety off the board, picking Deiondre' Hall out of Northern Iowa. According to his NFL.com profile, he's known for his long reach and his intelligence on the field, and he also set a new school record for "pick sixes" in his career as he returned four interceptions for touchdowns.
In the fifth round, the Bears addresesd their offensive needs as they snagged another Big Ten running back for their back field. Jordan Howard, a powerful back that will likely be used in short yardage situations, will join the Bears out of Indiana, as they pick a mid-round back out of a Big Ten school for the second consecutive draft (they drafted Michigan State product Jeremy Langford in the fourth round in 2015).
DeAndre Houston-Carson, a safety out of William & Mary, was the Bears' selection in the sixth round of the draft. Largely a special teams ace, he can also play both safety and corner for the Bears, and he could be a player that turns some heads in training camp this summer.
Local
The Bears grabbed another steal in the seventh round as they selected wide receiver Daniel Braverman. The receiver led the nation in receiving yards in the slot this season, and he provides a dynamic, speedy option at wideout that some scouts thought warranted a third or fourth round draft selection.
With the draft complete, the Bears will join the 31 other NFL teams in trying to scoop up talented players from among those that were undrafted.
