Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Poles signed a few players after the draft ended. Of them, Keith Randolph Jr has a good chance of making the team and contributing.
The job of looking for help on the roster does not finish when the draft ends. There is a line of players who go undrafted but who can still contribute to the team. Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Poles signed a few shortly after Mr. Irrelevant, the final pick of the weekend, was announced.
Poles made some intriguing signings (including Western Kentucky quarterback Austin Reed). However, there is one who has a very good chance of making the team and contributing right away. Additionally, he is an Illinois kid. He is Keith Randolph Jr. To make things even better, Randolph played at the University of Illinois.
Randolph plays a position that is a need for the Chicago Bears. He is a defensive tackle. During the draft, Poles made a concerted effort to focus on the offense. Last year, with more picks, the majority of the picks were on defense. This time, with just four picks, he went with three offensive players and a special teams player. He did, however, trade back into the draft to pick up an additional pick and selected an edge rusher.
Poles did not pick up a defensive tackle, though. With Justin Jones departing via free agency, Gervon Dexter looks to become the starter. He was the backup last season so now the Chicago Bears need someone to replace Dexter.
Many clamored for the Bears to pick up one of the top defensive tackles so that Dexter remained as a backup. However, it appears that Poles and the coaching staff felt impressed with his performance last season to hand him the starting job.
Now, after signing Randolph, it may look as if the Chicago Bears have their backup.
Randolph measures 6-foot-3 and weighs 296 pounds. He has a 33-inch arm length and 81-inch wingspan so he has good size and length for his position. While he does not do anything that will wow you, he just gets the job done. He consistently gets low and has leverage to rack up tackles.
Randolph gets his arms up well to utilize his length. He has good strength as well so he can use his arms to keep offensive linemen at bay. That strength also makes it difficult to move him.
As a slanting rusher, Randolph does a good job of making himself skinny so he can slip into gaps. Additionally, he has a good arm-over move that allows him to move around pass blockers.
In 10 games in 2023, Randolph had 49 tackles (4 tackles for loss), with 1.5 sacks, and a pass breakup. He was an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten.
Randolph has decent block recognition to redirect his eyes and hands against down blocks. Combined with his strength, that helps him fight back against pressure. He will be good as a run blocker. His impressive upper-body strength and his ability to use his long arms will help him bat a lot of balls.
The knock on Randolph is that he blends in and does not stand out. While that is a concern for someone starting, it is not one when considering a backup. If the backup goes in, does his job, and is not heard from, that is a good thing. Randolph can come in and give Dexter plenty of rest. That makes Dexter fresh down the stretch and makes the Chicago Bears defense a force.
While the attention receives all of the attention, this defense could still make noise and help the Chicago Bears win a lot of games.
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