Chicago Bears 2016 NFL Draft: Round 1 Grade, LB Leonard Floyd

As the first round of Thursday night's NFL Draft was taking shape, the Chicago Bears appeared to be in great shape with a few big-ticket names seemingly falling within reach of their #11 overall pick. Specifically, LB Myles Jack, CB Vernon Hargreaves, and LT Laremy Tunsil were all on the board when the Bears made a move-- while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were on the clock at #9, the Bears decided to trade a 4th round pick to move up two slots, and chose to draft... LB Leonard Floyd, University of Georgia.

At first glance, it didn't make sense why the Bears would trade up for a guy that didn't appear to have trade-uppable credentials, but it didn't take long to be revealed that the guys sitting at #10, the New York Giants, coveted Floyd as well.

So the Bears brass decided they wanted Floyd enough to give up a 4th round draft pick to move up to grab him, even with the names that were still on the board at the time.  The Giants ended up drafting CB Eli Apple at #10, and the Bucs picked Hargreaves at #11.

We know that general manager Ryan Pace and head coach John Fox both wanted speed, and Pace, Fox and Vic Fangio all value pass rushers, so Leonard Floyd for their intents seems to fit the bill.

You can get two versions of comments on the Floyd pick:

1- The general manager's comments are HERE, and

2- The internet's general population's comments are HERE.

It's worth noting that there was similar responses from the internet when Kyle Long was selected in the 1st round in 2013... Check out the comments section HERE.

But not to try and persuade anyone before you vote-- please let us know what you think about the Bears first round selection of linebacker Leonard Floyd by voting in the Poll below.