Making Monsters: How early will Keeanu Benton and Joe Tippmann be drafted?

The Wisconsin Badgers have had a bunch of players find success in the NFL in recent memory, and there are two more draft-eligible prospects that the Chicago Bears could be interested in; defensive tackle Keeanu Benton and center Joe Tippmann. Both players would fill a need in Chicago, and both are likely day-two picks.

Taylor Doll continues her Making Monsters series, "Beyond the 9th Pick," talking about potential Chicago draft picks beyond their number nine spot. In this episode, she talks to Colten Bartholomew, who covers Wisconsin football for several outlets, including Badger Extra, to learn more about Benton and Tippman.

Benton's experience projects him to be a 0 or a 1 technique, as he can control two gaps in the run game, but in his senior season he showed more quickness and pass rush skills as they moved him around the Badger d-line. He had a career-high 10 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks while battling through a leg injury in 2022.

"What he's been able to do is get one on one situations with guards in pass-rushing situations," Bartholomew tells us about Benton. "As quick as he is with the upper body strength he has — combine all those things with improvements in technique and learning different moves, and it all culminated in this year."

Tippman had a slow start to his collegiate career due to some minor injuries and a change in position to center, but it all clicked for him in 2021 with 11 starts in 12 games; then in 2022, he started all 12 regular season games.

Bartholomew says that his football IQ is a "big advantage" for Tippman, with his "understanding of the run schemes," and that he "knows how to set a front, knows how to set your line up play to play."

Check out Taylor's latest Making Monsters right here for more on these two Badgers.

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