Bears Draft S Adrian Amos In 5th Round
(CBS) The Bears selected safety Adrian Amos out of Penn State with their fifth-round pick in the NFL Draft on Saturday.
This 142nd overall draft selection was acquired from the New York Jets in the trade that sent Brandon Marshall out of Chicago. With it, the Bears picked a safety who had 149 tackles and seven interceptions in four years with the Nittany Lions.
"I feel like it's a good situation there to come in and compete for a position," Amos said of joining the Bears.
Greg Gabriel, the Bears' former director of college scouting and a 670 The Score Contributor, said that Amos has outstanding traits but is an "average tackler" who needs to be more physical.
Amos converted over from cornerback to safety at Penn State, in order to help fill team positional need after sanctions crushed the program's depth.
"I played corner most of my career, then moved over to safety and I've been getting better and better at safety, especially over the past year playing safety," Amos said. "I've played every position on the field -- every skill position on the defensive-side of the field, except for Mike linebacker. I have experience playing the nickel position, the dime position, both safeties and both corners. I think my versatility, in that I can come in and you can find somewhere for me to play on the field."
The Bears have drafted 10 safeties since 2005. Amos was picked after selections of receiver Kevin White, defensive tackle Eddie Goldman, center Hroniss Grasu and running back Jeremy Langford.
In Amos, the Bears can hope to secure some longevity in the secondary. He certainly feels confident that will happen.
"I feel like my best asset is my coverage," Amos said. "I can cover the slot, cover tight ends, cover outside receivers. I feel like as a DB you have to be able to cover and should be the No. 1 thing that you have in your repertoire to be able to cover. I feel like I would help a lot in that regard."
Chicago's next pick and final slated draft slot is the seventh selection of the sixth round.
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