This is the first series of many I will be doing on the Around The Block Network. Please, feel free to reach out to @bears_atb or @ryfootballscout with any questions on anything and everything Chicago Bears related. In this series I will be going through The Chicago Bears new acquisitions from day three of the NFL draft and their additions from the pool of un-drafted free agents in the 2021 draft cycle. Justin Fields and Teven Jenkins are great and exciting first and second round picks, absolutely. What about the rest of their rookie class though? We’ll begin to answer that question with the un-drafted free agent steal of the off-season, Charles Snowden. Grab your favorite beer, cocktail, or cup of coffee and let’s dive in.

Charles Snowden III, Virginia

Edge Defender — 6’7” — 240 lbs.

Charles Snowden was a three-star outside linebacker out of St. Alban’s High school in Washington, D.C. Snowden played for the Virginia Cavaliers for four seasons, compiling thirty tackles for loss, fifteen sacks, and fifteen pass deflections. Snowden suffered an ankle injury his senior year with two games left on the shortened season, the injury also forced him to miss the Reese’s Senior Bowl, a prime opportunity to show how much he had improved against the best competition in the country. The injury is thought to be the only reason Snowden went un-drafted.

Charles Snowden is a versatile edge rusher/off-ball linebacker hybrid. He lacks the desired strength to set a strong edge in the run game or win with power on pass rushing sets. Snowden uses his elite length (81” wingspan) to keep the Offensive-line from latching onto him, making it easy to disengage from the block and make a tackle. Snowden moves well laterally and has enough athleticism to be a legit problem for opposing offenses as a spot-dropping pass defender in a fire zone blitz-type of defense.

It is difficult to say what Sean Desai and the Bears have planned for Snowden, as we still aren’t exactly sure what his defense will look like. Snowden will have to add weight and strength to become a full-time edge rusher. Which is what he would have to play as, if Desai plans to play a Vic Fangio style of defense. Only having four pass rushers while the back-end of the defense plays some sort of Match Cover 3 and Match Cover 4. If Desai plans to play an attacking blitz-heavy style of defense similar to Miami, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh, Desai will be able to use Snowden’s unique ability to drop into coverage and disrupt passing lanes with his length on some plays. While also using him as an extra blitzing rusher on other plays. Making offenses respect him as both and therefore making it hard to set their pass protection. Offensive-linemen and the Quarterback will have to guess if Snowden is blitzing or dropping back every play. Giving the offense one more thing to worry about and giving the Chicago Bears’ defense an advantage before the ball is even snapped.

Charles Snowden still has plenty of developing to do as both a coverage defender and as a pass rusher before he is a full-time starter or even a rotational player, but for an un-drafted free agent he has a lot of upside and versatility to become a key contributor for the Chicago Bears in the future.

Thank you to everyone who read this quick dive into Charles Snowden. Be sure to keep a look out for more upcoming articles. Like, Retweet, Share, and Follow me: @ryfootballscout on Twitter as well. As i said earlier, we will be adding much more content throughout this off-season and into the 2021 season, so be sure to follow us @bears_atb on Twitter as well, peace!

#BearDown