Chicago Bears: 5 Late-round sleeper targets in 2019 NFL Draft

Jimmy Moreland, CB, James Madison

You can never have enough ball hawks in the secondary, and that is exactly what Jimmy Moreland is. In 56 games at James Madison, he had 18 interceptions and ran six of them into the end zone. He also deflected another 63 passes. He isn’t content with just an interception, he wants to get the touchdown to help beat the opposing team.

Moreland is also a tackling machine, accumulating 208 in his college career. Not only did he get tackles in the secondary, but also got tackles in the backfield. He had 7.5 tackles for loss.

He has great form when he tackles, and despite being just 5-11 and weighing 175 pounds, you feel it when he hits you. He doesn’t shy away from contact, he loves it. While many wide receivers outweigh him by 30 pounds or more, he takes on the challenge and is a pest. He’ll get into people’s heads, talking and letting them know what he’s doing to them.

Pace has success in finding players from small schools. Moreland fits that. Additionally, he upped his game when playing against the FBS schools. In his first college game, he intercepted a pass against Maryland. Against the Mitchell Trubisky led North Carolina Tar Heels, he had seven tackles. He had 11 tackles against East Carolina. At one point last season, he had interceptions in four consecutive games and three of them he took to the house.

Moreland can also help on special teams, and not necessarily as a returner. He had five blocked field goal attempts, so in addition to putting up points on pick-sixes, he helps keep points off as well.

Moreland also learns his lessons well. He was involved in petty larceny with two of his teammates. All three players were dismissed. While the other two left the school, Moreland stayed and kept working on football on his own. After a coaching change, the new coach asked the staff about him. They were complimentary,

That, and the fact that he stayed in school and kept working out, helped the coach take a chance on him. Moreland took that second chance and never looked back. He paid the coach back with stellar play and now finds himself on the verge of making it to the NFL. He’d be a great fit with the group of guys the Chicago Bears assembled.