The Chicago Bears have landed offensive lineman Cody Whitehair with the No. 56 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. Whitehair, 23, played all four years at Kansas State and was a starter at both guard and tackle, transitioning to the latter position for his junior and senior seasons.
Bears take top guard Cody Whitehair with No. 56 pick
Whitehair can play anywhere on the line but is considered the top guard in the NFL Draft.
Whitehair redshirted in 2011 but played in every game on 2012, starting 12 of them at various positions. He primarily played left guard, where he also started in 2013, when he earned second team All-Big 12 honors. In 2014, he made the full-time switch to left tackle, where he started every game the next two seasons, once again earning second team All-Big 12 honors as a junior and then first team All-Big 12 honors as a senior.
Where Whitehair will play in the NFL has been a topic of some debate, but most settled on calling him a guard in the pre-draft process. More than that, he has been considered the best guard, at the top of what is a relatively weak class at the position. But that is not indication that Whitehair himself is a bad player, just that there were fewer opportunities to grab a top-end guard in this year’s draft.
Chicago has managed to land one, though. Whitehair is a veteran who is ready to play at the next level from Day 1.
"I’m very comfortable playing guard but I’m also comfortable playing tackle," Whitehair said during 2016 Senior Bowl interviews. "I know the league is a whole different animal and the D-ends are a little bit bigger, a little bit faster out there. So I’d probably say my main position is guard."
He can play any position on the line and he can make the line calls if needed. At 6’4 and 301 pounds, Whitehair has the size and bulk needed for the position. He has a wide base and is great against speed rushers and bull rushers.
Whitehair was rarely fooled by an intricate pass-rushing move in college, and was only beaten when he didn’t establish his base properly and allowed defenders to attack him from lower. That didn’t happen often though, and there is far, far more tape of him engaging and dispatching defenders than there is of him losing out to them.
He blocks very well in space and is rarely taken out of a play. His recovery is phenomenal and when he’s pushed around, he is often able to lock on to the direction of the play and push back in that direction. He creates holes, and in the running game, he makes them well.
Scouts have few negatives to say about him, though on tape it’s clear that he’s better suited inside than outside, especially in the NFL. He’s been his weakest against the most elite speed rushers and on the interior he’ll face less of them and more of the disruptive defensive tackles that populate the NFL today.
“I just want to be more physical and get more stronger in the upper body,” Whitehair said when asked about what he would like to improve. “You know, that’s a little bit of my weakness, but I’m going to work hard on that.
But the concern surrounding the fact that some scouts don’t think he is a right fit for a tackle isn’t really that significant. Whitehair rarely made mistakes in college and would simply be better inside. If his new team chooses to play him outside, there are plenty who think Whitehair has all the tools to succeed there and become one of the best players in this year’s draft.
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