Jerry Angelo of Drafting Melton and Signing Clutts.......
September 14, 2011
Thorough scouting enabled Bears to land Melton
Last Updated: 9/14/2011 10:14 AM
ChicagoBears.com senior writer Larry Mayer speaks with general manager Jerry Angelo about the most pressing issues involving the Bears every week during the season.
LM: Defensive tackle Henry Melton had a great game Sunday, recording two sacks and seven quarterback hits in his first NFL start. What led to the Bears selecting him in the fourth round of the 2009 draft out of Texas?
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Henry Melton celebrates with Lance Briggs after recording a sack in the Bears' season-opening win Sunday.
JA: “We knew he was a top athlete. He played as a true freshman as a 270-pound running back at Texas on a national championship team. He didn’t start, but he scored 10 touchdowns. Moving forward, he didn’t have much of a role on offense. Our area scout, Chris Ballard, did a great job of tracking him. He knew [then-Texas defensive coordinator] Will Muschamp and Will told Chris that he asked coach [Mack] Brown if he could work with him on defense because he liked his size and athleticism. Henry played on defense a few years. As a senior, he really started to show some things. We saw him at an all-star game and liked his traits, but by no means was he a
finished product.
Henry didn’t go to the Combine, but he made approximately 13 pre-draft visits, the most of any non-Combine player. We put a lot of stock in what our scouts say. They do a ton of homework, and Chris put his stamp on him. He said: ‘This guy’s got all upside. He’s shown the toughness and work ethic needed to get to his ceiling, and if we’re patient with him, maybe we’ll have something.’ When our coaches got him, they were really intrigued and motivated to work with him. Henry has been a work in progress. It’s really good to see that he’s coming closer to that ceiling. It’s come through a lot of hard work on his part and a lot of special coaching as well.”
LM: I know that you watch a lot of tape of college players. But how much faith do you put in area scouts and how much do you rely on them to not only evaluate a player but project what he could become?
JA: “We tell our area scouts that they’re mini-directors in their area. We don’t crosscheck like some teams, who take scouts out of their area for a month at a time and put them in somebody else’s area. We don’t operate that way. We leave our scouts in their area. They do some crosschecking, but by and large they are the bread and butter for us in their particular area. We put a tremendous amount of value and stock in their work because they’ve seen the player—like in Henry Melton’s case—his whole career. If we were just looking at Henry his senior year, we may have not drafted him where we did. But knowing what Chris knew and shared with us made it easier for us to do so.”
LM: Fullback Tyler Clutts seemingly came from nowhere, signing with the Bears off the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad and contributing on offense and special teams in the win over the Falcons. How did he end up with the Bears?
JA: “He was really a Johnny-come-lately. We didn’t have him on our radar at all. It really just happened after that preseason game [versus Cleveland]. We liked him in that game, particularly our special teams coaches Dave Toub and Kevin O’Dea. We looked at the tape and he did a nice job. Our pro scouts also really liked him, so you had a real consensus. The unique thing is his background. (Clutts was a defensive end at Fresno State before playing in the CFL, AFL and UFL.) The thing you like about him is this guy has bounced around and he really appreciates being in the NFL. It was really a good job by everybody in finding him at the 11th hour. Watching what he did Sunday, in particular his blocking on the great runs after catch by Matt Forte and Devin Hester was pretty special.”
