Potential NFL roles take shape for Bulls
As the final day of the NFL draft ended in Philadelphia last April, three Bulls we’re called upon to join a NFL squad.
After donning a cap to represent their new teams on stage in the fourth (Marlon Mack), fifth (Rodney Adams) and sixth rounds (Kofi Amichia), the trio of former Bulls turned into a quartet when the LA Rams signed former LB Nigel Harris two weeks after the draft.
With at least one preseason game under each of their belts, the potential NFL roles of the Bulls are beginning to take shape.
Despite missing the first week of the preseason due to a shoulder injury, Mack began to turn heads in his debut as an Indianapolis Colt on Saturday. He garnered five rushes for 45 yards, which included a 23-yard run where he made one man miss and broke two tackles.
“I thought he was outstanding,” Colts coach Chuck Pagano said about Macks’ debut. “He’s going to be a heck of a football player…I think he averaged nine yards a carry, made a couple of nice catches. (He had a) screen called back because of a foolish holding penalty.”
Mack is currently listed as the third running back on the Colts depth chart, but appears poised to move his way up if he continues to play like he did against the Cowboys Saturday night.
The Minnesota Vikings selected former Bull WR Adams in the fifth round with the 170th pick and immediately reaped the benefits in their first preseason game on Aug. 10 when Adams found the end zone.
Adams continued his offensive success in preseason game No. 2 with the Vikings, catching four passes for 27 yards. On special teams, however, Adams struggled, fumbling on a punt return and averaging fewer than 17 yards per kick off return.
Adams, who was the favorite to be the No. 1 kick returner, according to CBSSports.com, will likely have to battle Jerick McKinnon and seventh-round pick Stacy Coley in order to keep the job.
The last former Bull to be selected in the 2017 draft was Kofi Amichia. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers three picks before the final round began.
Being a man of the trenches, Amichia hasn’t found himself in the spotlight much this preseason, but has seen live action in both of the Packers preseason bouts despite starting neither.
Due to his size, the Packers plan on moving the 6-foot-4, 300 pound big man to the inside of the line to play guard or center to help protect franchise quarterback Aaron Rodgers. In his time at USF Amichia predominately played left tackle.
The final USF alum to enter NFL this year is LB Nigel Harris.
After 253 players were picked over him during the draft, Harris has already shown flashes of potential since signing a rookie deal with the Chargers in May and has begun to take reps with the first team defenses’ nickel formation, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.