Chris Jones was flying to Chicago when the Bears called.
They wanted to make sure they had the right number for the Mississippi State defensive lineman — presumably, in case they draft him.
“Chicago, it’s a pretty beautiful town,” he said Wednesday at Grant Park after the NFL’s Play 60 event. “I wouldn’t mind playing here.”
The Bears would probably need to take Jones, a fast riser, in the first round. At 6-6, 310 pounds, he could fit at end and bump inside on passing downs.
“The exciting part is, you know your life is going to be different,” he said. “The scary part is, you don’t know how different it’s going to be …
“The crazy part is the not-knowing part. We have no control over that. It’s like being in an airplane — you just sit back, because you have no control.”
Reed and react
Jarran Reed had more contact with the Bears than his fellow Alabama defensive lineman, A’Shawn Robinson. He had to cancel a Halas Hall visit, though, when his daughter, Jacey, was born April 8.
He said he later traveled to see the Chargers, Jets and Texans, but has stayed in contact with the Bears.
“I can fit in defensive scheme that any coach has,” he said. “We played it all at Alabama.”
The Bears know they could land a starting defensive lineman after the first round — the draft is the deepest at the position, ever — but could still consider someone earlier. Sheldon Rankins, a Louisville lineman, could make sense at No. 11.
Conklin’s considered it
Michigan State offensive tackle Jack Conklin called getting drafted by the Bears “definitely a possibility.”
“There’s a need there for an offensive lineman,” said Conklin, who is considered the third –best tackle in the draft, behind Ole Miss’ Laremy Tunsil and Notre Dame’s Ronnie Stanley.
Conklin, whose hometown of Plainwell, Mich., is 2 ½ hours away, did not visit Halas Hall.
“You never really get a sense of where you’re going to go,” he said. “I think you get more confused by this time than I was at the beginning.”
