When Cedric Benson was projected as a top-five pick in the 2005 NFL draft with red flags about his character, the Bears turned to an inside source to get the real scoop on the prolific rusher from Texas — wide receivers coach Darryl Drake, who was an assistant at Texas in Benson’s first three seasons in Austin before taking the Bears job when Lovie Smith was hired in 2004.
“We basically had a guy live with him for three years,” then-Bears director of college scouting Greg Gabriel said at the time. “That gives us an advantage over everybody else.