{"id":864085,"date":"2026-04-11T16:24:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T16:24:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/864085\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T16:24:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T16:24:21","slug":"bears-interested-in-underrated-dt-prospect-possible-draft-steal-with-elite-nickname","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/864085\/","title":{"rendered":"Bears Interested in Underrated DT Prospect, Possible Draft Steal with Elite Nickname"},"content":{"rendered":"

With so much attention on the Chicago Bears possibly drafting a defensive lineman<\/a> in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, it’s possible some Day 2 options have flown under the radar for Bears fans.<\/p>\n

We’ve seen the usual suspects linked to the Bears with the No. 25 pick, with guys like Peter Woods and Kayden McDonald widely mocked to Chicago<\/a> this offseason.<\/p>\n

But there’s a potential Day 2 steal flying under the radar right now and it’s Iowa State defensive tackle Domonique Orange, who sports a fantastic nickname, “Big Citrus.”<\/p>\n

According to Tony Pauline of Essentially Sports<\/a>, the Bears were one of 10 teams to attend Orange’s workout on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

And it would appear Orange was quite impressive, with Pauline noting how Big Citrus posted a 1.68-second 10-yard split, which amounts to an elite number for a defensive tackle.<\/p>\n

Why Big Citrus is flying under the radar\"Iowa<\/p>\n

Iowa State Cyclones’ defensive lineman Domonique Orange. | Nirmalendu Majumdar\/Ames Tribune \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

While he is still projected to go somewhere on Day 2, Orange remains a bit underrated. That’s because Big Citrus has been sidelined due to a quadriceps injury<\/a> throughout the pre-draft process, which has led to his stock taking a hit.<\/p>\n

Another reason Orange is underrated is because of his lackluster raw numbers at college. He never tallied more than 4.5 tackles for loss, nor did he finish with north of a single sack in any season.<\/p>\n

However, Orange made a statement on Tuesday and, at least for the teams in attendance during his workout, he isn’t flying under the radar anymore.<\/p>\n

“Forced to the sidelines by a quad injury during the most critical evaluation period of his career, Iowa State DT Dom Orange finally got his chance to impress NFL scouts on Tuesday,” Pauline said. <\/p>\n

“A 1.68-second 10-yard split is elite for any defensive tackle, but for a player coming off a quad injury that wiped out his predraft process, it\u2019s a statement. That\u2019s exactly the statement The Big Citrus made to NFL teams on Tuesday in attendance.”<\/p>\n

A perfect fit for the Bears\"Iowa<\/p>\n

Iowa State Cyclones defensive lineman Domonique Orange. | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The 6-foot-2, 322-pound tackle’s best collegiate season came in 2024, when he posted one sack and 4.5 tackles for loss. In 2025, he failed to register a sack and dropped to 0.5 tackles for loss.<\/p>\n

But the tape shows Orange is a space-eater up the middle who possesses the expected strength of a nose tackle, but also impressive quickness.<\/p>\n

Comparisons to Gervon Dexter at a higher level can be made as well. Dexter is a solid, if inconsistent interior defender, as Windy City Gridiron notes his inconsistency in both pass rush and ruh stopping.<\/a> PFF ranked him 20th among defensive tackles last season<\/a> in terms of pass rush, but his run defense ranked 107th among defensive tackles. Orange has dominant run-defensive traits that would boost Dennis Allen’s thick fronts, but his pass rush leaves something to be desired. <\/p>\n

Translation: Orange isn’t going to take down the quarterback much, but what he can do is stuff the run, which the Bears need after sporting the sixth-worst run defense<\/a> in the NFL last season.<\/p>\n

Big Citrus’ draft projection\"Iowa<\/p>\n

Iowa State Cyclones defensive lineman Domonique Orange. | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The belief is Orange will get drafted between Rounds 2 and 3 and the Bears are loaded with two second-round picks<\/a> and a third-rounder.<\/p>\n

With questions about Woods and McDonald, both of whom could have second-round grades<\/a>, per ESPN’s Jordan Reid, it’s possible Chicago opts to avoid both at No. 25. <\/p>\n

If so, general manager Ryan Poles could pivot to Orange on Day 2, and he could land himself a steal in the process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With so much attention on the Chicago Bears possibly drafting a defensive lineman in the first round of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":864086,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2070],"tags":[374,692,391,2493,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-864085","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-bears","8":"tag-bears","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-chicago-bears","11":"tag-chicagobears","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116387007705371883","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=864085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/864086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=864085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=864085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=864085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}