DC Vic Fangio disappointed camp didn't go better for Leonard Floyd

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Four days before the season opener, Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio offered a blunt assessment of first-round draft pick Leonard Floyd.

"Overall his camp was kind of choppy," Fangio said of the outside linebacker Wednesday. "First, early on, he had an illness that kept him out a couple days. Then he came back. Then he dinged his shoulder a little bit. It kept him out a couple days. Then he tweaked the hamstring, which kept him out.

"So I think the best word has been choppy and inconsistent, more from an availability standpoint to where he could have [had] a large chunk of good, learning practices in a week playing in a preseason game."

Fangio stressed that he is not upset with Floyd, the ninth overall pick, but is concerned about the rookie's development, or lack thereof.

"I'm disappointed that, yes, he got sick and missed a few days of practice," Fangio said. "I'm disappointed he dinged his shoulder and missed a few days of practice and then tweaked a hamstring and missed four or five days of practice. Yeah, I'm disappointed that happened, but I'm not mad at him. He didn't do it on purpose. But it has retarded his development a little bit."

Floyd did not react much when informed of Fangio's comments.

"I think I'm ready as I can be, when my number is called, to go out there and do whatever it takes and help us win," Floyd said.

"I don't feel much pressure at all. Because I know me, and I'll go out there and give it the best I can, and that's all I can do."

Bears general manager Ryan Pace cited Floyd's rare combination of height (6-foot-4), athleticism and speed as justification for trading up two spots to get him in the draft. Floyd, who had 17 sacks in 38 careers games in college, tested extremely well at the NFL scouting combine in February.

However, Floyd's playing weight is an ongoing concern. The Bears put him on a special nutritional program to pack on pounds over the summer. Listed at 240 pounds in Chicago's official Week 1 roster, Floyd played much lighter than that at Georgia. But Floyd, who refused to disclose his exact playing weight, said he is only "2 pounds" away from his target goal.

Fangio said the manner in which Floyd handles himself physically will determine the amount of playing time he receives.

"The only reason you take him in and out [of games], is one, like I said, because of those things I mentioned in training camp. I don't think he's in the greatest condition right now," Fangio said. "And I think for a young guy like himself, playing 60 to 70 plays in an NFL game, he's going to find it vastly different than the 80 plays he might have played in college. OK? He's up against men now. And he's found that out quickly.

"Some ways it's not a bad way to break in. When we had Aldon Smith [whom Fangio coached in San Francisco] in his rookie year he only played about 50-some percent of the time. He was in and out, too.

"[Floyd] is athletic. He can run. I think he's got good instincts. He just has to learn what to do and how to do it more consistently."