DE Shea McClellin, maligned much of camp for a slow start as a No. 1 draft pick, came through with a handful of plays during scrimmages. He made a leaping interception of a screen pass and fell on a fumbled snap from center.
"Towards the end I felt like I did a little bit better than normal, but early on I felt like I had cement legs," McClellin said.
He may feel like he has cement legs later since coaches kept him on the field past the regular scrimmage for the first- and second-team players to work in live, full-contact scrimmage with other rookies and reserves.
"I've just got to keep grinding and learning from the older guys," McClellin said.
Not everything went McClellin's way Thursday. On one pass rush, undrafted rookie LT James Brown got his hands up under McClellin's pads and lifted him completely off the ground into the air.
One of the knocks on McClellin was that he was too light to be playing DE and would fit better with a 3-4 team at LB. He's listed at 6-3, 260, but had been 248 pounds much of last season at Boise State.
The big plays by McClellin did not surprise coach Lovie Smith after a week of seeing the 19th overall pick get stood up by undrafted tackles as well as starters.
"It was impressive, but he's capable of making plays like that," Smith said. "You know, when you're a first-round draft pick coming in there's a lot of pressure on you to be All-Pro right away. It takes time."
Follow Bears reporter Gene Chamberlain on Twitter @CBSSportsNFLCHI.
