2011 Chicago Bears Draft Preview

The Bears surprised many people last season, including myself, by reaching the NFC championship game. However, the season was a disappointment because they did not win the Super Bowl. The Bears finally have a first and a second round pick after a two-year hiatus and it could not come at a better time. Many of their players are getting up there in age and they have several holes to fill to make them a consistent contender. Not to mention the fact that divisional rival Green Bay is a young team and has had success in drafting over the years. Bears GM Jerry Angelo on the other hand, has not been very successful in drafting players during his tenure. Since taking over as GM in 2001, Jerry has drafted only six players (Tillman, Manning, Hester, Olsen, C. Williams, and Forte) in the first or second round that are still on the team. All drafts are critical to a team, but this draft is especially critical for the Bears to draft well to remain in contention for the NFC and Super Bowl title.




Bears Draft Picks, Round (Pick #): 1 (29), 2 (62), 3 (93), 4 (127), 5 (160), 6 (195).

Needs (In order of importance)

1. Offensive Line: The most pressing spot on the line is the LT spot, but the other 4 positions are of need as well. In 2008, the Bears thought they drafted their LT of the future in Chris Williams. Injuries and inconsistent play has limited him in his brief career. Center Olin Kreutz is a free agent and will be 34 in June and the other spots on the line is full of make shift players. The Bears would love for Gabe Carimi from Wisconsin to fall to them at 29, but that may not be likely. Many mock drafts have them selecting OT Derek Sherrod from Mississippi St.

2. Defensive Line: Other than the production from Julius Peppers, there was not much else production from the DL last season. Israel Idonije had a nice season, but he benefited from playing opposite of Peppers. Tommie Harris was released before the lockout but underachieved and was injury prone his last few years in Chicago. DT Corey Liuget from Illinois would be a nice prospect to see fall to the Bears at 29 if all the top OL prospects are off the board, but that seems unlikely. DT Marvin Austin from North Carolina (“Don’t drink and twitter,” Brent Musburger) may still be on the board, but he has character issues and the Bears usually stray away from character issue players.

3. Cornerback: Charles Tillman is a solid pro, but the other corner spot is still a question mark. Tim Jennings did ok as the second corner during the year, but he was exploited in the NFC championship game. Not to mention the fact that he is like 5’2. Zackary Bowman has always had good training camps, but he has not been able to translate that into the regular season. The Bears need to pick up a competent corner that can help defend the multiple receiver formations that teams such as the Packers show.

4. Wide Receiver: I think the Bears think higher of their receiving corps than they should. It is a decent group of number 2 and number 3 receivers, but they do not have that one guy you can consistently count on to make a play. Earl Bennett and Johnny Knox made strides of improvement this past season, but I do not believe they are going to develop into a number 1 receiver at any point in their careers. I am high on Jon Baldwin from Pittsburgh and if he were to slip to the Bears when they draft in the second round, I would not be disappointed if they drafted him.

Low and behold, as I get home from work early this morning I come to find an article from Chicago Breaking Sports that the Bears are shopping their first round pick. I am not surprised in this maneuver what so ever. Jerry Angelo has a history of dealing first round picks in order to trade down to acquire more picks. I guess I would not be too upset if he trades out of the first round, granted they get in return a pick that is early in the second round and another mid round pick or two. They had also better be sure the prospect(s) they are targeting would still be on the board at that point. I just have a gut feeling, based on experience, that the 29th pick will be traded at some point Thursday.

Other Bears Off-Season Quick Hits

- While I am on the subject of the Bears, I feel I should address a few other offseason notes. The first one is regarding Mike Martz. He recently turned down a contract extension from the Bears because it did not include a raise. I have a question… Why does Martz think he deserves a raise? The Bears were 30th in the NFL in total offense last season, a decrease from when they were 23rd in the league in 2009. His offensive philosophy was one of the reasons in how Jay Cutler sustained his first injury of the season (concussion), causing the Bears during their bye week to tell Martz to balance the offense out and stop calling passes that require 7 step drops. His play calling in the NFC title game was also questionable. I mean, who can forget the reverse to Earl Bennett on third down with about a minute and a half left in the 4th quarter right? Martz should just be happy he is in the league right now. One final thing, how about Martz demanding a veteran backup quarterback during training camp? The choice, Todd Collins. Enough said.

- Jay Cutler finally opened up about his injury during the NFC championship game. Cutler said, “I was gone, and I stayed away from it all, but I can't say it didn't bother me that people questioned my toughness and desire to play.” That quote just speaks to Cutler’s personality. He is not a person who is particularly interested in what people say or feel about him. Nor is he going to be front and center in the media being vocal about how wrong all the critics were about his injury. Jay is Jay, and that is just the way it is.

- Finally, I know Charlie wanted me to touch on this, Jay Cutler and Kristin Cavallari are reportedly engaged. My response, congratulations to the both of them.



-Michael Fant