Bears Blitz

Published by Bob Warja on April 27, 2012
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

After spending their first-round pick on defense, the Bears went out and provided more help for QB Jay Cutler by drafting South Carolina receiver Alshon Jeffery. Surprisingly, they traded up five spots to get Jeffery.

Then, in the third round, GM Phil Emery and the Bears went back to the defensive side of the football and drafted a safety.

Well, so far, this draft doesn’t look to be that different from a typical Jerry Angelo draft in the sense that they took a surprising first-round pick, something that Angelo was prone to do, and by taking a safety, something Angelo always did.

To be fair, Emery deserves the benefit of the doubt after a productive offseason. And while Jeffery certainly has some question marks, the Bears did need another big, speedy wideout to make other teams pay for double-teaming newly acquired Brandon Marshall.

But the area where they differ is that Emery started out his Bears GM career by getting a wideout and then his second move of the draft is another wideout. That is something Angelo would not have done.

Meanwhile, there are good and bad points about drafting Jeffery. On the one hand, he has great size (6’3″) and was once considered a mid-to-late first-round pick. But his draft stock had started to plummet a bit based on reports that he took plays off and his weight fluctuated often.

He also had limited production in his 2011 collegiate season, though the Gamecocks had QB issues. Jeffery had a monster season in 2010 when he caught 88 balls for 1,517 yards and nine touchdowns. But he made only 49 catches for 762 yards and eight touchdowns this past year.

The Bears dealt their second-round pick and their fifth-rounder for the St. Louis Rams‘ second-round pick (45th) in order to draft Jeffery.

GRADE: B

In the third round, with the 79th pick, the Bears took Oregon State safety Brandon Hardin, who wasn’t on my draft radar. I do feel they need to challenge Major Wright at strong safety, though I think that free safety is in good hands with Chris Conte.

They weren’t going to get Mark Barron or Harrison Smith, but I really liked Antonio Allen. I had Hardin projected as a fifth round pick.

But the worst thing about this pick is that Hardin missed the entire 2011 season due to shoulder surgery. We’ve had enough injury-prone players fail due to health from the draft in the past that I am a little leery of drafting players like Hardin.

He could end up playing cornerback, and he does have skills, with good size and athleticism, but again, the injury thing really makes me question this pick.

GRADE: C-

So where do the Bears go from here? They have three picks left after trading away their fifth round pick, and they still need help on the offensive line and at defensive tackle.

With the 111th pick, here are some of the best options for Chicago:

Zebrie Sanders, OT, Florida State

 Brandon Thompson, DT, Clemson 

Billy Winn, DE/DT, Boise State 

With the 184th pick, my final mock has the Bears taking Vontaze Burfict, the troubled but talented ILB out of Arizona State. I also like Nate Potter, OT, Boise State.

And finally, in the seventh round, at pick No. 220, I like local kid Dennis Kelly, OT, Purdue (if they haven’t already drafted an OT). Alternatively, they could go for George Bryan, TE, N.C. State or Scott Wedige, C, Northern Illinois. I had Winston Guy, SS, Kentucky, in my final mock, but the Bears have already selected a safety.

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