Offensive line is probably the second biggest need besides safety and corner for the Bears, but Mayock said the Bears seem more confident than the rest of the league in the position.
“I think they are going to sit there at 75 and take the highest-rated defensive back on their board.”
Mayock said Oklahoma’s Dominique Franks and USC’s Kevin Thomas are potential Bears picks at cornerback. Safeties Chad Jones of LSU or Major Wright of Florida also could interest the Bears.
A wide receiver should be on the Bears’ shopping list, Mayock said.
“Devin Hester is a work in progress, Earl Bennett is a pretty good receiver. Johnny Knox is fast and has become a better receiver than maybe a lot of people thought, given his fifth-round draft status. But after that, I’m not buying into Devin Aromashodu , Juaquin Iglesias , all those guys. I really believe the Bears need another solid receiver threat.”
Chicago Bears draft needs in order by position ranked by me:
1) CB- Depth is very important for injury prone players like Charles Tillman and Zackary Bowman. This is a deep draft for corner-backs.
2) Free Safety- They need a solid free safety and this year their are safeties galore.
3) Guard- Josh Beekman and Lance Louis are potential starters at left guard, would it hurt to bring in competition for them?
4) DE- The release of veteran Alex Brown leaves the Bears with little depth behind Julius Peppers and Mark Anderson, Israel Idonije has never been a starter, Henry Melton was a rookie last season and got injured in the preseason and Jarron Gilbert is likely going to be moved DT.
5) Offensive Tackle- They need some depth behind Chris Williams and Frank Omiyale. Kevin Shaffer isn’t enough.
6) WR- Would it hurt to bring in another potential Johnny Knox with a fifth round pick?
Honorable Mentions:
QB- They will probably scoop up a veteran after the draft is over, but maybe Tebow falls to them. Most likely they will sign a QB off the street. Marc Bulger or Josh McCown would be nice options.
Center- It wouldn’t be bad to draft a center to groom under Olin Kreutz.
DT- The Bears need competition at this position.
all quotes from espnchicago.com
Jake Perper is the creator of www.BearsBacker.com and also covers the Bears for www.NFLTouchdown.com.
