The State of the Bears: Part 1

Breaking down the draft

Draft Needs:

1. Wide Receiver
2. Free Safety

Draft Picks:

Round 2, Pick 17 (49 Overall): Traded to Seattle for 68th and 105th overall picks

The trade was a bit of a headscratcher since the consensus opinion was that the Bears would pick the best available 2nd tier wide receiver, the likes of which included Brian Robiskie and Mohamed Massaquoi. Otherwise, they would consider taking a defensive back like Safety William Moore. Robiskie was gone with the 36th pick, but Massaquoi was there for the taking. This draft was regarded as a generally low talent one overall but one with a lot of good second round talent. And of course the Bears drafted out of the second. Consequently Massaquoi was taken with the 50th overall and Moore with the 55th overall. More on the WR debate later.

Round 3, Pick 4 (68 Overall): Jarron Gilbert, DT San Jose St.

Scout.com Ranking: 69 Overall / 9 DE / 4 Stars
CBS Sports Ranking: 49 Overall / 7 DE
ESPN Scouts Inc. Ranking: 60 Overall / 5 DT / Grade - 80

Jarron Gilbert is regarded as a physical freak. He became a youtube phenomenon when he jumped straight out of a swimming pool: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXDSPbZ_OUw
He's 6'5", 290 lbs, strong, and fast. He has experience at DT, but was regarded at being a good fit at DE in the NFL and possible Elephant LB in a 3-4. He was climbing up draft boards as a straight up physical talent. He could fit at DT considering the Bears' needs, and Jerry Angelo has said he likes him most as an under tackle. He doesn't have great technique yet, and his motivation has been questioned. It might not do him justice to call him a project, but he's likely not a starter. It's also notable that Mel Kiper Jr. picked Gilbert as his steal of the draft.

Round 3, Pick 35 (99 Overall): Juaquin Iglesias, WR Oklahoma

Scout.com Ranking: 54 Overall / 8 WR / 4 Stars
CBS Sports Ranking: 79 Overall / 10 WR
ESPN Scouts Inc. Ranking: 111 Overall / 14 WR / Grade - 66

To get a better feel for this pick, we'll compare him to Mohamed Massaquoi and Brian Robiskie.

Brian Robiskie, WR Ohio State
Scout.com Ranking: 47 Overall / 7 WR / 4 Stars
CBS Sports Ranking: 30 Overall / 5 WR
ESPN Scouts Inc. Ranking: 72 Overall / 10 WR / Grade - 77

Mohamed Massaquoi, WR Goergia
Scout.com Ranking: 115 Overall / 19 WR / 3 Stars
CBS Sports Ranking: 71 Overall / 9 WR
ESPN Scouts Inc. Ranking: 53 Overall / 7 WR / Grade - 83

There's a great degree of disagreement between sources on the 2nd Tier WR's. It seems that Jerry Angelo was hoping for Robiskie to fall to 49, but when that didn't happen they passed on Massaquoi in hopes of getting value in the later rounds. I would say Iglesias with the 99th is indeed value, but Massaquoi was expected by many to be the Bears' choice for WR. The Bears have locked Hester in as the #1, and expect Earl Bennett to be the starter at #2. They were looking for a large possession receiver to lineup across from Hester, and all three prospects would have fit the needs of the Bears. We can see how Massaquoi and Iglesias ranked on team draft boards based on their respective draft positions, so it's hard to buy that Iglesias was a better prospect than Massaquoi.

That being said, Iglesias seems to have all the tools to be a starting receiver. He's a solid route runner who's known for his toughness. The only real knock on him is that he doesn't have a second gear, but he does have great speed out of the blocks with a 4.46 40 time. He can be a very good player and has all the tools to contribute right away but is unlikely to become anything more than that. At 6'1" 210 lbs, he has good size to matchup against NFL defenses. On paper, he does seem to fit all the requirements, and his production at Oklahoma does not show many weaknesses. However, no one expects him to become a great player. We won't see whether passing up on Massaquoi was a mistake for a while, but the jury's out on the Bears' WR choice until we see what happens even though Iglesias appears to have been great value for the compensatory pick. I wasn't watching the draft at the time, but if I had been I imagine I would have been hoping that the Bears would go for Iglesias.

Round 4, Pick 5 (105 Overall): Henry Melton, DE Texas

Scout.com Ranking: 261 Overall / 20 DE / 2 Stars
CBS Sports Ranking: 206 Overall / 17 DE
ESPN Scouts Inc. Ranking: 206 Overall / 17 DE / Grade - 44

Henry Who? This was the Bears' reach of the draft. The DE pool in this year's draft was considered weak, and so the Bears chose to pick based on potential. Melton is a big, quick, and strong talent who is still learning the position. He started at Texas as a fullback, and shows great speed for his size with a 4.65 40 time. Melton is a project at a position the Bears have no immediate need. There were a bunch of higher rated DE's still available, but the assumption is that the Bears think they have the time and depth to turn Melton into a pro-level player. It'll still be a long time before we find out if he was worth it.

Round 4, Pick 19 (119 Overall): D.J. Moore, CB Vanderbilt

Scout.com Ranking: 43 Overall / 6 CB / 4 Stars
CBS Sports Ranking: 56 Overall / 6 DE
ESPN Scouts Inc. Ranking: 38 Overall / 5 DE / Grade - 87

Chicago is quickly becoming Vanderbilt North, but D.J. Moore can play. At one time, he was considered a fringe 1st round pick. He has the tools to play safety, but seeing as how the Bears haven't had much luck converting corners to safeties, he'll likely challenge Vasher and Graham to start at corner. At 5'9", he's undersized but has shown that he has the tools to play the position with 12 interceptions and 17 pass defenses last year. He doesn't have great speed but was fast enough to be a return specialist in college. He was projected to be a good fit as a Cover-2 cornerback. Moore is just plain effective; he plays the position with great instinct and reacts quickly to routes. He does show good strength for his size as well as good ball-handling ability. He likely slipped so far because of his size, but the Bears have enough depth at CB to give a chance to a player who has proved he's effective. He's confident and will likely come into the season with a chip on his shoulder.

Round 5, Pick 4 (140 Overall): Johnny Knox, WR Abilene Christian

Scout.com Ranking: 249 Overall / 31 WR / 2 Stars
CBS Sports Ranking: 151 Overall / 20 WR
ESPN Scouts Inc. Ranking: 115 Overall / 15 DE / Grade - 65

Johnny Knox is the fastest receiver available in this year's draft. He was productive at a small school, and climbed draft boards after the combine. He has Devin Hester speed but needs to work on his route running. At 5'11" 185 lbs, he has below-average bulk, but that hasn't prevented him from playing physical. He also needs to improve his footwork getting in and out of breaks. Knox is another upside pick. His speed is highly coveted, and he does have decent hands. With the Bears' current pool of WR's, they have more than enough room to add another prospect, but it's hard to say if they did enough to complement their acquisition of Cutler.

Round 5, Pick 18 (154 Overall): Marcus Freeman, OLB Ohio State

Scout.com Ranking: 81 Overall / 6 OLB / 4 Stars
CBS Sports Ranking: 67 Overall / 8 OLB
ESPN Scouts Inc. Ranking: 85 Overall / 8 OLB / Grade - 72

Marcus Freeman is a talented athlete with good speed at the Linebacker position. He is maybe a bit undersized, but had great production paired with Laurinitus at OSU. He's a good tackler but has some difficulty shedding blocks. There are some questions about his durability, but in general he's a great talent with the tools, speed, and strength to play anywhere at LB. This was a straight up value pick. The Bears have no great need here, but since he was available they went ahead and built some depth. He'll likely be a special teamer as well.

Round 6, Pick 17 (190 Overall): Al Afalava, SS Oregon State

Scout.com Ranking: 290 Overall / 23 S / 2 Stars
CBS Sports Ranking: 257 Overall / 9 SS
ESPN Scouts Inc. Ranking: 28 S / Grade - 30

Afalava has good size for the safety position, but he's really built for Strong Safety. He has decent speed with a 4.48 40 time, but lacks the range to play the Free Safety position. 6 rounds so far and no Free Safety. Was there a better Free Safety available here? It's hard to say, but chances are the Bears won't be making an attempt to convert Afalava. So where does Afalava fit. He's also likely to be a special teamer, but he's being billed as a run stopping safety. He's a huge hitter and has a reputation for his knockout blows.

Round 7, Pick 37 (246 Overall): Lance Louis, OG San Diego State

Scout.com Ranking: 290 Overall / 23 S / 2 Stars
CBS Sports Ranking: 233 Overall / 12 OG
ESPN Scouts Inc. Ranking: 28 OG / Grade - 30

Lance Louis is a quick Offensive Guard. He's currently lacking in skills, but the Bears have plans to convert him to a run-blocking tight end due to his size and speed. He'll likely compete for a roster spot.

Round 7, Pick 42 (251 Overall): Derek Kinder, WR Pittsburgh

Kinder has good size and hands at the position, but is lacking in speed. Not sure what Angelo especially liked about him, but was higly endorsed by Pitt coach, Wannstedt.

Undrafted Signings
Eric Peterman, WR, Northwestern
Mike Rivera, LB, Kansas
Dahna Deleston, SS, UConn
Will Taufoou, FB, Cal
Dennis Conley, OG, Hampton
Johan Asiata, OG, UNLV
Kevin Malast, LB, Rutgers
Tyrell Fenroy, RB, Louisiana-Lafayette

Overview

The Bears did manage to replenish their receiving corps, but it's hard to say how effective this group of receivers will be. Angelo seems to think that with Cutler as the QB, the receivers are bound to get better; however, we'll have to see how things turn out to get a good reading on all the young players. Iglesias fits in with what they had in mind, and Knox was a talent expected to go much higher.

The Bears don't seem to have addressed their needs at Free Safety. The majority of the undrafted signees they brought on will be special teamers. Taufoou was a coveted Fullback prospect, and many teams were competing to sign him. There is some word that Afalava may work out at FS, and he has experience at both Safety positions. Afalava was expected to go undrafted, so this was biggest reach pick the Bears made.

The 2nd round pick turned into two defensive ends in Gilbert and Melton. Both will be projects, but with DE contracts expiring next year, they were needed for the future anyway. It's hard to tell if they will pan out and be ready in time.

It's difficult to say that the Bears met their needs, but they did get some great value for their picks. They seemed to have stressed athleticism this year and added a mix of experienced players, ready to contribute and projects with very high ceilings. Overall, I would give them a B, but the results of this draft won't bear fruit for a while to come.

Part 2 to come: Breaking Down the Roster