The Bears were still paying for Jay Cutler so they only had 5 picks in last April’s Draft.  Here’s a look at how well the players handled their first taste of the NFL:

Major Wright:  The Bears used their first draft pick (3rd round, #75 overall) on safety Major Wright out of Florida.  He played in 11 games (0 starts) for the Bears last season and he had 24 tackles.  He showed glimpses of being able to start down the road for the Bears but it’s going to take some time to coach him up.

Corey Wootton:  The Bears took a chance on DE Corey Wootten in the 4th round (#109 overall) out of Northwestern.  He was injured coming into the draft so the Bears got a deal by waiting on him.  He played in 6 games (0 starts) for the Bears last season and he had 5 tackles and 1 sack.  Wootten has a nice upside so he could be off nicely for the Bears down the road.

Joshua Moore:  The Bears selected 22-year old cornerback Joshua Moore in with the 141st overall pick (5th round) of the NFL Draft.  The rookie from Kansas State didn’t show too much as a rookie as he played in 3 games (0 starts) in which he made 1 whole tackle.  Moore is going to have to show something next season if he wants to continue getting paid to play football. 

Dan LeFevour:  23-year old QB Dan LeFevour was the 181st overall pick (6th round) out of Central Michigan.  He didn’t make it on the roster and the Bengals picked him up on waivers.  He is their #3 QB right now but he didn’t get on the field as a rookie.

J’Marcus Webb:  22-year old, 6’8″, 335 pound J’Marcus Webb out of West Texas A&M was the Bears’ last (and best) pick in the 2010 Draft.  They found him in the 7th round with the 218th overall pick in the Draft.  Webb played in 14 games (12 starts) for the Bears last season.  No reason to think that he won’t be starting for the Bears along the O-Line for a long time if he keeps improving.

GRADE FOR 2010:  C-

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B-

The Chicago Bears have released 27-year old DT Tommie Harris.  Harris played in 15 games for the Bears last season and he had 13 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1.5 sacks, 1 pass defensed and 2 fumble recoveries.  He played in 104 games in his seven years with the Bears and he had 213 tackles, 28.5 sacks, 5 passes defensed, 5 forced fumbles and 1 interception.  Harris played made it to 3 Pro Bowls for the Bears but he was getting phased out this past season.  Someone will take a flier and sign Harris who might be motivated to show the Bears that they made a mistake in letting him go.

The Bears have released 30-year old OT Kevin Shaffer.  Shaffer played in all 16 games for the Bears last season but he only started 2 games.  He played in 32 games (7 starts) in his two years with the Bears.  With Jay Cutler looking like a pinata, the Bears need to bring in a lot of new blood for the O-Line.  They shouldn’t miss Shaffer at all going forward.

The Bears have released 30-year old linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer.  He missed all of last season due to injury.  Hillenmeyer played in 100 games in his 8 years with the Bears and he had 382 tackles, 12 passes defensed, 7 sacks, 7 forced fumbles and 2 interceptions.  The Bears were fine without Hillenmeyer last season so they won’t miss him too much.  Kudos to Hillenmeyer for being a good soldier and a solid linebacker for the Bears.