The Bears really did a poor job in the NFL Draft last April.  First round pick (TE) Greg Olsen was a solid player who should improve in the future.  He played in 14 games (4 starts) for the Bears last season and he caught 39 passes for 391 yards (10.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  The Bears’ second round pick was DE Dan Bazuin who didn’t play a down last season due to injury.  The first 3rd round pick of the Bears was running back Garrett Wolfe.  Wolfe played in 13 games (0 starts) for the Bears last season and he carried the ball 31 times for 85 yards (2.7 ypc).  Wolfe also caught 9 passes for 117 yards (13.0 avg).  Wolfe returned 1 kickoff for 27 yards.  He doesn’t project to anything more than a third down back in the future.  Fellow 3rd round pick linebacker Michael Okwo was injured all of last season.  The Bears’ 4th round pick last season was offensive guard Josh Beekman and he only played in 1 game for the Bears as a rookie.  The first 5th round pick the Bears made last season was safety Kenny Payne who played in 3 games (1 start) and he made 2 tackles.  Cornerback Corey Graham was the other 5th round pick by the Bears last season and he played in 13 games (0 starts) and he made 15 tackles.  Cornerback Trumaine McBride was a find in the 7th round for the Bears.  He played in all 16 games (9 starts) for the Bears last season and he made 41 tackles, forced a fumble and defensed 5 passes.  OT Aaron Brant was the other 7th round pick on the Bears and he quit in Training Camp.

GRADE FOR THE 2007 SEASON:  D-

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  C-

The Bears have traded veteran QB Brian Griese to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a undisclosed 2009 Draft Pick.  The 32-year old Griese didn’t play that well last season for the Bears who have decided to go with Kyle Orton and Rex Grossman at QB for the 2008 season.  Griese played in 7 games last season for the Bears and he completed 161 of 262 passes (61.5%) for 1,803 yards with 10 TD passes and 12 interceptions (75.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 13 times for 28 yards (2.2 ypc).  This was an interesting move for the Bears as they are putting a lot of faith in Orton and Grossman.

The Bears needed to get younger in the offensive line and that was the reason for Brant’s selection. He has nice size at 6′6″, 321 pounds and he’s played against good competition at Iowa State. He has problems hitting targets in the open field and he isn’t the most aggressive player around. He has the look of a practice squad player for now and a backup in the future.

Trumaine McBride isn’t the biggest CB around at 5′10″, 180 pounds and he isn’t the fastest player (4.55 40) but he’s really tough. He backs down from no one and could really be a decent nickel or dime back for the Bears because of their system. He also should be able to help on special teams as he’s a sure tackler. In 47 games (34 starts) at Mississippi, McBride made 124 tackles, broke up 31 passes and intercepted 4 passes that he returned 101 yards.

Corey Graham wasn’t expected to get drafted by many of the “experts”. That’s because many forecast him to be way too soft to get on the field defensively in the pros. But he is an elite return man even though the Bears already have one in Devin Hester. Graham is 5′11″, 198 pounds and he’s really, really fast as he runs a 4.38 40. In 42 games at New Hampshire, Graham made 302 tackles, forced 4 fumbles, recovered 3 fumbles, defensed 31 passes and intercepted 12 passes (185 return yards, 2 TDs). Graham returned 65 kickoffs for 1,787 yards (27.5 avg) with 3 TDs. He also returned 12 punts for 128 yards (10.7 avg). It will be interesting to see how the Bears use Graham as his pick seems to be a reach.