The Bears are still paying for Jay Cutler this season and the result is that they don’t pick until #75 (third round) overall.  The Bears only have 5 total picks so they are hoping that some good players slide to them.  The Bears have needs at OT, FS and CB heading into the draft.  They will likely be targeting OT Selvish Capers, OT Jared Veldheer, CB Jerome Murphy, CB Amari Spievey, CB Brandon Ghee and S T.J. Ward with their first pick of the draft.

PROJECTED FIRST PICK OF THE DRAFT:  OT, Jared Veldheer, Hillsdale (Michigan) 

The Chicago Bears drafted 9 players last April in the draft and four of them didn’t play a down and two of them were cut before the season even started.  WR/KR Johnny Knox was the best player the Bears picked last April.  They took him in the 5th round (#140 overall) out of tiny Abilene Christian.  He played in 15 games for the Bears last season and he caught 45 passes for 527 yards (11.7 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  Knox also returned 32 kickoffs for 927 yards (29.0 avg) with 1 TD return.  Knox returned 1 punt for 0 yards and he made 5 tackles last season for the Bears.  In the sixth round (#190 overall) the Bears selected safety Al Afalvava out of Oregon State.  He played in 13 games for the Bears last season and he made 53 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, had 2 sacks, forced 1 fumble and he defensed 7 passes.  The rest of the draft crop was a total waste so far.  DT Jarron Gilbert was the Bears’ first selection in the draft as they picked him in the third round out of San Jose State (#68 overall).  He played in 4 games for the Bears last season and he made 1 whole tackle.  WR Juaquin Iglesius was also selected in the third round (#99 overall) out of Oklahoma.  He only played in 1 game for the Bears and he didn’t catch any passes while making 1 whole tackle.  DE Henry Melton was picked in the 4th round (#105 overall) out of Texas.  He spent his rookie year on the Injured Reserve list without playing in any games.  CB D.J. Moore was also selected in the 4th round (#119 overall) out of Vanderbilt.  He played in 3 games but he didn’t make any tackles.  Linebacker Marcus Freeman (5th round, #154 overall) out of Ohio State and WR Derek Kinder (7th round, #251 overall) both got cut without playing for the Bears.  Freeman is now with the Texans.  OG Lance Louis (7th round, #246 overall) is still with the Bears but he didn’t play a down as a rookie.

GRADE FOR 2009:  C-

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  C-

The Bears really found themselves a player when they picked 23-year old WR Johnny Knox out of Abilene Christian in the fifth round of last April’s NFL Draft.  Knox has played in all 10 games for the Bears this season and he has caught 32 passes for 376 yards (11.8 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Knox has also excelled on special teams as he has returned 25 kickoffs for 699 yards (28.0 avg) with a TD return (102 yarder).  It’s good drafting to find a guy in the fifth round that is averaging 107.5 all purpose yards per game in his rookie season.  The Bears have high hopes for Knox in the future.

When the Bears selected Johnny Knox in the 5th round out of Abilene Christian they weren’t expecting much.  But he is proving to be a steal as he is turning into Jay Cutler’s favorite WR.  Knox has caught 8 passes for 152 yards (19.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  If Knox continues to play well he could establish himself as a legit #1 WR because the Bears don’t have one right now.

The Bears took twelve players in last April’s draft but only one is a for sure keeper and that is 2nd round pick Matt Forte.  Forte played in 16 games (all starts) for the Bears last season and he carried the ball 316 times for 1,238 yards (3.9 ypc) with 8 TD runs.  He also caught 63 passes for 477 yards (7.6 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Forte got off to a fast start last season before defenses caught up with him and it will be interesting to see how he adjusts back to them.  He also made 3 tackles in a very busy rookie season.  1st round pick Chris Williams (OT) has the look of a bust.  He played in 9 games (0 starts) as a rookie and he will have to improve big time to earn a starting job in the near future.  WR Earl Bennett was also a mis-fire for the Bears in 2008.  He played in 10 games (0 starts) last season and he didn’t catch any passes.  He returned 1 punt for 17 yards and he made 2 tackles.  Fellow 3rd rounder (DT) Marcus Harrison was a decent backup last season and he could start in the near future for the Bears.  He played in 16 games (0 starts) for the Bears last season and he made 28 tackles and defensed 2 passes.  Safety Craig Steltz was taken in the 4th round by the Bears last season and he played in 11 games (0 starts) and made 18 tackles, defensed 1 pass and he also intercepted 1 pass.  He is a solid special teams player but he will need to improve his playing speed if he wants to earn more time on defense.  5th rounder Zackary Bowman only played in 1 game (0 starts) for the Bears last season and he made 2 tackles, defensed 1 pass and had a interception.  But he was injured in his only game tearing his biceps and missing the rest of the season.  TE Kellen Davis was another bust for the Bears as he played in all 16 games (0 starts) for the Bears in 2008 and he didn’t catch any passes.  He returned 1 kickoff for 13 yards and he made 4 tackles.  The Bears had 5 picks in the 7th round and only outside linebacker Joey LaRocque made a small splash.  He played in 14 games (0 starts) and made a whopping 6 tackles.  DE Ervin Baldwin didn’t make it to the playing field for the Bears last season while OT Kirk Barton played in only 1 game (0 starts).  OG Chester Adams and WR Marcus Monk were both cut last August.

GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C-

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  C-

Marcus Monk was a big time player in college at Arkansas but some things caused him to slip to the 7th round.  He only runs a 4.6 40 and he has had injury problems in college to his knees.  Positives are that he was very productive in the tough SEC Conference and he has great size at 6’5″, 220 pounds.  Monk played in 43 games (36 starts) in his career at Arkansas and he finished up with 138 catches for 2,151 yards (15.6 avg) with 27 TD grabs.  Monk has upside and he was definately worth taking a chance on in the 7th round.

Kirk Barton was lucky that he had a lot of talented players around him to cover for him at Ohio State.  He is 6’4″, 303 pounds and he runs a 5.3 40 which shows that he’s a tad slow.  Barton has problems with speed rushers and he will see a lot of them in the NFL.  Barton played in 47 games (40 starts) in his career at Ohio State.  If he doesn’t start to get a fire in his belly he will be lucky to even make the practice squad as a rookie.

Joey LaRocque plays much faster than his 40 time (4.85) as he gives an all out effort on every play which is likely what caught the Bears’ eye.  His heart is the reason why he will have a good chance to make the Bears’ roster as he will likely make an impact on special teams from Day #1.  He might eventually get to play some defense based on his effort.

Chester Adams is a big guy at 6’4″, 323 pounds but he plays tall and it hurt him in college as defensive linemen got under his pads and pushed him around often.  He played in 46 games (23 starts) at Georgia and he played a lot of tackle in college.  He will likely have to play guard in the pros however as he’s not the quickest player around.  At least inside he will get some help.  He will need to improve big time if he wants to be anything more than a practice squad player in the near future.

Ervin Baldwin will likely have to move to linebacker in the NFL as he is 6’2″, 258 pounds which might be a tad small to have to deal with offensive linemen at the NFL level.  Baldwin played in 25 games (all starts) at Michigan State and he made 93 tackles, 25 tackles for a loss and he had 12.5 sacks.  It will likely take some time for Baldwin to switch to OLB so the Bears will need to have patience with him.