Most people like to do an analysis of the NFL Draft right after it happens. On the other hand, this is going to be after a week of really getting to think about what the Bears did and having a more thought out analysis rather than one at the spur of the moment. This will cut down on the emotions talking and allow the actual brain to start to do the talking.
So, we'll start with a player by player analysis, starting with the top....the third round. The 1-10 scale being used will take into consideration the abilities of the player drafted, the past success of the player drafted, and where the player was actually drafted. 10 is an enormous steal, 9 is a big steal, 8 is an excellent pick, 7 is a good pick, 6 is a solid pick, 5 is a decent pick, 4 is a bit of a confusing pick, 3 is a poor pick, 2 is a bad pick, and 1 is a horrible pick.
Jarron Gilbert, the defensive tackle from San Jose State was the first selection of the Bears. At pick #68 they could not have done much better. What position he'll play for the Bears is also up in the air. He could play either tackle or end, as he played both in college, and has the ability to play either one in the NFL very well. He has good size at 288 lbs. and has the speed with a 4.87 in the 40-yard dash. We have to remember though that just because he could jump out of a swimming pool, it doesn't mean he's destined for greatness, as at the time he was supposedly trying to match a feat he heard Adam Archuleta had done, and we all know how Archuleta was with the Bears. However, Gilbert does have the natural tools to become a very good defensive lineman, no matter where they decide to line him up. He has the overall athletic ability and size, and if he proves he has the head for it he could potentially even wind up in the Pro Bowl somewhere down the road. However, it's probably wise to take things one step at a time and say that he should be on the roster at the start of the season. A very good pick here, this is an 8, although it's very tempting to give it a 9. There is no reason Gilbert should have fallen this far.
Juaquin Iglesias at #99 is someone else that probably fell a little bit too far. Iglesias has good speed and good fundamental abilities. His real advantage is his fearlessness. The guy is someone who will not be afraid to go up the middle and make the catch, knowing that he's about to get bowled over by a linebacker at full speed. He has strong hands and can make an excellent receiver on short to middle range third down plays. He's not going to be someone to average huge yards per catch, but he can make the eventual big play as well. With someone like Jay Cutler throwing the ball to him, he could really wind up performing above expectations. However, summarizing, solid physical abilities and fundamentals, but fearless down the middle and should be great for short to middle yardage third down plays and just getting some solid yardage at any other time. Given the needs on this team (especially when you consider that Hester is not likely to be a receiver that you'll ever be comfortable sending down the middle), this pick gets a 9.
Henry Melton was picked with the #105 pick overall. At this point you're likely going to get someone who can make the roster as a solid reserve, but sometimes will get a guy who can be a regular starter, and on rare occasion you get a superstar. It's really hard to say what the Bears wound up with when they picked Melton. Melton really has many positions he can play on the field. On the defensive line he could play at either end. He could also be a linebacker due to his speed and athleticism. However, it's the fact that he was recruited out of high school as a running back that really is interesting. The Bears could throw him in the backfield as a Brandon Jacobs type of compliment to Matt Forte (who isn't small himself), or even have him as a fullback. However, he supposedly has a lot of talent at the defensive end position, and you don't want to lost him at that spot just to have him somewhere else where he may not be as effective. The big thing here is that we're wondering where we don't want to take him away from, which is a very good sign. Will he even really be anything though? He's another guy who has the athletic ability, but it's all a matter of what's in his head that will matter. This pick gets a high 7.
DJ Moore, at #119 is the first pick that didn't actually really seem exciting. It isn't that he isn't expected to be an NFL quality player, but that it was almost a boring pick. The Bears addressed a glaring weakness with one of their earlier picks, and with the other two they brought in they had two athletic freaks from the defensive line, one of them possibly being able to play other positions. DJ Moore is a completely different story. For a cornerback Moore isn't especially fast, although he's not notably slow either. However, he's also very undersized at 5'9". Now, to be fair, Nathan Vasher is not very large either and he had a 10 interception season just a few years ago. However, what he does have is great instinct and a great nose for the ball. Chances are that he won't be starting right away, but he could be putting in minutes at backup very quickly. It's a very solid pick, nothing surprising or mysterious, and it's someone with a good head on their shoulders, the only questions being size and speed (athletic ability as a whole isn't a worry since he has a vertical jump of almost 40 inches). With this pick the Bears get a 7.
Johnny Knox could potentially be a huge steal for the Bears at pick #140. This kid is as fast as anyone in the draft, running the 40 in 4.34 seconds. The two things that caused him to fall this far in the draft were is ability to run routes, which is very raw, and the fact that he put up his big numbers in college at a very small school (Abilene Christian). His size is nothing special at 6' 185 lbs. His speed more than makes up for that though. He could be an immediate deep threat for Jay Cutler. With a quarterback like Cutler who has great arm strength and accuracy you can really be patient while he learns how to better run patterns and just send him on simple deep routes for the most part early on. This is a pick that deserves an 8.
Marcus Freeman, the linebacker from Ohio State was taken with the 154th pick. What the Bears get here is a linebacker who really did not live up to expectations when he was in college, although he really did play pretty well. However, numerous reports say that he is someone who could thrive in the system that the Bears run on defense. It's tough to say how to take this, as you love having someone who could thrive in your system, but you worry since he needs that right system to really thrive. For now it looks like he could wind up as a backup linebacker, possibly starting by the end of the season as an outside linebacker. This isn't someone who has Pro Bowl written on them, rather someone who can come in and give some strong starts for quite a while. This pick gets a 6.
Al Afalava was taken with the 190th overall pick. A safety with size is someone that the Bears may be looking to boost their special teams with. While he was solid in college as a safety he was a good safety who really improved on his coverage as time went on, but he seems like he is someone made for special teams in the NFL. He was an excellent special teams player in college, and there's little doubt that his special teams abilities can translate to the NFL. This pick is a 7.
Lance Louis at pick 246 is where the Bears get interesting again. Louis is plenty large to play the offensive line at over 300 lbs. However, it's his speed that really has people interested in him. He ran a 4.76 and 4.8 in the 40, which for a man his size is outstanding. He was brought in as a tight end, but has the size to play guard or tackle. However, his ability to play tight end may wind up making him someone the Bears can also use for trick plays, and some would even suggest that the Bears use him as a fullback due to that speed mentioned earlier. At this point you don't know if they're going to make the roster or not, but the Bears picked someone who's a bit of a project here with some very high upside. Due to his upside this pick gets an 8.
Derek Kinder at 251 was the final pick for the Bears, but clearly not their worst pick. At 251 the Bears were able to find a third wide receiver who could very well make the team. Kinder has good speed, good athleticism, good hands, and a good brain in his head. Kinder doesn't seem to have any one skill that blows you away, but he's good in just about every aspect. His numbers were poor last season in Pittsburgh, but when you look at the style of offense they ran, which focused on the run, the coach he had in Dave Wannstedt, and a quarterback who couldn't hit the broad side of a barn (sorry for the cliche), it's a bit understandable. The one thing that is a legitimate worry about him though is his injury history. He had a pretty nasty injury with a torn ACL in 2007, and it's believed that the injury also took part for some of his poor numbers in 2008, so he is going to be an injury worry, at least until he's able to prove otherwise. Kinder really does have the skills and all the natural abilities to be a solid receiver on this team. This pick gets a high 8 mainly due to the possible upside brought all the way down at pick #251.
This was a draft that really didn't bring a whole lot of interest going in. The Bears didn't even wind up having a pick on the first day, so really, why should we care too much? Well, when you look at the draft history of the Bears with Jerry Angelo running things, they really are not the best at making picks in the first round. Greg Olsen and Tommie Harris are easily their best first round picks since Angelo took over, and there's a lot of guys that just never panned out surrounded by players who are now very good. Sure, an occasional back pick is expected, but for some reason the Bears just haven't been able to get more than a couple of good first round picks with plenty of tries. However, past the first round Angelo has been quite good, in 2008 he took Matt Forte in the second round, Earl Bennett (who the Bears are very high on despite using very little last season) in the third round, Craig Steltz in the fourth round (yeah, he was at the bad end of a major highlight last season, but he also played very well for the most part), Kellen Davis in the fifth round, and Joey LaRocque (who at least made the team) in the seventh round. In other past years some picks past the first round also include Garrett Wolfe, Kevin Payne, Trumaine McBride, Danieal Manning, Devin Hester, Dusty Dvoracek, Mark Anderson, Kyle Orton, Chris Harris, Tank Johnson, Bernard Berrian, Nathan Vasher, Charles Tillman, Lance Briggs, Todd Johnson, Terrence Metcalf, Alex Brown, Adrian Peterson, and Anthony Thomas. Sure, it's not a perfect list, but it proves the point that the Bears draft better after the first round.
What the Bears did with these picks is the important part. There isn't a single player drafted that doesn't have a solid to good chance to be on the roster at the start of the season. They got a lot of guys with great physical talent. Any one of these guys could wind up being a very good player in the future for the Bears. Some have Pro Bowl potential, and some have potential to be solid starters, but there is a ton of upside when you consider what they had to work with.
The Bears also seemed to make a statement for the future, especially on defense, that they would like to become more of a fast team. Especially with the picks of Gilbert and Melton the Bears went for fast players. Playing with more speed on defense would be a great idea for this team, as they were really burned in every way this past season, but by the air they were really looking weak this past season, and with a faster defense, even at the defensive line, they really can cut down on the passing attack of the teams they go against. By getting two guys who could make good pass rushing defensive ends, they really addressed that problem. However, also getting a corner to add depth to the secondary and possibly come in and play if either Vasher or Tillman get hurt or just don't perform well is something else that will really help out their pass defense. Afalava is also a defensive back who, yes, was likely drafted for special teams reasons, but he can also come in and add good pass coverage from the safety position as well as lay someone out due to his good size.
This was a very good draft for the Bears, especially when you consider the picks they had to work with. They picked some very good candidates to fill some glaring needs for the team. This is a draft where you really can see the Bears helping themselves out despite not having a pick before the third round.
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