It's been a while since my last Bears post, so I'm going to go ahead and post about where they are now and a little bit about the draft. I wish I could make it sound more interesting, but a summary of what this will be really isn't. We'll look at the current depth of the team for the most part, some of the mock drafts out there, and then about what I think the Bears should do in the draft.
So, keeping things in order, with the free agent signings, since the last post I made the Bears have signed Wide Receiver Josh Bellany, Center/Guard Brian de la Puente, Tight End Matthew Mulligan, and Longsnapper Chad Rempel. That's not the most exciting group out there, but Brian de la Puente is a center who can and has been solid starter in the NFL. I don't only expect him to be able to backup Roberto Garza, but maybe even make a strong push for Garza's starting job. Josh Bellany is almost surely being brought in to compete for Devin Hester's old job, as he hasn't caught a single pass as a receiver in his career, but has had some returns with an average return of about 20 yards. Matthew Mulligan s probably being brought in for some tight end depth and possibly to be a backup if they can't do any better. His 16 catches for his career don't really sell him as a guy who is likely to be that second pass catching tight end. Chad Rempel will likely be competing with Brandon Hartson if Patrick Mannelly decides to hang 'em up, which seems like a real possibility.
While there's not a whole lot there, what it does do is really help add depth to the offensive line I guess I should have mentioned the resigning of Eben Britton this offseason, who also adds depth to the inside of the offensive line. The offensive line depth is now at least up to par for the Bears. The big area that still remains open for the Bears is safety. Ryan Mundy is the only one on the roster that I'd feel good having as a starter on the roster. This makes me really think that the Bears are going to go safety in the draft, as they did pass on a few good options. Also, I've seen a good point brought up that guys like Conte won't look so bad with a strong defensive line right there. Still though, almost every successful team throughout the history of the league has had one real good safety, and with there being a few nice choices, I really think the Bears should bite.
A lot of people still have the Bears going defensive tackle in the first round. Aaron Donald, in my opinion, is the guy I'd like to see on that defensive line for the Bears if they do go DT, and if he is there, he's going to be very hard to pass up on. However, the Bears have a strong group at DT right now. Ratliff is getting a bit older, but Nate Collins and Stephen Paea are both still young, and Lamarr Houston can also move inside. They have 5 guys on the roster right now who can play inside and be expected to play well there. Considering that 3 of them are fairly young, and they really don't have anything better than average (and that's only one player) at safety, that makes me feel like DT really isn't too high of a priority right now, probably 3rd or 4th on the team right now. I'd put safety as the #1, corner as the #2 since there isn't too much behind Peanut and Jennings, and maybe even getting a backup tight end that can catch the ball at #3 over defensive tackle. I wouldn't be upset if the Bears went DT in the draft, especially if someone like Donald is right there, but like I said, there's other areas that I'd like them to look at first, especially safety.
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix was my early favorite for the pick, but first off, he might not be there. Also, as I watch more and more videos of some of the guys that might be there, which isn't a great way to look at players, but I digress, I begin to be more of a fan of Calvin Pryor. Also, there's that chance that Jimmie Ward is there in the second round. If he is, the Bears may wind up with 2 shiny new toys on the last line after the draft, and 2 potential absolute studs. Still, there's a few corners that I feel they should also strongly consider early on, so a lot will just depend on who else is on the board. If I had to guess, I'd say at this point that I expect them to get a safety for sure in the first two rounds, and then either a corner or a DT, leaning DT, but I'd rather they go corner and raid the DT market next year. Past that point it's starting to really get fuzzy since they really have their talent well distributed right now, but of course DT could be the way to go, maybe they get that pass catching TE in the 3rd, and as I've always said, if Garoppolo is somehow still there (VERY unlikely), then they can't pass on him there. I'd say other positions they should address are maybe a backup OT and another defensive end. I still think Larry Webster would be a very Emery type of pick in the 4th to 6th rounds.
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