2 Months Away - Who Ya Got NOW ??

[Chewie]

OK, it's been a month since I put out my '3 Months Away' post and last we left things the predictions on who'd we draft in Rd1 went as follows (again this is the prediction of who Angelo will pick NOT who you want the Bears to pick) :

Chewie: E Briton, OT
emperorjones: T Jackson, DE/DT
Icness: P Jerry, DT
Sportsworld: M Sanchez, QB
WAYSA: M Oher, OT
Ruben Douglas: Michael Johnson, DE
DanTown8587: M Oher, OT

Plenty has happened in the month since in terms of signings, cuts, potential retirements, and franchise players being named. Soooo....with roughly 2 months left, who ya got NOW ???

I'm sticking with my Britton pick even though I have yet to see an online mock showing us taking him. As a bonus I'm thinking 2nd round will end up being WR Brian Robiskie though I'm still holding out hope for Kenny Britt.

[emperorjones]

I'm holding firm with my pick until after the combine & free agency. My guess is I will be switching to an OT. However OT is deep enough that JA could go DE in the 1st & OT in the second.

[Chewie]

I'm holding firm with my pick until after the combine & free agency. My guess is I will be switching to an OT. However OT is deep enough that JA could go DE in the 1st & OT in the second.

And ignore WR altogether in Rds 1 and 2 ?!?

[emperorjones]

I don't think we are going WR in the draft at all on the 1st day. I think they like last years WR pick. Remember last offseason we joked about Beekman not playing at all his rookie year and laughed that maybe they had a red shirt strategy? Then boom. Beekman's the regular starter in camp. I think the same thing this year but at WR.

Case in point (believe it or not)

Posted by ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/nflnation?tag=09%20combine

....The Bears' needs at receiver have been well-documented, and it's possible the injury could leave Crabtree on the board until their No. 18 overall pick in the April draft....Smith did acknowledge the Bears need to upgrade the position and put it this way: "I think we need a good, solid, No. 2 to step up with Devin [Hester] as much as anything."

If they are thinking Hester is their current No. 1, then I can only think they are going to go get a No. 2 in FA or think Bennet is this years Beekman.

First day of the draft I think we will go OT, DE, OG, RB (not necessarily in that order).
I think we go WR, S, OT and RB in FA.

[WAYSA]

This years Beekman? Beekman wasn't any good last season to be honest. He looked decent when he was pulling, but Forte was better running behind Garza/Tait by far.

If Smith/Angelo think Hester is a no.1 they both should be fired. I don't believe anything that comes out of the front office's mouth until after the draft. Everything is a smoke screen at this point.

If Bennett couldn't play last season when Rashied Davis was dropping passes over and over again then there is absolutely no hope for him. He has no future in the NFL.

I remember during mini camps Icness said Bennett was junk and that the Bears realized it was an awful pick once they saw him in shorts trying to run.

I'll be disappointed in any defensive pick, pretty much. Unless it is Everette Brown or B.J. Raji I don't want to hear a defensive players name called with the 18th pick.

Guys who I really want:

QB: Matthew Stafford, Mark Sanchez
OT: Andre Smith, Monroe, Jason Smith, Michael Oher
DE/DT: Brown, Raji
WR: Crabtree, Maclin

I'd trade up for: Sanchez, Stafford, all 4 OL, & Crabtree.

I think we're screwed if Oher doesn't fall to #18 & we don't move up.

[emperorjones]

No real disagreements with you Waysa, but this is a thread about who you think the Bears will pick, not who you want.

[Chewie]

I don't think we are going WR in the draft at all on the 1st day. I think they like last years WR pick. Remember last offseason we joked about Beekman not playing at all his rookie year and laughed that maybe they had a red shirt strategy? Then boom. Beekman's the regular starter in camp. I think the same thing this year but at WR.

If they are thinking Hester is their current No. 1, then I can only think they are going to go get a No. 2 in FA or think Bennet is this years Beekman.

First day of the draft I think we will go OT, DE, OG, RB (not necessarily in that order).
I think we go WR, S, OT and RB in FA.

Well, Brad Briggs who runs the Sun-Times Bears blog shares your Bennett sentiments :

The most obvious step here is that with Booker and Brandon Lloyd out of the picture it will be time for third-round pick Earl Bennett to step forward.

"We see him as having starter talent,'' college scouting director Greg Gabriel said of Bennett on draft day. "Whether he becomes a starter as a rookie, remains to be seen.''

Currently, the Bears have five receivers under contract:

Name 2008 statistics

Devin Hester 15 games, 51 catches, 665 yards, 13.0 ypc, 3 TD
Rashied Davis 16 games, 35 catches, 445 yards, 12.7 ypc, 2 TD
Earl Bennett 10 games
Brandon Rideau 2 games
Devin Aromashodu 0 games

Whatever moves follow at the position, and there should be some, keep in mind that the club will be working to promote Bennett. Never forget draft status has its privileges at Halas Hall and the opportunities Bennett might not have received as a rookie, he will get in his second year.

Still, I see WAYSA's point - given how bad our WR corps were last year, how did this kid not get a shot unless they just totally lost confidence in him during camp (which was the rumor). And there's just garbage out there in free agency at the position - we'll take a dip in the pool but for depth only. I don't see how we go past Round 2 without pulling the trigger at WR and that guy can fight it out with Bennett for PT.

My best guess is we'll be going OT and WR in the first 2 rounds and S and OT get the hardest look in free agency if Tait, indeed, retires.

[emperorjones]

I believe they lost faith early in Bennett given hey was not even activated for the 1st four games. I have some hope that they didn't Tim Thomas him though. His ESPN 2008 projection seemed right on:

2008 Season Outlook
The best of all possible worlds for the Bears would be for Devin Hester to mature as a deep-threat receiver, and for Bennett to become a reliable possession complement. Bennett is neither fast nor quick, but he's super reliable, has fantastic hands and is simply a good football player. Of course, in 2008 the Chicago receiving corps is mighty crowded. Bennett will see some time and could push Brandon Lloyd off the roster, but he likely won't have much immediate impact.

I think (read HOPE) we are going to go after T.J. H. hard in FA and that this is a smokescreen. It would be nice to get TJ in FA (+St. Clair and a backup RB) and a stud OT at #18. I'd be really happy with the offense going into camp.

[WAYSA]

1 - Michael Oher - RT - Ole Miss
2 - Derrick Williams - WR - Penn State

is my projection

[NoSkyy]

R1: Oher
R2: Kenny Britt.

[Chewie]

Yea! I sold someone on Britt !!

[Chi Dynasty12]

I don't think we'll be able to get Britt in round 2. I want to trade down and then grab Britt or Nicks.

[emperorjones]

CD12 I think a trade down is a coming. and my guess that JA is going DE at 18 is not going to happen:

Says JA on finding an elite pass rusher at 18:

"If he's elite there is a reason why he is there at 18 so I can't say he's elite,'' he said Saturday afternoon. "He might have elite traits but to say he is going to be an elite pass rusher, there is going to be probably one flaw is the reason why he is there.

It looks like there is a lot of interchangeable talent in the mid to late round first round. if you are not going DE and we have holes to fill.

[Chewie]

CD12 I think a trade down is a coming. and my guess that JA is going DE at 18 is not going to happen:

Says JA on finding an elite pass rusher at 18:

"If he's elite there is a reason why he is there at 18 so I can't say he's elite,'' he said Saturday afternoon. "He might have elite traits but to say he is going to be an elite pass rusher, there is going to be probably one flaw is the reason why he is there.

It looks like there is a lot of interchangeable talent in the mid to late round first round. if you are not going DE and we have holes to fill.

He went on to say he's had luck finding pash rushers late in the draft and I don't think he's just saying it for a smoke-screen. I wouldn't be surprised AT ALL if we trade down. The Bears are talking up and down about how Marinelli is going to turn things around with the current staff and how Ogunleye is going to turn it around in his contract year. Mark Anderson will be Rod's pet project and I expect a big turn-around from the guy. We know he's got all the physical tools at least.

I think if Jason Smith, Oher, Monroe, and Andre Smith are all off the board, we could move down and still get either Britton or Beatty as our OT or shift gears and go for the top WR on the board which could be Nicks, Heyward-Bey, or BRITT.

Did I mention I like Britt ?

Again - keep in mind we may be getting an extra 3rd round compensatory pick (which is not tradeable) due to our free agent losses last year.

[emperorjones]

I think we are going WR in round one S in round two now.

[Chewie]

I think we are going WR in round one S in round two now.

Well what happened to "we're not going WR at all in Day 1" ?

I'm going to pin you down on a name. You think DHB ?

[emperorjones]

Well now - a fan has to have the right to waffle right?!

I think it will be clear in a week which way they are going. IMO its down to DE, OT & WR. I think the fact that they moved mini camp up to March is going to give Lovie and our new defensive coachs a chance to see these guys and see if they think they can coach them up to 2006 levels. If not, we go DE and I stick with Tyson Jackson if he's available. If so, then I think we go OT or WR or trade way down in the 1st round.

We do have youth on the DL so I am very hopeful.

[Chi Dynasty12]

My prediction is that JA grabs Everette Brown and runs

[Chewie]

My prediction is that JA grabs Everette Brown and runs

Brown's game is for a 3-4 defense and he'll probably be gone way before #18.

[Posey H8er]

If Maclin falls to us, then I would inclined to pick him. But I would most like to pick Michael Oher or Andre Smith.