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Grading The Draft

Here is what some prominent sites are saying about the Bears 2008 draft.

ESPN (Kiper):

GRADE: B
Chris Williams is the left tackle the Bears need from a pass-protection standpoint, and he'll start as a rookie. Matt Forte is a hard-nosed running back. He's not flashy, but he's elusive. I like what the Bears did on Day 2, starting with Vanderbilt WR Earl Bennett, who reminds me of Hines Ward. Arkansas DT Marcus Harrison lasted until the third round because of some off-field concerns, and Nebraska's Zack Bowman is a big corner who was once projected as a first-round pick, before he suffered injuries to both knees. LSU safety Craig Steltz -- who reminds me of former Bear Doug Plank -- will be a solid special teams player and could push for a starting job. With his height, Arkansas WR Marcus Monk could be a red zone threat and he qualifies as a very good seventh-round pick. He looked like a second-rounder after his junior year, and ran a 4.42 in the 40-yard dash, which is excellent for a 6-foot-4, 220-pound receiver. Tight end Kellen Davis has tremendous athletic ability but he needs to be more consistent.

FOX Sports:

The Bears may have been tempted to replace departed receiver Bernard Berrian in the first round, but instead may have found their slot receiver in Vanderbilt's Earl Bennett in the third round. Bennett is the first SEC receiver to have 75 receptions for three straight seasons. Top pick Chris Williams has the ability and feet to be a starting left tackle — he allowed only two sacks over a two-year period and almost 1,600 plays. The Bears allowed 43 sacks last season. Williams dominated most drills at the Senior Bowl. Arkansas DT Marcus Harrison was a need, and he played last season on a tender knee that had surgery in the spring. Harrison has first-round talent, but seventh-round character. LSU safety Craig Steltz will remind older Bears fans of Gary Fencik with his tremendous run support. Tulane RB Matt Forte was a need, considering the injury history of Cedric Benson. Grade: A

CBS Sportsline:

Best pick: Third-round pick Marcus Harrison will become a force in the middle of their defense. Some off-field issues prevented him from being a higher selection. Questionable move: Taking tackle Chris Williams with the 14th pick in the first round came after several teams took him off their boards for medical reasons (back). Chicago better hope that doesn't become a problem. Second-day gem: I love tight end Kellen Davis, whom the Bears selected in the fifth round. He's a strong, athletic player. Overall grade: B+. Aside from the questions about Williams, they did a nice job. Harrison will make this draft.
Overall everybody seems to think we did a good job and I'd probably agree, but Peter King points out the most obvious reason why fans and experts would have a hard time understanding the Bears draft plan.
The Bears had 12 draft choices this year. No quarterback picked. Chicago had nine draft choices in 2007. No quarterback picked. Chicago had seven draft choices in 2006. Three years with a quarterback need, 28 draft choices, and never a passer picked. This isn't odd. It's negligent. The thing that drives me craziest about the draft is when you see a team with talent not doing enough to bolster the most important position on the field, over and over and over again. With Chad Henne, who absolutely should have been a first-rounder, and solid guy Brian Brohm on the board, the Bears passed on both and picked a very productive running back from Tulane, Matt Forte. There's a slight chance -- maybe 20 or 25 percent, I'd say -- that the Bears have their quarterback of the future on the roster in either Rex Grossman or Kyle Orton. Maybe. But whether you believe it or not, you have to admit it's silly not to backstop the most important position in sports. What is it about the undying love of Grossman that makes Chicago unable or unwilling to turn the page?
Now it is your turn. How did the Bears do?

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B-/C+

If the 5th round had looked like this, I would’ve given an A.

Pick 142: Roy Schuening G Oregon (from ESPN:It’s also worth pointing out he’s a relentless drive-blocker who plays with a mean streak and works to the whistle on every play. ) Roy was picked 157th. We need another guard, don’t know if Big Cheese is any good, buty Schuening was given a grade higher than the 5th round in lots of places.

Pick 158: Josh Johnson QB San Diego; this guy had lots of hype and would’ve made a nice change from the two statues we’ve got. He went 2 picks later. Instead we get an injury-prone CB who’s 6th on the depth chart and a TE who’s 3rd. Meanwhile, we are still VERY thin and weak at guard and QB.

Rant over.

by MuleTrain on Apr 28, 2008 8:29 AM CDT   0 recs

Well said

I agree 100%, especially on Schuening. He’s a Kreutz clone, and with him our O-line would have been NASTY.

If the CB can stay healthy he may be a big contributor down the line, but that’s a BIG if.

It almost seems like Angelo tries to hit the home run on his mid-to-late draft picks, when we only need a solid single.

by garsky on Apr 28, 2008 9:47 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

agreed

would have much rather seen the fifth go this way. Schuening at 142 would have been great. If not Johnson at 158, then another possibility could have been taking Booty over Steltz in the 4th, and picking up Josh Barrett later for Safety help. I’m not a huge fan of Booty, but I hated seeing a possible competent QB go the vikings, and Brohm and Flynn go the Pack while we look at long shots in unsigned prospects after the draft. For as nervous as I was about this draft though, I’m pretty happy – just wasn’t impressed with the 5th.

... Haven’t seen much explanation on why Barrett fell so far for a player projected for atleast the 3rd – 4th round dropping to middle of the 7th. I saw most write-ups before the draft project Steltz as a quality special teamer more than a starter, so at first I was little surprised at the pick – but I like a lot of what I’m reading about him now after the selection.

by Cru Jones on Apr 28, 2008 11:21 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

i was going C-/D+

the DT and especially the inj prone CB threw me offf….we wasted to really good picks.

by SuperBowlXX on Apr 28, 2008 8:38 AM CDT   0 recs

you kidding?

both of those guys were once slated to go in the first round, that is an incredible bargain pickup a la nate vasher.

by lopey986 on Apr 28, 2008 12:36 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Unless of course...

Harrison turns out to be worse than Tank Johnson and Bowman blows out his knees again. That would be the reason they fell.

Nate Vasher was a good bargain because he had limited abilities that fit him perfect in the Bears scheme for cornerbacks. It’s not “a la” anything.

"I've got a class (coming in) here, we've got a chance to do some things." --Tom Izzo on why he might not consider the Bulls coaching vacancy.

by tyger1147 on Apr 28, 2008 2:51 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I would say B-

The fifth round singlehandedly (singleroundedly?) dropped my grade an entire letter.

Chicago’s draft was solid, but nothing special.

Insert clever and witty remark slash pun here!

by ES46NE10 on Apr 28, 2008 8:48 AM CDT   0 recs

B

The first 3 picks are an instant upgrade for the offense in areas the Bears sorely needed, but there’s no reason I can see why we didn’t grab a quarterback like O’Connell, Johnson, or Woodson. However, if Harrison has his head on straight he could be a steal and spell Tommie Harris smoothly, and Steltz should be able to rotate with Payne and Manning at the safety spots when Brown gets hurt. It seems like we took a lot of chances on guys who have had serious injuries in the past, but in Monk’s case, if he can stay healthy he could be a really good pick, Zack Bowman may turn out to be a good player if his knees are no longer a concern, but did we really need him? Maybe they think he can play safety. If we would have taken a QB and a guard at a higher spot, I’d feel a bit better about it, but still solid overall.

by Doctor Chicago on Apr 28, 2008 8:57 AM CDT   0 recs

monk

6-4 220, ran a 4.42? why aren’t we more excited about this guy?

by mike b on Apr 28, 2008 9:27 AM CDT   0 recs

Did you answer yourself there?

those numbers do sound impressive, did he run it after his knee injury? Does he happen to be Art Monk’s kid?

Visit The NEW Cub Reporter (thecubreporter.com)

by thecubreporter on Apr 28, 2008 12:25 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

yeah i did

but apprently he ran it after as well….

by mike b on Apr 28, 2008 12:35 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

This is Angleo's make or break year, obviously

Not only did he reach on some of the latter – round players, but his refusal to admit defeat with Grossman will be the ultimate factor in play on whether he survives after this year. If Rex comes back and finally matures into the QB we all hoped he’d be, then JA’s golden. If not, then his stated hope that 5 draftees make the club will be necessary for him to stay on.

by Waylon on Apr 28, 2008 9:31 AM CDT   0 recs

Depends...

If Williams steps in and solidifies the O-Line, which in turn gives Rex or whoever enough time to throw and opens up running lanes, it was a grade A draft. If not, passing on Henne and Brohm will come back to bite us. I also hope this Forte guy is good, as I’m a big Ray Rice fan, who will probably have a good career in Baltimore.

by tacologic on Apr 28, 2008 9:47 AM CDT   0 recs

B-

After reading what the ‘experts’ say about our draft I feel a little better about it. Everyone like Harrison but I think he’ll have to keep his head on straight before I praise this pick. Matt Forte better show something and pretty quick because I do not want to wait like we’ve had to with Benson. I think these receivers are going to help and Monk seems to be a steal in that round, even on two new knees, he ran a 4.42 if he stays healthy we won’t regret that. That safety I think is going to be a guy that we are all praising maybe as soon as this fall! The CB wasn’t a need nor was Kellen Davis but he played DE too so we will see about that. JA still gets mark downs for not taking a chance on ANY of the QBs until undrafted free agency and lets try to remember the last UDFA QB to make the active roster.

by GallopingGhost on Apr 28, 2008 11:09 AM CDT   0 recs

ugh

It was painful for me to see that there were still some of the top tiered QBs left in the 4th and 5th rounds and not see the bears take a shot at Booty or someone like him. I love the Chris Williams and Forte picks, but after that with each round I wanted a QB. Oh well… maybe next year.

by Chicago Steeler on Apr 28, 2008 11:20 AM CDT   0 recs

McNabb's a free agent

next year, right?

Maybe that’s what the Bears are planning for :)

Visit The NEW Cub Reporter (thecubreporter.com)

by thecubreporter on Apr 28, 2008 11:45 AM CDT   0 recs

quarterback

i don’t understand the obsession with taking a qb this year. not like he will be able to contribute for 2 or 3 years anyway…at least we know orton won’t cost us many games if grossman comes out and bombs again.

but, put grossman behind a decent o-line and we’ve all seen the ability he has to pick apart defenses. i’m just fine with our quarterback situation, drafting a guy this year wasn’t going to make a difference this year anyway and there is still a possibility mcnabb could land in chicago after this year. matter of fact, anyone know what qbs are slated for free agency following this season?

by lopey986 on Apr 28, 2008 12:39 PM CDT   0 recs

yeah

so he can’t help for 2-3 years, what the hell are we going to do three years from now?

yeah we saw what rex can do with a decent o line, throw off his back foot and lose a super bowl.

by mike b on Apr 28, 2008 1:17 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Revisionist history?

He played great for 7 of the first 8 games (or something like that). Then he started doing poorly. Had nothing to do with o-line and everything to do with scouting reports. Yeah, Grossman’s better with a good o-line (who isn’t?), but better than “complete shit” still ain’t that great.

"I've got a class (coming in) here, we've got a chance to do some things." --Tom Izzo on why he might not consider the Bulls coaching vacancy.

by tyger1147 on Apr 28, 2008 2:54 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

this is the main problem from last year

the line was horrible. no QB or RB would have succeeded in it. rex had serious flaws in his game, but i think he finally made serious strides in fixing them after being benched (a la drew brees in san diego). however, he was under assault all season long because his line couldn’t give him any time to do anything. same with benson – when you get hit in the backfield as consistently as he did last year, you’re going to put up horrible numbers. both might be garbage, but our line was so bad last year that it’s hard to tell. freaking sucks, because we really need to know what we have with those two. i personally think rex came back much better in terms of mechanics and decision-making after being benched and can be a consistently good QB with a decent line now, and if benson comes in to camp in better shape, he’ll do well with a decent line, too. but…yeah, this is all speculation at this point, because our awful line last year makes it freaking hard to really evaluate these two guys.

"welcome to ME, motherf*^*er!" - tim hudson

by guy incognito on Apr 28, 2008 3:46 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Don't focus on this year...

It’s as King said that we haven’t drafted a quarterback in three years. And yes, we did add Griese in the offseason….but that’s not the overall point. Whether you believe Rex or Kyle is the man to fit the role, the simple fact is that we have had no consistency at QB for far to long for the organization not to realize that it’s a pressing need. It is arguably the most important position on the team and we can’t get it right and it seems as though we’re not putting any effort at all into making it right. It’s the giant elephant in Soldier Field…

by jbragg on Apr 29, 2008 4:32 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I dont think we helped our OLine enough

everybody said we needed it the most, but only picked up 1 starter. That starter happns to be a great pass-blocker, but is noy especially adept at run-blocking. Expecting 34 yearold Tait to transition back to RT and driveblock younger, more athletic players to significantly improve the running game is a stretch. I love Barton as a backup RT, he has the experience to get the job done if needed this year. I thought they should have got Schuening in the 4th round, he was the 3rd or 4th rated OG. But Big Cheese is big and fast, maybe he will surprise Beekman and Metcalf. I thought they reached for Forte and could have been more creative by trading down to get Brohm and then traded up to get Forte. But overall I think they did very well and found some late round players that can contribute. A+ for what they got, but drops to B for what they missed.

by gillrowdy on Apr 28, 2008 9:39 PM CDT   0 recs

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