CBSSports Grades the Chicago Bears 2011 Draft

Gabe Carimi – A+ This was a no-brainer. Which is why I expected JA to screw it up. Carimi is a road grader and will help shore up the worst o-line in football.

Stephen Paea – B+ I wasn’t overly excited about this pick at first. After more research, he was graded by some to be a late first rounder, so we got a good value in the second.

Chris Conte – C I thought there were better DB’s available when we took him. I’ll reserve final judgement until we get to see what he can do with some Bears coaching. We always seem to make the most out of 2nd/3rd round picks.

 Nathan Enderle – F Why did we take a QB in Round 5? This is similar to our drafting of Dan La-he’snothereanymore last year

J.T. Thomas – C+ Seems like a high character guy, might fill a hole in ST unless he learns the strong side and surprises everyone. Its not like we wasted a whole lot if he doesn’t work out, it was a 7th round pick.

I think Carimi is the only one I have high confidence in. Paea had an injury and I’d like to see what he does before anointing him the next Tommie Harris. Everybody else is a reach.

Youtube/Athlete/Combine Freak, a Safety, a later-round QB… Unless we’re counting Idaho as “Small School.”

For that, it’s a B.

but let’s face it, no one is patient enough for that! I’d give this one a solid B, the first two picks are awesome and I’m on the fence with Conte and Enderle so I knock the grade down accordingly. I never have much high hopes for 6th and 7th rounders anyway so if JTT becomes a special teams guy for his career that’s already better than I’d hope for.

This has potential to be JAs best draft ever, if only because there is a higher probability that both our 1st & 2nd round picks pan out for a change.

Gabe Carimi- A, He is a steal at 29 and I dont see how this can be anything less then an A

Stephen Paea-B+, Some people have said that the only reason he was taken this high was because he set the bench press record at the combine. Those people obviously didnt watch any tape on him. He’s got a great first step, squats over 600 lbs. has a great work ethic and is a very high character guy. Yes, he still needs some work but he’ll be learning from the best in the business in Rod Marinelli.

Chris Conte- B, As with most people I was a little speechless after seeing this pick, but after looking into him I think he could turn out to be a steal. What I like about him is that in his first year playing Safety he was First team Pac-10, that tells me he’s got a lot of room to grow.

Nathan Enderle- C-, Again, as with most people I was infuriated when I saw this pick. I think a solid developmental back-up could have been gotten as a UDFA. Then I started looking into Enderle and the more I did the more I realized that he is the Prototypical Martz QB. This was clear to me when I heard (I think it was Mayock that said it) that he had the quickest release of any QB in the draft. That also got me to thinking that Martz could see Enderle as more then just a developmental back-up. As for me, Im taking a wait and see attitude towards him. I think he’s got some potential, and he will be in a good offense and learning from a good QB teacher. Mark Bulger 2 anyone?

JT Thomas- C+, A high character guy who seems to just need some time to learn and develop. I dont see him not making the roster and I think he’ll be a special teams starter at worst

Gabe Carimi- A+
Was rated as top O-Lineman in college football as well as a top 20 pick at the least. Top need is O-Line and we drafted arguably the top O-Lineman in the draft

Stephan Paea- A+
2nd greatest need, DT, was filled imediately after we filled our top need. Paea earned a first round grade on numerous boards and he really adds a missing demension to our interior D-Line with his raw power

Chris Conte- B-/C+
A headscratcher but nontheless a solid prospect to look forward to in the future. Can be a valuable asset on Special Teams in year one.

Nate Enderle- A++++ (real grade- C)
I gave this pick an A++++ because this means the end to Todd Collins as well as any speculation as to seeing the Bears go after any more geriatric QBs. Now the real grade, which is a C, goes for the fact that he may be a good fit in our scheme who will push Caleb Hanie for the back-up job. Albeit we could have signed an UDFA to be our 3rd string QB with this being a 5th rounder where our other top targets were already taken off the boards, there wasn’t alot we could have done.

J.T. Thomas- A
The more I read on him, the more I like him. He is a good tackler who also knows how to lay the wood while being rather fast for a LB that is 6-2 240+ pounds. He is a good fit as a Sam LB that to me is a sleeper that can turn into a star in Chicago. Plus, you have to love the character of this guy.

(from supplemental draft) Harvey Unga- A
He has all the traits we would want in a big back for Martz’s scheme, as even with all that size this dude can really move. He is really hard to bring down and not only does he not fumble he has good hands for a big RB. If Martz is continuously adding new demensions to his playbook, expect Harvey Unga to get a fair amount of snaps next season.

Gabe Carimi- (A): The best overall OT IMO and is the most NFL ready one at that. He may end up being a RT but that’s still a great consolation prize but because of his skill-set and work ethic there is no reason he can’t win and lock down the LT spot.

Stephen Paea- (A-): I might be a little biased because of my own Polynesian roots but watching tape on the guy I’m blown away about how good he is given the limited amount of time he’s been playing the game of football. He’s strong and quick and like Carimi, with some coaching the sky’s the limit for Paea.

Chris Conte- ©: Like almost every single person on this site I hated this pick when it first occurred. But after much debate and research he may end up being a steal. The guy has great measurables and managed to impress after switching positions in his Junior year. If brought along steadily and with proper coaching he can become a solid FS.

Nate Enderle- (F): I still hate this pick. IMO it was made to purely satisfy Mike Martz whom, till this day, still doesn’t seem to believe in Caleb Hanie as the #2 QB for some idiotic reason. There were severe needs on this team and at the minimum, this pick could’ve been used to add depth to one of those areas and to the ST’s. Had the Bears not lowballed Martz on a contract extension this pick would’ve probably not happened IMO.

JT Thomas – ©: High character guy that has the prototypical size and measurables for a Cover-2 LB. Will hopefully be a solid ST’s guy and I believe he will. I personally think the Bears should’ve drafted Mark Herzlich here instead of Thomas. While Herzlich may not fully recover from his cancer ordeal, he’s a high motor guy that plays with instincts and puts himself in a position to make a play. And with some more time he probably will regain most of his speed and agility. But I do hope that Thomas turns out to be a solid LB and at the worst, HH 2.0.

Harvey Unga- (B-): I know he was drafted last year but the Bears used this years 7th to do so and quite frankly I’m excited to see what he can do. Big back that can plow the way for Matt Forte and short-yardage situations what’s not to like?

Look at the reality of the situation: Hanie is gonna be gone after next season, and why wait till he’s gone to get another developmental guy. Also, to all of the people that say he would have been around in the FA, I think your dreaming. His numbers took a hit last season but that is because his O-Line was pretty bad (ranked 85th in sacks allowed). I watch him on tape and he has the ability to make all the throws, and the intelligence to survey the defense and make audibles at the line. This guy has the tools to be a Martz sleeper in the form of Kurt Warner or Mark Bulger.

I agree with most of what’s written above, and I guess I should learn from frenchbear and give the Carimi pick an A+ as I’m no less biased then him.

What’s bothering me the most is the Conte pick and its repercussions. The Bears website depth chart (now gone) to the best of my memory had Daniel Manning and Major Wright as SS and Chris Harris as the FS. Yet most writers here switch it around.

So if Conte is a FS, he’s coming to backup Chris?

I’m so confused :-)