FanPost

The 25 Best Bears Draft Picks Since 1967

The Twenty-five Greatest Bears Draft Picks*

*Great draft picks and great players are not the same thing

Last Name

First Name

Team

P

YR

PK#

PTS

DY

AY

DG

AG

SB1

SB2

HOF

TTL

1

Mannelly

Patrick

Chicago

OT

1998

189

10

16

16

245

245

1

0

0

533

2

Dent

Richard

Chicago

DE

1983

203

11

11

15

170

203

15

15

50

490

3

Payton

Walter

Chicago

RB

1975

4

1

13

13

190

190

13

0

50

470

4

Singletary

Mike

Chicago

LB

1981

38

2

12

12

179

179

12

0

50

446

5

Kreutz

Olin

Chicago

OC

1998

64

4

13

14

191

195

1

0

0

418

6

Van Horne

Keith

Chicago

OT

1981

11

1

13

13

186

186

13

0

0

412

7

Osbourne

Jim

Chicago

DT

1972

182

10

13

13

186

186

0

0

0

408

8

Hartenstine

Mike

Chicago

DE

1975

31

2

12

13

179

184

13

0

0

403

9

Hampton

Dan

Chicago

DT

1979

4

1

12

12

157

157

12

0

50

401

10

Butler

Kevin

Chicago

KK

1985

105

6

11

13

171

184

13

0

0

398

11

Fontenot

Jerry

Chicago

OG

1989

65

4

8

16

128

239

0

0

0

395

12

Urlacher

Brian

Chicago

LB

2000

9

1

13

13

182

182

1

0

0

392

13

Bortz

Mark

Chicago

DT

1983

219

11

12

12

171

171

12

0

0

389

14

Briggs

Lance

Chicago

LB

2003

68

4

12

12

173

173

1

0

0

357

15

Parsons

Bob

Chicago

PT

1972

117

6

12

12

170

170

0

0

0

370

16

Gentry

Dennis

Chicago

RB

1982

89

5

11

11

159

159

11

0

0

356

17

Tillman

Charles

Chicago

DB

2003

35

2

13

12

168

152

1

0

0

348

18

Gardocki

Chris

Chicago

PT

1991

78

4

4

16

52

244

15

0

0

335

19

Suhey

Matt

Chicago

RB

1980

46

3

10

10

148

148

10

0

0

329

20

Armstrong

Trace

Chicago

DE

1989

12

1

6

15

88

211

1

0

0

322

21

Perry

Todd

Chicago

OG

1993

97

5

8

11

118

165

0

0

0

307

22

Duerson

Dave

Chicago

DB

1983

64

4

7

11

102

160

11

11

0

306

23

Rivera

Ron

Chicago

LB

1984

44

3

9

9

137

137

9

0

0

304

24

Harris

Walt

Chicago

DB

1996

13

1

6

13

87

193

0

0

0

300

25

Villarial

Chris

Chicago

OG

1996

152

8

8

11

116

155

0

0

0

298

Take a look at the list above. Whenever the After Drafter Clock showed it to someone, almost without exception the person argued that there was no way Patrick Mannelly was a better player than Walter Payton. Of course not. The After Drafter Clock does not measure the quality of the player, simply the amount of production the player delivered for his team and the league in general. No matter what else can be said about Patrick Mannelly, it remains unalterably true that he played in many more games than Walter Payton, or any other Bear for that matter. Having a great long snapper is a true benefit to an NFL team. If a long snapper as good as Mannelly is available this year, the Bears should draft him.

A simple glance seems to confirm what the After Drafter Clock (an unwavering Bears fan) always suspected: 1983 was the greatest draft ever conducted by the Chicago Bears. 1998 the Bears drafted Patrick Mannelly and Olin Kruetz, and those two players carry high enough Clock scores to maybe make 1998 the second best draft class since 1967. What also surprised the AD Clock more than anything else was that 1989 ranks among the best Bears draft classes ever. Jerry Fontenot and Trace Armstrong both proved to be great draft choices even though they spent most of their careers with other teams. More study needs to be done to see if other players taken during those years recorded high enough Clock scores to claim the title of second best Bears draft class ever.

This Fanpost was written by a Windy City Gridiron member and does not necessarily reflect the ideas or opinions of its staff or community.