The Bears have handed out jerseys and numbers .  If my assumption is correct the o and d at the end of some players jerseys signify offense and defense and will have to be sorted out later if both players make the squad.

Draft Class:

OT Chris Williams (74)

RB Matt Forte (22)

WR Earl Bennett (85)

DT Marcus Harrison (94)

S Craig Steltz (27)

CB Zackary Bowman (35)

TE Kellen Davis (87)

DE Ervin Baldwin (99)

G Chester Adams (72o)

LB Joey LaRocque (90)

OT Kirk Barton (69)

WR Marcus Monk (19)

Undrafted free agents:

PK Shane Longest (2)

QB Caleb Hanie (12)

WR Curtis Hamilton (14)

QB Nick Hill (17)

CB Leslie Majors (46)

DB Trey Brown (49)

DE Nick Osborn (67)

DE Joe Clermond (72d)

OT Cody Balogh (79o)

DT David Faaeteete (79d).

Ignoring the whole "didn't draft a QB" thing, post draft Mel Kiper has said that no team helped themselves more than the Chicago Bears.

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.

I  know many are wondering why the Bears did not select a QB in this draft.  This very question was asked on the Bears site to  Larry Meyer and he quoted some lines from Bears GM Jerry Angelo.

The Bears entered the 2008 draft determined to land as many players they viewed as eventual starters as they possible could regardless of position, and they accomplished that with their first five picks in left tackle Chris Williams in the first round, running back Matt Forte in the second round, receiver Earl Bennett and defensive tackle Marcus Harrison in the fourth round and safety Craig Steltz in the fifth round. The closest they came to selecting a quarterback occurred in the fourth round, but general manager Jerry Angelo explained that he “didn’t want to pass up a player that was a starter to take a quarterback that maybe could be a good backup.” Another key factor is that it was a very poor quarterback crop (other than Boston College’s Matt Ryan, who was selected third overall by the Atlanta Falcons). Said Angelo: “By our grades, I will agree that I didn’t think it was a great quarterback class. I thought earlier on it was going to be pretty good, but the more we did research and evaluation, we just felt it was going to be very mediocre and I think you saw that on how the players were picked.” Personally, I’m glad the way it played out. I’d rather seethe Bears draft a Nate Vasher than a Craig Krenzel!

So we know that Angelo at least was thinking about QBs.  He obviously was more interested in Matt Forte than he was Chad Henne or Brian Brohm, but it is really hard to tell what he would have done had 1 or both of them been available with the Bears 3rd round pick.

Here are ten assessments/predictions concerning the Bears draft picks for next year .

3. I know I am in the uncomfortable position of agreeing wholeheartedly with Mel Kiper Jr. that the Bears improved as much, if not more, than any other team in the draft. Whether that means they went from a 6-10 team to a 7-9 one or from 8-8 to 9-7, well, that will take training camp to crystallize those projections.

The offense, which could include new starters at as many as six positions, received an instant upgrade as long as left tackle Chris Williams and running back Matt Forte start from Day 1, even if it means matching up Williams on Colts right defensive end Dwight Freeney. Remember too that Grossman and Orton immediately improved with the addition of rookies likely to bolster the Bears' pass protection and running game.

Generally speaking one of the first things I have do when posting here is to decide if a piece is even worth the time.  If it is a rumor or bit of gossip or just some story somebody writing something to fill a dead line, I have to judge whether to post it or not.

I was probably not going to post this because of how ludicrous it is, but I know you all love the author, so I thought I'd run with it.  This is basically a post-draft question deal .

5. The Jared Allen Effect

In 1999, the year after Moss, then with the Vikings, took the NFL by storm, the Green Bay Packers drafted four defensive backs, including their first-round pick (Antuan Edwards), their second-rounder (Fred Vinson) and their third-rounder (Mike McKenzie).

The anti-Moss draft comes to mind because two of the Vikings’ NFC North colleagues ignored other needs in Round 1 this year to select players who eventually will be expected to keep Minnesota defensive end Allen in check.

The Chicago Bears, desperate for a receiver and a quarterback, took left tackle Chris Williams with the No. 14-overall pick. The Lions, who slid from No. 15 to No. 17, took left tackle Gosder Cherilus while running back Rashard Mendenhall was still on the board.

I don't know how much time this guy spends on each team when he isn't pimping cell phones, but seriously? Does he really think Chicago drafted a offensive lineman because the Vikings picked up Jared Allen? It means nothing that the Bears offensive line couldn't block a one legged blind man last year, it is only because of Allen. Defensive linemen found more holes to run through than our running back did. Our QBs pretty much could only execute a three step drop before the pocket collapsed, but no if Minny didn't pick up Allen the Bears would have bypassed Chris Williams all together and jumped all over a receiver.

The Chicago Bears officially introduced Vanderbilt offensive lineman Chris Williams. As you'd expect he said all the typical things.

"It’s just so exciting," Williams said Monday during his introductory news conference. "I can’t even explain it. I’m not a guy to be speechless—I talk a lot—but I was speechless probably for the first time in my life. It was a great moment. It’s that point where you realize, ‘This is it. I’m a pro football player now.’ It was just awesome." Tackle Chris Williams was introduced to the media Monday at Halas Hall. Speaking with the media Monday, Williams appeared confident, intelligent and humble. He told reporters that he intended to work hard to try to earn a starting job as a rookie, learn from his veteran teammates and sign a contract before training camp to avoid a holdout. Williams opened his news conference by graciously thanking God, his family, friends and teammates, the McCaskey family, Jerry Angelo, Ted Phillips, Lovie Smith, [offensive line coach] Harry Hiestand and "everybody who made this possible for me to be a Chicago Bear."

Regardless of whether you think Williams was the correct pick, he seems like a good kid and is willing to put in the time to make himself a starter. Not that he has a whole lot to beat out to get that spot.

 

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Our next scenario is looking at the Bears taking in the first the position that most deem to be their biggest need, offensive line.  The depth at offensive line is large, but it will run out quickly and could be questionable in the 2nd if we choose to wait until then to address it. This plan is by  Doctor Chicago

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