This is a two-part series looking back at the drafts of the Chicago Bears. This series will take into account the drafts from 1998 until 2006. I realize that I could have looked farther into history and taken a broad approach to this, but this way, both the young'ns and the old-timers on this blog can relate and discuss these drafts.
In this first part of the series, we're going to review the best draft in Bears history:
2006
|
Pick # |
Round |
Player |
|
1 |
2 |
Danieal Manning, DB, Abilene Christian |
|
2 |
2 |
Devin Hester, WR, Miami |
|
3 |
3 |
Dusty Dvoracek, DT, Oklahoma |
|
4 |
4 |
Jamar Williams, LB, Arizona State |
|
5 |
5 |
Mark Anderson, DE, Alabama |
|
6 |
6 |
J.D. Runnels, FB, Oklahoma |
|
7 |
6 |
Tyler Reed, G, Penn State |
2006 was hands-down the best top-to-bottom draft that the Bears have had throughout this time period. Other drafts may have had impact players (2000 with Brian Urlacher, etc.), but top-to-bottom, this class has exceeded any expectations set by the pundits.
Danieal Manning, FS
Selection #: 42 (2nd round)
College: Abilene Christian
|
Season |
Team |
Tackles |
Interceptions |
Fumbles |
||||||||||||
|
G |
GS |
Total |
Solo |
Ast |
Sck |
SFTY |
PDef |
Int |
Yds |
Avg |
Lng |
TDs |
FUM |
Lost |
||
|
2007 |
Chicago Bears |
16 |
15 |
79 |
68 |
11 |
0.0 |
-- |
6 |
2 |
33 |
16.5 |
33 |
0 |
-- |
-- |
|
2006 |
Chicago Bears |
16 |
14 |
67 |
51 |
16 |
0.0 |
-- |
5 |
2 |
26 |
13.0 |
15 |
0 |
-- |
-- |
|
TOTAL |
146 |
119 |
27 |
0.0 |
0 |
11 |
4 |
59 |
-- |
33 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|||
Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith again reverted to drafting good players from obscure colleges (see Chris Harris: Louisiana-Monroe and Charles Tillman: Louisiana-Lafayette), and to this point, the experiment has worked. In 2006, he forced five fumbles and became another in the line of Bears DB's to record an interception in his debut (Manning did it against Favre, Dwayne Joseph against Minnesota in 1995). He recorded 80 tackles in his rookie campaign and bounced that number higher in 2007 with 98.
Devin Hester, WR/KR/PR
Selection #: 57 (2nd round)
College: Miami (Fla.)
|
Kick Return |
|||||||||||
|
Year |
Team |
G |
Ret |
Yds |
Avg |
Lng |
TD |
20+ |
40+ |
FC |
FUM |
|
2007 |
Chicago Bears |
16 |
43 |
934 |
21.7 |
97T |
2 |
20 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
|
2006 |
Chicago Bears |
16 |
20 |
528 |
26.4 |
96T |
2 |
12 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
|
TOTAL |
32 |
63 |
1,462 |
23.2 |
97 |
4 |
32 |
4 |
0 |
4 |
|
|
Punt Return |
|||||||||||
|
Year |
Team |
G |
Ret |
RetY |
Avg |
Lng |
TD |
20+ |
40+ |
FC |
FUM |
|
2007 |
Chicago Bears |
16 |
42 |
651 |
15.5 |
89T |
4 |
10 |
4 |
6 |
5 |
|
2006 |
Chicago Bears |
16 |
47 |
600 |
12.8 |
84T |
3 |
11 |
4 |
12 |
6 |
|
TOTAL |
32 |
89 |
1,251 |
14.1 |
89 |
7 |
21 |
8 |
18 |
11 |
|
In our second selection of the second round, we took Devin Hester, who mostly was an overlooked player that everyone knew was quick but did not have a set position. The one person who did not overlook Hester's skill set was Floyd Reese, the GM of the Titans until 2006. With the 45th selection in the 2006 draft, the Tennessee Titans selected.....LenDale White. Someone else within the organization wanted to get their hands on White, who had a very questionable work ethic, was out-of-shape, and excelled at USC mostly because he was a product of the system. While Reese was probably getting set to have an aneurysm, the Bears were patiently waiting at selection #57 for their guy. Thankfully, the err of their judgment gave us Hester on a silver platter, and this year, he should cement himself stat-wise as the best returner in league history.
Dusty Dvoracek, DT
Selection #: 73 (3rd round)
College: Oklahoma
|
Season |
Team |
Tackles |
Interceptions |
Fumbles |
||||||||||||
|
G |
GS |
Total |
Solo |
Ast |
Sck |
SFTY |
PDef |
Int |
Yds |
Avg |
Lng |
TDs |
FUM |
Lost |
||
|
2007 |
Chicago Bears |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0.0 |
-- |
0 |
-- |
-- |
0.0 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
2006 |
Chicago Bears |
0 |
0 |
0 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
0.0 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
TOTAL |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
-- |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|||
When Dusty Dvoracek has played, he's been an absolute beast. However, injuries have spoiled his playing time. In 2006, he made it until August 28th, when he suffered a foot injury. Hopes were high in 2007, but he went down in the season opener against the Chargers with a knee injury. He's a tough individual, but many Bears fans are holding their breath to see if he can make it through a season uninjured. If he does, he'll be an excellent addition to the club.
Jamar Williams, LB
Selection #: 120 (4th round)
College: Arizona State
|
Season |
Team |
Tackles |
Interceptions |
Fumbles |
||||||||||||
|
G |
GS |
Total |
Solo |
Ast |
Sck |
SFTY |
PDef |
Int |
Yds |
Avg |
Lng |
TDs |
FUM |
Lost |
||
|
2007 |
Chicago Bears |
16 |
1 |
30 |
22 |
8 |
1.0 |
-- |
2 |
-- |
-- |
0.0 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
2006 |
Chicago Bears |
3 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0.0 |
-- |
1 |
-- |
-- |
0.0 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
TOTAL |
32 |
24 |
8 |
1.0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
-- |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|||
Jamar Williams was being readied during training camp last year to start at the Will during Lance Briggs' first hissy, only to have Briggs return. In the times that he's had to fill in for Briggs, he's been solid. His first season was cut short due to a chest injury, but he rebounded nicely in the 2007 campaign. On top of being a top reserve linebacker, he's also been a key member of the special teams unit. Another year of spotty playing time at linebacker is in store for Williams, but if Briggs goes down with a season-ending injury, Williams will fill in admirably.
Mark Anderson, DE
Selection #: 159 (5th round)
College: Alabama
|
Season |
Team |
Tackles |
Interceptions |
Fumbles |
||||||||||||
|
G |
GS |
Total |
Solo |
Ast |
Sck |
SFTY |
PDef |
Int |
Yds |
Avg |
Lng |
TDs |
FUM |
Lost |
||
|
2007 |
Chicago Bears |
14 |
14 |
31 |
25 |
6 |
5.0 |
-- |
1 |
-- |
-- |
0.0 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
2006 |
Chicago Bears |
16 |
1 |
28 |
23 |
5 |
12.0 |
-- |
2 |
-- |
-- |
0.0 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
TOTAL |
59 |
48 |
11 |
17.0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
-- |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|||
Mark Anderson was (with Hester) one of the most pleasant surprises from the 2006 draft. He registered 12 sacks and finished second in the NFL Defensive Rookie race. However, he lost his job to Alex Brown in 2007, and teams recognized that he's not great against the run, thus he only registered five sacks last season. As a situational pass rusher, he's been fantastic for the Bears. Once he fully learns how to defend the run, he'll be less of a one-trick pony and become a complete (and dominant) DE.
J.D. Runnels, FB
Selection #: 195 (6th round)
College: Oklahoma
|
Season |
Team |
Rushing |
Receiving |
Fumbles |
|||||||||||
|
G |
GS |
Att |
Yds |
Avg |
Lng |
TD |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
Lng |
TD |
FUM |
Lost |
||
|
2006 |
Chicago Bears |
2 |
0 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
TOTAL |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|||
Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith again continue their trend of picking players from the University of Oklahoma. As a Texas Longhorns fan, I had the torture pleasure of watching Runnels play for Oklahoma (our archrival). To say that he was part of the reason AP did so well in college is a great understatement. He did not play much except for a bit at the end of his rookie season when Jason McKie went down with an injury. Unfortunately, when healthy, we have a grizzled veteran (McKie) at that position, so he was let go by the organization.
Tyler Reed, G
Selection #: 200 (6th round)
College: Penn State
Tyler Reed was signed to a four year contract after being drafted, but was waived and resigned to a two-year contract and hasn't been off the practice squad since. We haven't seen or heard anything from Reed since, which is not a good sign. If he can't crack this rotation, he will soon be a training camp causality. The only weak pick in the draft class, but the chances of striking gold in the 6th round are about as great as Brett Favre attending the Packer's Christmas party this year.
Runner Up: 2004
|
Pick # |
Round |
Player |
|
1 |
1 |
Tommie Harris, DT, Oklahoma |
|
2 |
2 |
Tank Johnson, DT, Washington |
|
3 |
3 |
Bernard Berrian, WR, Fresno State |
|
4 |
4 |
Nathan Vasher, DB, Texas |
|
5 |
4 |
Leon Joe, LB, Maryland |
|
6 |
5 |
Claude Harriott, DE, Pittsburgh |
|
7 |
5 |
Craig Krenzel, QB, Ohio State |
|
8 |
7 |
Alfonso Marshall, CB, Miami (Fla.) |
The first four picks of this draft were star-studded. Tommie Harris has been a mainstay in the trenches while he's healthy. Tank Johnson was a great DT until he decided various high-powered weaponry was more his thing. We just lost Berrian, who was our lone deep threat. Vasher has teamed up nicely with Charles Tillman to form one of the top-tier NFL corner tandems. If one or two of the bottom four draft picks had developed into solid starters, this draft class would have been in the running for the top spot.
Third Place: 1999
|
Pick # |
Round |
Player |
|
1 |
1 |
Cade McNown, QB, UCLA |
|
2 |
2 |
Russell Davis, DE, North Carolina |
|
3 |
3 |
Rex Tucker, T, Texas A&M |
|
4 |
3 |
D'Wayne Bates, WR, Northwestern |
|
5 |
3 |
Marty Booker, WR, Louisiana-Monroe |
|
6 |
4 |
Warrick Holdman, LB, Texas A&M |
|
7 |
4 |
Rosevelt Colvin, LB, Purdue |
|
8 |
5 |
Jerry Wisne, G, Notre Dame |
|
9 |
5 |
Khari Samuel, LB, Massachusetts |
|
10 |
5 |
Jerry Azumah, DB, New Hampshire |
|
11 |
6 |
Rashard Cook, DB, USC |
|
12 |
7 |
Sulecio Sanford, WR, Middle Tenn. State |
|
13 |
7 |
Jim Finn, RB, Pennsylvania |
Holy draft picks....13 in total, and the Bears didn't end up too bad. Positive gains can be attributed to Tucker, Bates, Booker, Holdman, Colvin, and Azumah. The reason that this draft class was not ranked higher is because of Cade McNown, which was a huge whiff. I was only 13 years old at the time, and I can still remember the sting of the next season. However, we gained two linebackers who would join Brian Urlacher after the following draft to form a formidable linebacker tandem. Azumah was a decent KR/PR for us, as well as a solid corner. Booker has done well for himself, mostly in a Bears uniform. Tucker was on the OL that swept us through the 2003 playoff campaign. McNown brings this class down, but unless McNown had turned into a franchise QB, it still would have finished second to the excellent top-to-bottom draft of 2006.