Why am I sad? Well, the draft is over. This is the last major event before training camp starts.
Anyways, I'm going to bring some sympathetic cynical thoughts on our draft picks. What I will do is run through our draft picks and hopefully offer some perspective that is mostly free of Bears Kool-Aid. Follow me inside.
Jarron Gilbert: Two things really strike me about Gilbert: intelligence and the boom-or-bust potential he has.
Yesterday, I watched this video of Gilbert (and no, it's not the pool jumping one). All of his answers were very short to the point of awkwardness. I was unimpressed, and I really hope that his athleticism makes up for it.
Second, he played at San Jose State. I know that a lot of you will point to the laundry list of players from small schools who played against sub-par competition and succeeded in the NFL. Why is this a worry for me? Well, he really made a big leap (pun intended) his senior year. He really didn't dominate until then. I'm really hoping that he's not a one-year wonder.
The positives of this pick are obvious: he is a physical specimen with great athleticism.
Juaquin Iglesias: I LOVE the value we got from this pick. He's a polished route runner with great hands who can contribute immediately, which is great for Sir Jay. What's not to like?
Well, think about when he was drafted. Iglesias was projected to not make it to #49, but he did and Jerry traded down. To me, that's an indictment of Jerry not being too impressed with Iglesias to warrant a #49 selection. Now, if Jerry really wanted Iglesias or was worried about not getting him, he could have taken him at Gilbert's spot. By all accounts, Iglesias slipped down draft boards for reasons unknown at this point. When we picked at the end of the third, it was a no-brainer pick. However, it really makes you wonder if Jerry was truly enamored with Iglesias.
Henry Melton: Can I really speak ill of a Longhorn? Why yes, yes I can.
What worries me about Melton is Danieal Manning syndrome. DMS is a dangerous disease that involves meddling coaches and their lack of foresight. Like one blogger said today, we could move Melton to the Sam. Melton has the athleticism to do so, there's no doubt about it. However, two things pop into my head: if our coaching staff meddles with him too much, DMS could set it and make this a wasted pick and we drafted Marcus Freeman, who projects to the Sam. Here's hoping Melton works out.
D.J. Moore: I've gotten more and more worried about this pick. I was elated when we got him, but my enthusiasm has been tempered since.
Moore had a terrible combine, and when I say terrible, I mean terrible. Horrendous. Pick your favorite negative connotation and stick it in there.
Yes, he was originally a 1st or 2nd round choice, but he presented himself at the combine with some negatives. His hips weren't as fluid as once thought. He's a little short. Open-field tackling is a question mark. Again, I think this was a value pick; someone who fell into our lap and Jerry got too excited from name recognition.
Johnny Knox: This one is tough to project. The positives: He's quick as hell, which will allow him to (hopefully) be a slot guy, and he has value as a returner. The negatives: He's small and played against sub-par competition.
I still don't know what to make of this. Jerry put on his small-school pirate hat on and raided Abilene Christian yet again. I hope he can be a good ST player and hopefully become a WR. At the moment, I see him as a career ST guy.
Marcus Freeman: Actually, I like this pick at the spot we got him. Move along.
Al Afalava: Oh God. That was my first reaction when I saw we picked him.
Why? Let me count the ways I hate thee:
1) He lacks NFL speed.
2) He is a Mike Brown prototype. Great against the run, bad against the pass.
3) He drunk drove, crashed into a bus shelter, and then ran. I know Melton was arrested for DUI, but that was a while ago and has been clean since. Afalava did this in February, and ever since the Nick Adenhart tragedy, I've taken a keen disliking to those idiots who drive drunk, hit something or someone, and then run.
4) His name offers two problems: First, WCG will continuously botch the spelling and it's way too close to Alfalfa.
Lance Louis: What? Seriously? I will stop here because I could write a dissertation on why this pick was awful.
Derek Kinder: I like this pick too. If he blossoms back to what he once was, we win. If he doesn't pan out, we lost out on a measly 7th round pick. Either way, we win.
Ladies and gents, no matter what we think of the Bears draft, it's 10:41 AM CDT and the Vikings still suck.