The Bears Are Not Limited to One Position in the Draft

I know given where the Bears are in their "reloading" process (yes, I'll call it reloading; rebuilding is what my Cubs are doing, but I digress), they need an infusion of young talent, and particularly young talent at places where they're very thin.

But give how the Bears approached free agency, I can't say those players will start right away. If they did, things would be very good for the Bears.

Aside from Martellus Bennett and Jermon Bushrod, most of the free agency signees have been of the one-year/tryout type of contract. There's not much investment, but the Bears didn't exactly get all pure camp bodies either. The two positions that I'd say are most likely to see rookies starting are at linebacker and guard, and DJ Williams, James Anderson and Matt Slauson are good enough to start over a fair amount of rookies - That being said, Warmack and Cooper start over anybody the Bears have, and maybe Alec Ogletree and Manti Te'o start over Williams or Anderson.

There are chances that neither Warmack nor Cooper make it to the Bears at 20. I might say some fairly good chances.

But aside from that, the Bears have put themselves in a position that they aren't pinholed into having to draft a starter at a position and can really afford to take a best-player-available. As I wrote a couple weeks ago, all the Bears' one year deals allow them to fill in behind with developmental talent that isn't pressured to perform immediately.

That's not to say a rookie can't start on this team, and in fact I'd prefer it if the Bears got immediate starters in this draft (you know, good players, something we fans aren't typically used to the Bears drafting).

But these veteran players were signed to provide stability to uncertain positions, and they'll get the first crack to hold them.