The Bear's Den: Tuesday, April 12, 2016

BEAR DOWN!!!!

DRAFT / FREE AGENCY

Dickerson: Clemson defensive end Shaq Lawson to visit Chicago Bears - ESPN - The Chicago Bears will host Clemson defensive end Shaq Lawson on Monday as they prep for the NFL draft.

Perez: Under-the-radar offensive guard prospect to workout for Bears - Bears Wire - The Chicago Bears are scheduled to workout an under-the-radar offensive guard prospect prior to the 2016 NFL Draft.

Gabriel: Some of the overrated players in the 2016 NFL Draft - Chicago Football - BEWARE if you are sitting in the PENCIL THROWING ZONE. Three players that are consistently ranked too high in the 2016 draft

Smith: Former WKU TE Tyler Higbee arrested Sunday - The Draft Wire - The 2016 NFL Draft is just on the horizon, and former WKU tight end Tyler Higbee's stock just took a big hit after his arrest on Sunday.

PFF's Maney: Ranking the best edge defenders in the 2016 NFL Draft - There's a clear favorite at the top in Ohio State's Joey Bosa, but otherwise this year's group doesn't look quite as deep as the 2015 class. Notably there are some strong pass rushers that have question marks in run defense.

Last 25 players drafted 41st overall - ChicagoBears.com - With the Bears holding the 41st overall pick in the second round of the draft, here are the last 25 players to be selected in that spot.

Fishbain: A'Shawn Robinson - Chicago Football - One of the top interior D-line prospects should be a top-20 pick. Robinson’s imposing size stands out right away when watching him in the trenches. He’s massive with long arms, allowing him to get good leverage. Against Mississippi State in 2014, Robinson’s strength at the point of attack consistently got the opposing guard off balance, allowing him to make run stops.

Ottochian: Shaq Lawson has similar traits to Bears’ Pernell McPhee - Bears Wire - An analytical comparison of how scary similar Shaq Lawson is on the field with Bears OLB Pernell McPhee

Breitenbach: Buyer-Beware when drafting these three quarterback prospects - Pro Football Focus - In preparation for the 2016 NFL draft, PFF's team of analysts has spent the past few months putting together our overall draft board and positional prospect rankings. In doing so, PFF has identified players at each position who qualify as buyer-beware prospects, based on where these players are showing up on most evaluators' draft boards. Here are three such prospects among this year's quarterback class.

LeGere: Bears should look for more receivers - Daily Herald - With Alshon Jeffery's long-term future with the Bears uncertain, they could look to add some insurance in this year's draft at the wide receiver position, which isn't as deep and talented as the past two years but still has above-average talent, led by Mississippi's Laquon Treadwell, who was the top recruit in Illinois at Crete-Monee H.S.

Perez: Bears held pre-draft meeting with Arkansas TE Hunter Henry - Bears Wire - The Chicago Bears met with the top tight end in the 2016 NFL Draft, Arkansas' Hunter Henry.

Cox (audio): Bears Wire debates whether Chicago should draft a quarterback - Bears Wire - Listen as the Bears Wire staff debates whether the Chicago Bears should take a quarterback in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

Dickerson: Could Lawson be the dynamic DE Chicago is looking for? - ESPN Video - ESPN's Jeff Dickerson discusses Clemson defensive end Shaq Lawson's visit to the Bears on Monday.

BEARRRSSSS

Alper: Ryan Pace expects Bears to compete in 2016 - ProFootballTalk - The Bears have been fairly busy in free agency this offseason, starting with the decision to use the franchise tag on wide receiver Alshon Jeffery and continuing through the acquisitions of players like linebacker Danny Trevathan, defensive tackle Akiem Hicks, safety Omar Bolden, linebacker Jerrell ...

Weaver: Kyle Long owns St. Louis twitter troll - Cover32 - Chicago Bears guard Kyle Long is not somebody you want to troll with on Twitter. Last night in an exchange with a user from St. Louis...

ChicagoBears.com (video): Curtis Johnson talks at coaches forum
Bears wide receivers coach Curtis Johnson speaks to local high school coaches at the NFL High School Coaches Forum.

BEARRRSSSS FOR LIFE

Chicago Bears in the Hall - Richard Dent - A student of the game, defensive end Richard Dent was one of the most dominant players of his era. Nicknamed "The Sack Man," Dent would not only get to the quarterback but he was determined to generate takeaways by stripping the ball.

Mayer: '65 draft produced two Hall of Famers - ChicagoBears.com - The 1965 draft that produced Hall of Famers Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers with back-to-back picks in the first round remains one of the best in Bears history.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Complete NFL preseason schedule by week |-- Chicago Football - The NFL released the preseason schedule on Thursday. Well, sort of.

Five Great NFL Game-Ending Fails (video): NFL.com - Good news, Chicago has no highlights in this batch of epic chokes inspired by the PGA Masters.

Gantt: Report - Johnny Manziel actually living with Josh Gordon | ProFootballTalk - Johnny Manziel is living with an NFL player who knows something about being suspended, but it apparently isn't Von Miller. Despite Manziel claiming that he was staying with the Super Bowl MVP, his roommate actually isn't in the league at the moment.

KNOW THY ENEMY

Goessling: Vikings' Isaac Fruechte hopes his story can inspire others - ESPN - Isaac Fruechte is sharing his story of how he went from a small town in Minnesota to the NFL and the Vikings' practice squad.

Carlson: Minnesota Vikings 2016 NFL Draft plan, Quality or quantity? - TheVikingPage.com - With the Minnesota Vikings winning the 2015 NFC North last year, should the team change their strategy going into the 2016 NFL Draft to get more quality?

Perone: Packers Can't Let Up In 2016 - Cheesehead TV - The Green Bay Packers have seen more than their fair share of meltdowns over the past decade or so and on the heels of Jordan Spieth's collapse on the back nine at The Masters this past weekend, it seemed timely to tie the two together.

DRAFT PROSPECTS OF INTEREST TO BEARS FANS

NFL Draft Profile: UCLA LB Myles Jack | CSN Chicago

NFL Draft Profile: Notre Dame WR Chris Brown | CSN Chicago

NFL Draft Profile: Penn State DL Carl Nassib | CSN Chicago

NFL Draft Profile: Ohio State OL Taylor Decker | CSN Chicago

NFL Draft Profile: Arkansas TE Hunter Henry | CSN Chicago

NFL Draft Profile: Mississippi State QB Dak Prescott | CSN Chicago