The Bear's Den: April 29, 2016 - First Edition

BEAR DOWN!!!!

LEONARD FLOYD

Noble: Chicago Bears GM Ryan Pace press conference quotes on linebacker Leonard Floyd - Windy City Gridiron - Come see what Ryan Pace had to say about new linebacker Leonard Floyd!

Pace on drafting Leonard Floyd (video) - ChicagoBears.com - General Manager Ryan Pace speaks with the media following the Bears first round selection at the 2016 NFL Draft.

Wiederer: A quick look at the newest Bear Leonard Floyd - Chicago Tribune - Leonard Floyd's athleticism was certainly a draw for the Bears, who have been seeking to add an element of speed to their pass rush.

Noble: Chicago Bears pick Georgia linebacker Leonard Floyd - Windy City Gridiron - With some big names left on the board, the Chicago Bears have selected Georgia linebacker Leonard Floyd (6'5", 244 pounds) with their #9 overall pick.

Clemons: (Pre-Draft) Four reasons UGA's Leonard Floyd will be the first LB taken - All told, perhaps five UGA players could have NFL homes by the time the draft concludes: Floyd, linebacker Jordan Jenkins, offensive tackle John Theus, wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell and tight end Jay Rome.

Sunderbruch: Bears Trade Up for Floyd, Quarterbacks and Safeties Rise - Windy City Gridiron - Ryan Pace caused shaking fists in New York and Chicago, proving that he can get strong reactions. Look inside for how Round 1 played out.

Dickerson: Bears select Georgia OLB Leonard Floyd in first round - ChicagoBears.com - The Bears moved up two spots to pick a player who is full of potential but a bit unproven. It worked with Kyle Long. Will it with Leonard Floyd?

Perez: Instant analysis, Bears draft OLB Leonard Floyd in first round - Bears Wire - The Chicago Bears traded up to the ninth pick in the first round to draft Georgia OLB Leonard Floyd

FIshbain: Chicago Bears trade up and draft Georgia OLB Leonard Floyd - Pro Football Weekly - With a desire to get more speed on defense, the Bears drafted one of the fastest linebackers in the draft, taking Floyd with the ninth overall pick, trading one of their fourth-round picks to do it — the 106th overall pick.

Bears trade up to No. 9, select OLB Leonard Floyd - Chicago Tribune - The Bears traded up from the No. 11 pick to No. 9 in Thursday's first round of the NFL Draft and selected Georgia OLB Leonard Floyd.

Mayer: Bears trade up to pick Leonard Floyd - ChicagoBears.com - The Bears on Thursday night traded up two spots in the first round of the NFL Draft to select Georgia outside linebacker Leonard Floyd with the ninth overall pick.

Perez: What scouts think of Bears first-rounder Leonard Floyd - Bears Wire - The Bears made it official just moments ago, drafting Georgia OLB Leonard Floyd with the No. 9 pick in the first round. Here’s a collection of what some of the top NFL draft analysts think of Floyd’s NFL projection.

Finley: Bears trade up, take Georgia OLB Leonard Floyd - Chicago Sun-Times - The Bears got their man Thursday night — and they had to trade up to do it. After moving up two spots, GM Ryan Pace selected Georgia edge rusher Leonard Floyd. The Bears wanted to improve their speed rush, particularly in nickel and dime packages. Floyd fits the bill. At 6-6, 244 pounds, Floyd profiles as a pass-rush specialist. He led the Bulldogs with 4 1/2 sacks last year.

Mullen: Bears trade up to No. 9, bolster pass rush with Georgia's Leonard Floyd - CSN Chicago - The Bears couldn't wait to upgrade their pass rush, moving up to No. 9 to select Georgia OLB Leonard Floyd in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Thopmpson: Draft Town flashback: Remembering the Honey Bears - Chicago Tribune - For the last nine years, Lena Duda has been doing an homage to the Honey Bears, the cheerleaders who performed at Soldier Field until 1986.

Wagner-McGough: Bears get B- for trading to grab Leonard Floyd at No. 9 - CBSSports.com - Former Georgia linebacker Leonard Floyd will begin his NFL career with the Bears.

Alper: Bears trade to No. 9, take Leonard Floyd - ProFootballTalk - The Bears had the 11th pick in the draft, but it seems they were worried about the Giants taking the player they wanted. Chicago made a trade with the Buccaneers to move up to the ninth pick of the first round and selected Georgia linebacker Leonard Floyd. The Bears gave up No. 11 and No.

Graziano: (Pre-Draft) Leonard Floyd? Jack Conklin? Latest on Giants' first-round draft plans - New York Giants Blog- ESPN - In the weeks leading up to the NFL draft, solid information can be tough to come by. Now that the draft is upon is, here's what's what with the Giants.

LeGere: Bears trade up, draft Georgia LB Leonard Floyd - DailyHerald.com - With the the ninth overall draft pick in Thursday night's first round, the Bears selected Georgia linebacker Leonard Floyd, who possesses the pass-rush skills that could translate to double-digit sacks in the NFL. The Bears traded a 4th-round pick, and 11th overall, to TB to move up to No. 9.

Rowe: Pre-Draft Report, Leonard Floyd's stock rising - 247sports.com - While most NFL Draft Analysts have thought of Leonard Floyd as a top-20 pick for quite some time, it now appears as if he could go higher than some expected.

Graziano: (Pre-Draft) Leonard Floyd? Jack Conklin? Latest on Giants' first-round draft plans - New York Giants Blog- ESPN - In the weeks leading up to the NFL draft, solid information can be tough to come by. Now that the draft is upon is, here's what's what with the Giants.

Vacchiano: (Pre-Draft) It's time for Giants to address need at linebacker - NY Daily News
- It's almost impossible to believe that they haven't taken a linebacker in the first round of an NFL draft in 32 years.

Butt: (Pre-Draft) Leonard Floyd could be latest former UGA player to go top 10 in NFL draft - The Telegraph - Leonard Floyd, Jordan Jenkins and Malcolm Mitchell all have chances of being selected in the first two days of this year’s NFL draft.

Raanan: (Pre-Draft) Who is behind Leonard Floyd on the Giants board? - Giants draft mailbag | NJ.com - The latest on the Giants and their draft.

DRAFT MANIA

Kev H: Chicago Bears and NFC North Recap - Windy City Gridiron - Taking a look around the NFCN to see who the bad guys chose.

Weaver: The #1 Chicago Bears 2nd round pick - Cover32 - The Chicago Bears have drafted their fair share of stars in the first round over the years but true genius in the NFL Draft is about...

Dickerson: Chicago Bears intrigued by mid-round quarterback prospects - ESPN - With little depth behind starter Jay Cutler, the Bears might take advantage of a deep class of quarterbacks and try to fill the need in the draft.

Ottochain: (audio): Mid-round edge-rusher prospects who fit the Bears - Bears Wire - The Chicago Bears are expected to take a pass rusher at some point in the draft. Here are some potential mid-round fits for this defense.

BEARRRSSSS

ITB (video): Dick Butkus recalls his draft experience - ChicagoBears.com - Bears Hall of Famer Dick Butkus continues his conversation with Jeff Joniak and talks about the historic 1965 NFL Draft and why he was surprised the Bears selected him.

ITB (video): Kyle Fuller's Draft Experience - ChicagoBears.com - Starting with Phil Emery's phone call and ending at the Soldier Field draft party, Kyle Fuller takes us through his draft experience as the Bears select him in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft.

ITB (video): Kevin White's draft experience - ChicagoBears.com - Go behind-the-scenes as Chicago Bears Network cameras follow Kevin White from the moment he is selected by the Bears.

Bear Download Podcast (audio) - Chicago Tribune - Welcome to the weekly Bear Download podcast with Rich Campbell and Dan Wiederer.

Draft Town descends on downtown Chicago - WGN-TV - Draft Town has once again taken over downtown Chicago. With the help of some of this year’s top draft prospects, about a 100 kids ran through professional drills alongside NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, George McCaskey and Mayor Rahm Emanuel, kicking off what is expected to be another huge draft weekend in Chicago.

Jim Miller on which QB Bears should draft as Cutler's backup - CSN Chicago - CSN's Jim Miller breaks down who the Bears should draft to back up Jay Cutler this season.

Curtis Conway talks about Bears, NFL Draft - CSN Chicago - Former Bears running back Curtis Conway talks about the Bears, and preparing for the NFL Draft.

BEARRRSSSS FOR LIFE

Chicago Bears in the Hall - George Musso - It would be easy to overlook even the brightest star in the galaxy of brilliant performers who made the Chicago Bears the dominant team in pro football in the years from 1933 to 1944 when George Musso was anchoring the team's powerful forward lines. During that 12-year span, the Monsters of the Midway won seven western division titles and National Football League championships in 1933, 1940, 1941, 1943. Their regular season mark for those years was an incredible 104-26-6.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Smiley: The NFL Draft's top 5 'Mr. Irrelevants' of the modern era - FOX Sports
They include a record-breaking kicker, a pass-catching fullback and receiver-turned-tennis coach.

Florio: De Smith says Union will never apologize for fighting for its players - ProFootballTalk - At a time when NFL has done its victory lap regarding the outcome of the federal appeal in the Tom Brady case, the NFL Players Association openly wonders what the NFL is really trying to win when it comes to player discipline.

Alper: Ryan Tannehill "No hard feelings" about Suh’s absence - ProFootballTalk - Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh hasn't been at Dolphins workouts recently, something that is his prerogative at a point in the offseason when participation is voluntary.

Justin Blackmon pleads guilty to DUI, a cautionary tale of talent over character - ProFootballTalk - On the day of the NFL draft, there's more bad news for one of the biggest draft busts in recent memory. Justin Blackmon, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft, was arrested for DUI in December. According to TMZ, Blackmon pleaded guilty on Wednesday.

Raiders owner willing to give $500M toward Las Vegas stadium - NFL.com - Raiders owner Mark Davis says he wants to move the team to Las Vegas and is willing to spend a half billion dollars as part of a deal for a new stadium in the city.

Garlewicz: Recapping the 2014 and 2015 drafts - isportsweb - The Chicago Bears drafted many current starters on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball over the past two NFL drafts.

Cohen: Goodell holds Q&A, with head injuries front and center - Pro32 - AP - The floor belonged to Philip Feliciano, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell waited patiently for his question. Given an opportunity to ask Goodell about anything he wanted, Feliciano, a 55-year-old vascular surgeon from Bellevue, Washington, wanted to know about the league's efforts to help prevent head injuries. Even for the NFL's most ardent fans, head injuries remain one of the biggest concerns.

KNOW THY ENEMY

2016 NFL Draft results: Lions pick offensive tackle Taylor Decker - Pride Of Detroit - The Detroit Lions have selected Taylor Decker with the 16th overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft.

Gates: Minnesota Vikings Select Laquon Treadwell - Daily Norseman
The Vikings had a hole to fill at wide receiver, and they've filled it with the player that might be the best wide receiver prospect in this year's draft class.

Western: Kenny Clark goes to Green Bay at pick #27 of first round - Acme Packing Company
Green Bay has made its first selection in the 2016 NFL Draft, and it's a big, athletic defensive tackle.