The Bear's Weekend Den: May 7-8, 2016

BEAR DOWN!!!!

DRAFT / FREE AGENCY

Dullea: Chicago Bears third most improved after the draft - Cover32 - In an NFL.com feature yesterday, Michael Robinson named the Chicago Bears the third most improved team after the 2016 NFL Draft.

Emma: Bears’ Jonathan Bullard May Be The Biggest Steal Of The NFL Draft - CBS Chicago - Bullard wasn't expected to be found in the third round.

BEARRRSSSS

Wiltfong: Five Questions With Hustle Belt about Daniel Braverman - Windy City Gridiron - We're visiting the SB Nation college sites of the Bears' rookie class to gain some insight on their newest players. Today we'll talk to Brandon Fitzsimons of Hustle Belt, about 7th round draft pick Daniel Braverman of Western Michigan.

Wiltfong: USA Today is Trolling Chicago Bears' fans again - Windy City Gridiron - The USA Today is at it again, this time they "believe" the Chicago Bears had a bad offseason.

Looking Back @ USA Today's Trolling of Chicago: NFL Week 1 power rankings, which teams are trending up, down? - The USA TODAY Sports NFL staff unveils its Power Rankings in 2015, and man were they embarrassingly and completely wrong about Chicago.

NFLN (video): Who can be rookie of the year? ChicagoBears.com - The "Path to the Draft" crew addresses some of the hottest topics coming out of the draft and discuss who will end up being the biggest steals of the 2016 NFL Draft.

Wiederer: Bears Q&A with Nick Kwiatkoski's defensive coordinator at West Virginia - Chicago Tribune - Bears draft pick Nick Kwiatkoski was a three-year starter and a team captain at West Virginia. He was a tackling machine who was always flying to the ball.

Householder: Which draft picks will start as rookies? - Windy City Gridiron - The Bears made nine selections in last week's draft. Which player will make their mark in year one?

Biggs: Cornerback Deiondre' Hall first Bears' draft pick to get contract done - Chicago Tribune - The Chicago Bears have signed the first player from their nine-man draft class, completing a deal with Northern Iowa cornerback Deiondre' Hall.

NFLN (video): Braverman talks playing style - ChicagoBears.com - Former NFL scouts Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks interview current Chicago Bears wide receiver Daniel Braverman before the draft.

Cox: Bears have a playoff-caliber defense, according to PFF | Bears Wire - Pro Football Focus says that the Bears built a playoff-caliber defense with the moves they've made over the last two offseasons.

55's for Cinco de Mayo - ChicagoBears.com - To celebrate Cinco de Mayo (5/5), we take a look at the Bears that have worn the number 55 going back to 1947. Fred Venturelli (1948) is the only #55 not pictured.

BEARRRSSSS FOR LIFE

Mayer: Ranking the best trades in Bears history - ChicagoBears.com - Senior writer Larry Mayer ranks the top trades in Bears history, including a 1964 swap in which they acquired a draft pick they used to select Dick Butkus.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Hate Sam Bradford? There's a sandwich for you - TheComeback.com - Sam Bradford joins Chip Kelly in an exclusive Philadelphia sports club. Hint: It's not for a good reason ...

Smith: Panthers see playing Thursday opener as competitive disadvantage - ProFootballTalk - For the Super Bowl winner, the right to host the first regular game of the season on the Thursday night of Week One is viewed as an honor. But for the team that has to go on the road to play the Super Bowl winner, it's not necessarily a good thing.

Smith: Elway says Lynch will be ready to start sooner than people think - ProFootballTalk
Broncos G.M. John Elway moved up in the first round of the draft to select quarterback Paxton Lynch, a developmental project who seems very unlikely to beat out Mark Sanchez for the starting job this season.

KNOW THY ENEMY

Hobbes: How much risk should Ted Thompson take? - Cheesehead TV - Ted Thompson has always been a conservative, non-flashy general manager.  Should he be taking bigger risks like Tom Oates wants?

Reisman: Detroit's 2013 draft class gets an "A" re-grade - Pride Of Detroit - The Detroit Lions had one of the best drafts in the league in 2013.

Wood: McCarthy says Packers are way ahead of the game - PackersNews.com - On getting a baseline for new players in first practice: Really, the weekend is an orientation. That’s why we call it rookie orientation, we don’t call it rookie minicamp. It’s getting everybody acclimated to the environment they’re working in.

Smith: Lions sign Taylor Decker and eight other draft picks - ProFootballTalk - Gone are the days of long contract negotiations for NFL rookies, and we can add the Lions to the list of teams who are getting their draft picks' contracts done in a hurry. The Lions announced today that first-round pick Taylor Decker and eight other drafted rookies have signed.

Rule Change Makes Cordarrelle Patterson Irrelevant - Vikings Journal - In the 2016 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings used two of their eight picks to select wide receivers. That leaves the team with seven wide receivers currently - one more than Minnesota carried last year. The numbers suggest that at least one of...

Alper: Packers add 19 undrafted rookies - ProFootballTalk - The Packers have three undrafted cornerbacks on their current roster, including starter Sam Shields, and they added three more on Friday with the announcement of 19 undrafted rookie signings.

AP: Vikings sign 6 more draft pick, only Treadwell unsigned - DailyHerald.com - The Minnesota Vikings have signed six draft picks, leaving one player in the class without a contract.

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