Bears Drop Clue in Draft Strategy
Yesterday, the Bears traded Mike Green to the Seahawks for a sixth round draft pick. I'm not going to wax poetic about Mike Green, he was dumped for what seems to be the going rate for unwanted players. As a former Mr. Irrelevant, Green was better than one could hope for, which is to say he was a solid starter for a few years. But at his peak he was still just average at best. Put it this way, last year, a rookie sixth-round choice from Louisiana-Monroe (Chris Harris) and an undrafted free agent from Maine (Brandon McGowan) passed Green on the depth chart. So Green is gone and Bears fans won't miss him.
What the trade did, though, was possibly provide a little insight into the Bears Draft strategy. With Green gone, McGowan coming off an injury, and Mike Brown getting hurt all the time; the Bears need for a Safety has intensified. They still have Todd Johnson and Cameron Worrell, but neither inspires much confidence. (Actually, I thought Johnson did a decent job this year while Worrell spent last year on the shelf.) Ideally, the Bears would be able to trade up for a guy like Michael Huff. But trading up is something the Bears franchise just doesn't do. They trade down. In fact, they trade down so much, some believe one of their goals is to secure every single pick in the seventh round. We traded our top 6 picks, but we've got all 32 picks in the 7th round! Take that, New England!
Here's a scenario, the Bears trade Thomas Jones to Indy for their first rounder (#30) and a 5th rounder. Then they trade both Indy's and Chicago's first round picks, along with a second rounder next year to Buffalo or Detroit so they can grab Huff. Essentially, Thomas Jones, our first rounder, and a 2007 #2 for Huff. Or perhaps they can trade high enough to grab A.J. Hawk. (Then tell Briggs and Rosenhaus to bugger off if they don't like their contract offer.) I'd rather not trade Jones, but if the Bears somehow end up with a top 10 pick it would be worth it. Thoughts?
Whatever happens, the Draft will be a good time this Saturday. It's more fun when your team stinks, of course, but I'll take late picks till the cows come home if I never have to look at another 5-11.