2007 Bears Draft Review - Going for the Home Run
With most of the roster already set for 2007, Jerry Angelo didn't play it safe and decided to go for the home runs with the Bears choices in the NFL Draft. Lets see how he did.
1. Greg Olsen, TE, The U. A great pick. So great, in fact, that I'm a little nervous. Usually, I disagree with Jerry Angelo. These last few years, he's usually been right and I've usually been wrong. But this time, I got what I wanted. In my preview the other day, Olsen was the only guy I singled out as a potential pick for the Bears (though I didn't actually call him by name.) I didn't want to harp on it, but yes, he was the guy I wanted. Problem is, practically every Bears fan wanted him. And who wouldn't?
He's a stud. He's got receiver speed and receiver hands with Tight End bulk. He's a freak. In the NFC Central, everyone's playing the Cover-2. Lovie knows what beats him, and a good Tight End can exploit the holes in the scheme. No linebacker is going to keep up with this guy. He may well put up Antonio Gates numbers for this team. Well, if not Gates then maybe Todd Heap. If he's even half of what Todd Heap is, he'll be the best Bears Tight End since Ditka. Not to set a lofty goal for him or anything. Great pick.
2. Trade! The Bears traded the number 37 pick they got from the Jets to the Chargers for four picks. Great move. With the way Angelo finds sleepers in the mid rounds of the draft, this had to be a no brainer. They might end up now with two or three productive players for Jones, in which case this would be a steal.
2. Dan Bazuin, DE, Central Michigan. And here's where everything goes crazy. I don't have a problem with Bazuin per se, but like the Devin Hester pick last year, this is an awfully risky move. An undersized, speedy Defensive End from the MAC? Eek. He might pan out, because as I said the other day, Jerry knows defense. But this pick is far from safe. Did I mention I'm a MAC guy? Yeah, I went to NIU, and that's the conference I watch most. (Well, that and the Big Ten). Which leads me to the Bears next pick.
3. Garret Wolfe, RB, Northern Illinois. Wow. I've seen probably three quarters of Wolfe's games over the past three seasons, and I know this pick as well as I've ever known a Bears draft pick. No doubt, Wolfe was awesome in college. Super fast, super agile, and tougher than you'd think for a little man. He's just so damn little, though. 5'7, Buck-Eighty-Six. And he really took a pounding at NIU, averaging more than 25 carries a game. As the only real threat on the NIU offense, defenses would key on him and he'd get stuffed for a loss on half his carries. But when he got past the line, he was gone. Simply amazing at times, and he really reminded me of a skinnier version of Barry Sanders. Or Maurice Jones-Drew if you prefer not comparing him to a Hall of Famer.
Wolfe was a real wild card in this draft. Based on his size alone, I figured he'd be a sixth or seventh rounder. Maybe a fifth rounder, maybe even undrafted. Again, he's a real little dude. I figure whoever got him would be pleasantly surprised in this change-of-pace back. This pick shocks me. On every level. Angelo said he had a hell of a workout a few weeks ago. He must have.
3. Michael Okwo, LB, Stanford. Another shorty in the fold. Scouts, Inc. projects him as a special teams ace, overachiever type. Lets not ship off Briggs just yet.
4. Josh Beekman, OG, Boston College. By all accounts, this guy sounds like a steal in the 4th round. He's beefy, and I like my lineman how I like my burgers. Beefy.
5. Kevin Payne, S, Louisiana Monroe. Boy, the Bears sure like filling out their secondary with guys from Louisiana. This is the second guy they've gotten from Louisiana Monroe, after Chris Harris, a college I'd never heard of before 2005. In addition, Peanut Tillman and Bobby Gray came from The Lou. As for Payne, he sounds like a great athlete, but a project.
5. Corey Graham, CB, New Hampshire. Another "upside" guy. Fast. Talented. Raw.
7. Trumaine McBride, CB, Mississippi. Another corner? Are the Bears planning on letting Nathan Vasher walk? They certainly are stocking up in the secondary.
7. Aaron Brant, OT, Iowa State. I don't know why, but the fact that they got a big bald white guy from Iowa puts a smile on my face. Don't they all come from Iowa?
The Bears certainly didn't play it safe this year. Only Olsen looks like a sure thing; well, as much of a sure thing as there is in the draft. The rest of the guys are the definition of hit or miss. They'll either flame out and be worthless or they'll end up being major contributors. I'm guessing at least half these guys will be nobodies by 2009. But if any team can afford that luxury of aiming high, I guess its the Bears.
And with that, now it's time to hurry up and wait. Make all these picks, get all excited, and...wait four months. Bear down.