2009 Bears Draft Review
The Jay Cutler trade took a little fun out of this year's draft for Bears fans, but I don't hear many people complaining. We got our guy. Yeah, we gave up two number ones, a number three, and Orton. But that's not really that much, if you think about it. First of all, we got a premier player on the cusp of stardom. Cutler at this point is far more of a sure thing than Stafford, Sanchez, or anybody else at this point. Had the Lions been able to simply take Cutler with the number one pick, they wouldn't have hesitated to pass over Stafford and give $40 million to Jay. So really, the Bears got "first overall value" for their package, and that package was worth it. And to all those who think we set the franchise back...I can name five Bears "number ones" in the last eight years that were garbage, yet they still made a Super Bowl in 2006 and they're not too far off from one now. So was it worth it? Hell to the yeah.
Anyways, on to this year's crop of bad picks.
The Bears, of course, couldn't stand having the 49th overall pick in their pocket and had to trade out of the first day of the draft. For this pick, they picked up a 3rd and 4th rounder from Seattle. I'm not so sure about this move. Mohamed Massaquoi was available, and he was the last potentially elite receiver left on the board (according to Scout's Inc.) But who really knows about these things. Three years ago, Chad Jackson was the highest rated receiver in the draft and in three seasons he has 14 career catches. Maybe the Bears just viewed Massaquoi as a system guy who took advantage of playing with Stafford in Georgia.
Oh, and supposedly Angelo was also attempting to pry Boldin away from Arizona with this pick. Didn't get done, though, and now the deal is deader than a doornail. Talk about a "what if", though. Had Jerry been able to get Boldin, my brain might literally have exploded. But enough of that.
So with those 3rd and 4th round picks, the Bears picked up a pair of Defensive Ends. Jarron Gilbert, from San Jose State, and Henry Melton from Texas. Gilbert is famous for this youtube clip of him jumping out of a pool. That's right, out of a pool. I don't know if he can play football, but the dude is a physical freak to be sure. Melton seems like a solid enough guy, too. If these two picks tell me anything, it's that Rod Marinelli didn't like what he saw from the line in mini-camp. With Ogunleye, Brown and maybe even Mark Anderson set to leave after this season, and Tommie Harris and Dusty Dvoracek not exactly pillars of health, I guess its best to be prepared.
Sandwiched between those guys as their second third round pick, the Bears finally picked up their receiver in the form of Juaquin Iglesias from Oklahoma. I like this pick. Some were predicting that he might be the guy that Bears would go after with the 49th pick, so to find him at 99th overall must have made the Bears excited. Then again, a full twelve receivers were picked before him so I'd tell him to hold off if he was thinking of preparing a rookie-of-the-year acceptance speech.
Up next the Bears picked up a Corner from Vanderbilt, D.J. Moore. I don't know anything about him, but I do know he'll love coming to the Bears. It's Vanderbilt North these days.
In the fifth round, they took wideout Johnny Knox from Abilene Christian. Gotta love the Bears. San Jose State, Vanderbilt, Texas, Oklahoma... they pick from the same freaking schools every freaking year. They have zero players from USC, yet they've cornered the market on SJS, Ab Christian and Vandy. Crazy, considering USC has the most pro players of any school in the league. That said, Knox seems like a good pick that's about as good a bet as Iglesias to succeed. Which is to say he's got a one-in-five chance of being here in two years.
OSU linebacker Marcus Freeman came next. This guy sounds more like a special teams ace than a replacement for Nick Roach. Probably should be useful enough for a fifth round pick, though.
In the sixth and seventh rounds, they added some more roster filler. Safety Al Afalava, Guard Lance Louis and WR Derek Kinder. None of these guys sound all that special, but that's par for the course in the last two rounds.
Given the circumstances, I think it was a solid draft for the Bears. If you factor in the acquisition of Cutler, I'd have to give the Bears an A-. I'm curious as to why they didn't pick up a free safety, and I'm still not sold on trading down away from Massaquoi. But all of their other glaring needs were at least addressed and now we just have to see them play.
August is just around the corner. Bear down.