| 24 April 2010
The Bears immediately addressed their free safety position by targeting Florida free safety Major Wright with the 75th overall pick in the 2010 draft. Wright addresses an immediate need and is likely to come in and compete right away for the starting job. Wright was coached down at Florida by former Bears coach Vance Bedford who said they have some similarities in their tenacity and style of play. The comparisons for the most part end there as Wright is bigger, stronger and faster than Brown was coming out of college.
Shifting to day three of the NFL draft the Bears come up almost immediately again in the fourth round and Angelo stated they're likely to focus on finding a defensive lineman with pass rushing traits. Players left on the board who fit the bill include a three technique stud who rani a blistering 40-yard dash time at the NFL combine. Georgia's Geno Atkins is a true one gap penetrator in every sense of the word. He has good initial explosion and can be very disruptive in the backfield. If he's still on the board when the Bears' number comes up in the fourth he could be just the type of three technique rotational guy the Bears go after.
There is also two very intriguing DE prospects left on the board, both of them are extremely gifted athletically but don't quite have the major production you'd like to see out of such highly rated athletes. Everson Griffen a USC Trojan has perhaps the greatest slide in the 2010 NFL draft through the first two days. Griffen is easily the best player still left on the board rated the 30th best overall prospect by NFLDraftScout.com the 39th best prospect by DraftCountdown.com. To put it simply Griffen has all the gifts at 6-foot-3 273-pounds with a 4.66 40-yard dash time, to go with solid strength and speed off the edge. 
Why has Griffen taken such a huge tumble down NFL draft boards? Simple, maturity issues and inconsistent effort and a lack of any real production. Griffen is an extremely raw prospect and his game is very similar to current Bear Henry Melton, essentially the same size and the same profile as both players are former high school running backs who grew into DEs.
The other player with the high athletic ceiling from a physical standpoint is a player who you might confuse with Julius Peppers if you saw them in the same uniform. Murray State DE Austen Lane is 6-foot-6 276-pounds with room to grow. Lane could easily fill out with another 20-pounds and not lose any of his ability. What has hurt his stock to this point is likely his small school stature and lack of overall polish as a prospect. Lane was one of the prospects that I did a preview on for the NFL Combine back in February.
Also still available is Northwestern's Corey Wootton another big 6-foot-6 270-pound DE with solid up side. He plays well against the run but is not quite as consistent of a pass rusher as you'd like to see. Long arms though help him in bull rush situations as well in disrupting passing lanes. Both Wootton and Lane if drafted could even potentially fill out a role as a five-technique in the 3-4 defense if Lovie Smith isn't around after the 2010 season and the Bears bring in a new coach who makes that switch. That's getting a little bit ahead of the curve, but you can see with this type of pass rushing depth still on the board why Angelo could likely go that route if he felt inclined.
Also of note the Bears may likely address the depth in the secondary and a player the Bears have had their eye on that moved up most teams' draft boards is CB Akwasi Owusu-Ansah. Ansah has drawn comparisons to current Bear Charles Tillman because of his size and physical style of play. Ansah is one of the players the Bears brought to Halas Hall for a work out and full medical evaluation so the interest with him is obvious.
From NFLDraftScout's scouting report on Owusu-Ansah's reads like as a possible ideal fit for the Bears:
Zone Coverage: Could flourish in a zone system as a free safety or corner. His size and speed give him good range, and he is strong enough to snatch the ball from the grasp of receivers. Fluid moving from the hash to the sideline. Excellent hands for the interception and is always a threat to take the ball to the end zone. Must prove he has the discipline to come off one receiver to cover another coming into his area.
Closing/Recovery: Closes on the ball in the air quickly. Gives too much cushion, but his size, closing speed and long arms allow him to stop plays or immediately bring down the ballcarrier. Jumps slant routes when playing off-man. Has the speed and change-of-direction agility to recover on stop-and-go routes. Plants and drives out of his backpedal effectively.
Obviously Angelo hasn't completely shut down the idea of grabbing a left guard and one player on the board caught the eye and ear of every fan who watched the combine was Arkanasas' Mitch Petrus. Petrus is currently the highest rated guard left on the board and could come in and compete for a starting spot on day one.
The main question is how comfortable are the Bears with Josh Beekman at left guard and possibly Lance Louis backing him up? Louis showed enough ability to make the roster as a seventh round pick so there is potential there that he may push Beekman. Petrus is currently rated as the third overall guard prospect in the entire draft by NFL DraftScout. If there is a run on pass rushers and secondary players as seems to have been the norm for the first three rounds, then the Bears could tab Petrus.
Overall though it is hard to ignore Angelo's desire to add another pass rusher, as the main value still left on the board is among the players that can get after the QB. Atkins, and Lane specifically are players the Bears were in touch with at the Senior Bowl so the familiarity with these two is there.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
