While there’s a lot of attention being focused on what prospects are potential starting guards in the NFL Draft, consideration has to be given to the center position as well.  Roberto Garza isn’t getting any younger and you could start a center out at guard until he learns the offense then switch him inside to center after Garza’s contract expires.  Additionally if the Bears re-sign Lance Louis and Gabe Carimi works his way into the rotation as a starting offensive guard then getting a center of the future becomes a priority ahead of guard. 

Here’s a look at Brian Schwenke center from Cal who created a bit of a buzz coming out of the Senior Bowl week practices.

For all the Chicago Bears NFL Draft coverage that is, and all the NFL Draft coverage that will be this is the place to read it all in one place.  From our exclusive video coverage of the Notre Dame Pro Day to our first round big board with scouting reports on possible Bears draft picks you'll find that and more.  Will it be Alec Ogletree the Bears select or will it be one of the top offensive guard prospects?  Perhaps it will be the Bears trading back out of the 20th overall spot and adding a third round pick that they gave up to land Brandon Marshall.  Plus there will be video breakdowns and a in depth podcast report from two former NFL team scouts, all right  here.

The Chicago Bears hold the 20th overall selection in the first round of the NFL draft, a pick they have already stated they're open to trading.  The goal would be to add a third round selection, a pick they gave up in last year's trade for Brandon Marshall.  The Bears won't be making a trade until they are on the clock and a player another team covets has fallen to the Bears at 20.  The question however is what players would the Bears want to fall to them at 20 so they can cash in on some of the value.  To begin to answer this question I'm putting together this Chicago Bears big board for the 2013 NFL Draft.  By no means is this a prediction of what I think the Bears will do in the draft or how their big board looks.  This is my own big board, how I see the players and how I would set up my big board if I were the general manager in charge at Halas Hall . 

The Chicago Bears are in the market for young linebacker depth and in this draft there are a number of quality fast linebackers who could fit into the Cover-2 scheme.  The Bears thus far have privately worked out and interviewed a minimum of eight early to middle round linebacker prospects.  One of the most popular prospects whose stock has been on the rise is Arthur Brown of Kansas State.  Brown is a prospect on the rise who the Bears have been high on from the start.  While some contend that Brown is an under-sized linebacker, his skill set and size is familiar to another under-sized linebacker who is now a coach for a rival NFC North team.

With the Chicago Bears deciding to part ways with middle linebacker Brian Urlacher, there is now a major need for a play-maker in the middle of the defense.  The Bears need to stay talented on defense and get younger at the linebacker position.  They also need a player who can cover the deep middle of the field at roughly the same level Urlacher did, while being able to patrol sideline to sideline.  Whomever the Bears draft doesn't need to come in and start right away in the middle of the defense and replace Urlacher, he just needs to grow and develop into that role to be the captain of the defense within the next two to three years.

The most important position to add value to for the 2013 Chicago Bears will be finding an explosive play maker who can help to put points on the board.  Certainly you can make a case for drafting a cornerback, defensive tackle, offensive guard or middle linebacker in the first round.  Those are definite positions of need for the Bears, and there are prospects that fit into the parameters of a big board that you could take at 20th overall.  At the end of the day the Bears are going to have to find a way to put more points on the board and the only way to do it is by drafting the most dynamic play maker in this draft.

James Brown was rated by Mel Kiper Jr. as the 54th best prospect coming into the 2012 NFL draft.  By Kiper's rankings that meant Brown should have been drafted in the second round of the NFL Draft.  Many other draftnik sites saw Brown as a mid round prospect who should have been drafted as an offensive guard.  Instead Brown wasn't drafted and he was signed by the Bears as an undrafted free agent.

Continuing scenarios that might crop up for the Bears during the 2013 draft we continue formulating the Bears' draft strategy in the second part.   With Emery open to trading down to collect more draft picks the Bears need to focus on who they can draft in the late  half of the first round.  We've already identified the needs on this team (CB, WR, DT, OG, OC, LB)  so we need to focus on prospects who the Bears may target.

Even with the Bears willing to trade down they have to hope someone falls far enough that someone else wants to trade up to draft that prospect, but then that player is going to have to be someone the Bears are going to be willing to pass on despite their six positions of need.

With teams firmly entrenched in their war rooms evaluating and reevaluating players in preparation for the NFL draft that starts two weeks from Thursday it's time to narrow down prospects who the Bears should consider in the first round.  The Bears have plenty of needs, and depending  on how the draft falls there should be a solid list of players for the them to choose from.  Already we've discussed which positions the Bears should focus on as positions of need and there are plenty of needs for the Bears to add to.  Among those needs, wide receiver, cornerback, interior offensive line, defensive tackle, linebacker and quarterback.  You can all but eliminate a quarterback being drafted in the first round but all other positions of need could be addressed at 20. 

There's no way to predict the way other teams have their big boards laid out and if there's a run at a particular position it could cause teams to hastily invest players.  If the top three offensive tackles come off the board in the top-10 then some late first round picks could suddenly come off the board pushing other players down the board that the Bears may have the chance to select.

Chicago Bears general manager Phil Emery has already stated publicly that he is open to trading down in the 2013 draft to accumulate more draft picks.  Emery knows that the Bears have more needs than they have draft picks with which to land an impact player, or players that can be groomed for depth or rotational purposes.  Lacking a third round draft  pick limits the flexibility with which Emery can address some of the needs on the roster.   These needs are by no means pressing immediate needs, but they are positions at which the Bears need to add depth. 

If Emery cannot find a willing trading partner at the 20th overall slot in the 2013 draft then the Bears are not likely to pick up a third round pick.  A third round pick is not a position that you're going to find a long term starter, but finding a player that can be a solid defined role player will be a priority.