Add Manti Te’o to List of Chicago Bears Pre-Draft Visits

Sep 22, 2012; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Manti Te

Just last week we spotlighted the pre-draft meetings and visits that the Chicago Bears had conducted and those meetings and news of those meetings will only continue to come out as we zoom towards the April 25th NFL Draft.  There were a couple of new visits announced today, but the big name to be confirmed is Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o.  Te’o has been making the rounds lately, including visits to the Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions and San Diego Chargers.

I have wasted way too many bytes of data ripping on the idea of the Bears selecting Te’o, but Phil Emery will do his due diligence and bring him in for an interview.  Give the Bears credit for bringing him in under the radar, because he reportedly visited Halas Hall a couple of weeks ago.

Don’t put too much stock into the pre-draft visits.  As my intrepid reader John Mack did a little digging, the Bears brought in many, many prospects last season, but only Brandon Hardin and Alshon Jeffery were selected. 

That said, the pre-draft visits can be an indication of where the Bears are leaning.  They brought in several defensive ends including Chandler Jones, Whitney Mercilus and Bruce Irvin, the latter whom they deeply coveted.  When the Seahawks surprised everyone and selected Irvin earlier in the first round, the Bears ended up selecting Shea McClellin.  Even though they hadn’t worked him out specifically, they were dropping bread crumbs for us to follow.

Here is the updated list of the Bears pre-draft visit, via Walter Football:

Chicago Bears: 
Terron Armstead, OL, Arkansas-Pine Bluff (EW)
Arthur Brown, LB, Kansas State (PRI)
Josh Evans, S, Florida (EW)
Matt Evans, LB, New Hampshire (EW)
Reid Fragel, OT, Ohio State (PRI)
Johnathan Franklin, RB, UCLA (SR)
Tyrone Goard, WR, Eastern Kentucky (EW)
Zaviar Gooden, LB, Missouri (PRI)
Stefphon Jefferson, RB, Nevada (COM)
Lane Johnson, OT, Oklahoma (COM) (INT)
Edmond Kugbila, OL, Valdosta State (PRI)
Robert Lester, DB, Alabama (SR#)
Zach Line, RB, SMU (EW)
Bradley McDougald, S, Kansas (EW)
Brandon McGee, DB, Miami (PRI)
Christine Michael, RB, Texas A&M (INT) (EW)
Jordan Mills, OT, Louisiana Tech (COM)
Keavon Milton, TE, Louisiana-Monroe (PRI)
Alec Ogletree, LB, Georgia (PRI)
Sean Porter, OLB, Texas A&M (COM)
Keith Pough, LB, Howard (INT)
Eric Rogers, WR, Cal Lutheran (PRO)
Ryan Swope, WR, Texas A&M (INT)
Manti Te’o, LB, Notre Dame (PRI)
Brandon Williams, DL, Missouri Southern (SR)

With Te’o, Arthur Brown and Alec Ogletree having met with the Bears, it’s clear the Bears are interested in grabbing a linebacker at some point in the draft.  They also have a few offensive linemen, a couple of wide receivers, some DB’s and even a couple of running backs.

What do you think?  Are the Bears serious about Te’o or just doing their due diligence?  Should they consider Te’o if they trade down and can pick up an extra pick?  What about some of the other positions they’re considering?  Can you read the tea leaves and surmise what Phil Emery is going to do?  Make your predictions and post your Comments!