With a successful first round pick in the rear view mirror and a major area of need addressed, it’s on to Day 2 of the NFL Draft for the Chicago Bears and the other 31 teams. Let’s take a look at some other areas where the Bears might look add some pieces.
Defensive Tackle
There was a lot of speculation that Jerry Angelo and the Bears might reach for their security blankie and take a defensive tackle in Round 1. With Carimi still on the board that became an afterthought, but the Bears still have Tommie Harris’ shoes to fill. (They’ve actually needed to fill them for a few years now, but no one had the heart to tell Jerry, Lovie and Tommie). There are a couple of intriguing possibilities on the board including Marvin Austin and Oregon Stater Stefen Paea. Could one of them slip to the latter part of the Round 2? More after the jump.
Cornerback
We’ve talked about this before – Peanut Tillman isn’t getting any younger and there’s not a lot of consistent depth behind him. It’s another area of need that will help shore up Lovie’s Cover-2. Brandon Harris out of Miami and Aaron Williams out of Texas could be interesting 2nd round prospects.
Linebacker
With only Urlacher and Briggs under contract, the Bears need to add some depth. It’s likely they’re try to re-sign Pisa Tinoisamoa and some of their other free agents, but they need to add through the draft here too. Is there any chance Illini Martez Wilson drops to the Bears? Seems unlikely. Keep an eye out for Bruce Carter from North Carolina and possibly Mason Foster out of Washington as possibilities. Brian Rolle could be a deeper selection too.
Offensive Line
The Bears added Carimi in Round 1, but they need a lot of help. Did you see what the Lions did in adding Fairley to play alongside Suh? The Bears might want to bolster the interior line and start groomin Olin Kreutz’s eventual replacement. Some names to keep an eye on include Carimi’s Wisconsin teammate John Moffitt and Penn State’s Stefen Wisniewski as possibilities. TCU’s Marcus Cannon could be considered, but a recent cancer diagnosis could scare some people away. Tough break for this kid.
What do you think? I admit my college scouting department is a little weak, so help me out in the Comments with some other “deep” draft possibilities.