2008 NFL Draft: Day 2 Recap
Any congratulations for correctly guessing the Bears’ first two picks can be withdrawn now permanently. Day Two saw the Bears pick no one from my final mock draft. Still, many of the needs I felt the Bears would address, were addressed.
The Bears picked Vanderbilt wide receiver Earl Bennett and Arkansas defensive tackle Marcus Harrison in Round 3. After two trades, the Bears took LSU safety Craig Steltz in Round 4. In the fifth round, Nebraska cornerback Zack Bowman and Michigan State tight end Kellen Davis were the choices. The Bears exhausted their remaining five picks, all seventh rounders, on Michigan State defensive end Ervin Baldwin, Georgia guard Chester Adams, Oregon State linebacker Joey LaRocque, Ohio State tackle Kirk Barton and Arkansas wide receiver Marcus Monk.
Obviously, it’s too early to grade the Bears’ draft in terms of talent as we’ll just have to see how these players pan out. Based on needs, they did a good job of addressing critical areas with their first five picks. After that, cornerback Zack Bowman was a bit of a reach, especially with the seemingly plethora of talent still available at offensive line positions. Yet, I could see the thinking behind it. If Bowman stays healthy and returns to pre-injury form, the reward for this pick could be enormous.
The Bears must have felt Davis was just too good to pass up in Round 5. It’s a great value pick certainly but we could have picked up our John Gilmore-replacing, blocking tight end much later. Baldwin was a puzzling selection because, again, there were so many offensive lineman for the taking at that pick.
In Round 7, the Bears finally added depth to the o-line with Barton and Adams. Wow. Last year’s draft selection, Josh Beekman, must be making serious strides if the Bears feel that comfortable with their o-line to wait until the seventh round to take their second and third guys.
By the way. Marcus Monk is not 6’8, 6’7 or even 6’6. He’s 6’4. I like him as a red zone target. I was getting a little weary that the Bears would only draft one receiver this year. Despite the lack of a clear top-tier wideout in this year’s Draft, there were plenty of talented Day Two guys to want to take a flyer on.
Overall, I give the Bears 8/10 Lovie Smith bobbleheads.
Now, I want to know what you guys think?
Did the Bears do a good enough job addressing key areas?
What picks did you like? What picks didn’t you like?
Remember, many undrafted free agents now loom around the invisible NFL wire. We’ll see if I can come up with a list of players worth taking a chance on in a later post.
