LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) -Jay Cutler’s arrival means the Chicago Bears are without a first-round draft choice and that’s a trade-off general manager Jerry Angelo will make any day.
“The quarterback position speaks volumes. I think we all sleep better at night. He saves lives,” Angelo said this week as the Bears prepared for this weekend’s draft.
The acquisition of Cutler from the Broncos cost the Bears this year’s No. 18 pick, a first-round selection in 2010 and also a third-rounder this year. Chicago’s first selection will now come in the second round, No. 49 overall.
And why not use it to find another receiver for Cutler to throw to – if not this year, than next?
Maybe someone like Georgia’s Mohamed Massaquoi or Ohio State’s Brian Robiskie could be available. But not so fast, Angelo says. It’s not quite that easy.
s at other positions,” he said.
“The receiver position is certainly something that we’re looking at strongly for the obvious reasons, but I don’t want to rule out other players at other positions that we feel will be better players in all honesty that could help our football team as well.”
The Bears could go for help on the defensive front since veteran linemen Adewale Ogunleye, Israel Idonije and Mark Anderson are all entering the final year of their contracts. Safety could also be addressed since the Bears did not bring back veteran Mike Brown.
The Bears relied on running back Matt Forte and tight ends Greg Olsen and Desmond Clark for the bulk of their passing game last year. Forte, who also rushed for 1,231 yards as a rookie after being taken in the second round, had a team-high 64 catches. Olsen made 54 receptions, former kick returner extraordinaire Devin Hester had 52 and Clark 41. Rashied Davis is also back and so is Cutler’s former Vanderbilt teammate Earl Bennett, who did not catch a pass as a rookie.
Angelo said he doesn’t want to pick a pass catcher who turns out to be “just a vanilla cone.”
e going to get a little twist to this guy, then we don’t want to take him. We want a guy who has a little juice to him.”
And, Angelo said, if the Bears can’t find a speed receiver, they’ll look at one who has some size.
“We will want to run the football. We play two seasons here in Chicago with the weather, so that’s going to be important to us. The bigger receiver does have a role here,” he added.
And if the Bears do find someone in the second round Saturday who can catch the ball, he won’t necessarily make an impact this season.
“I think the receiver position’s one of the hardest positions for a rookie to come in and play,” Bears college scouting director Greg Gabriel said.
“We’ve done a study on it, we did it a few years ago. Generally speaking, it’s the third year when the light comes on with the receivers. There are a few guys that come in and play and contribute right away, but for the most part they have a small contribution the first couple of years and it’s in their third year that they break out.”
The Bears also get a compensatory pick in the third round, and two selections in round five, one of those part of the Cutler deal. They have a choice in the sixth round and two more in the seventh.
Frank Omiyale, making up for the losses of John Tait, who retired, and John St. Clair, who left as a free agent and signed with the Browns. Throw in last year’s first-round pick, Chris Williams, who played sparingly after a training camp back problem and Angelo said the Bears are “the best we’ve ever been at the tackle position.”
But protecting their prize possession, Cutler, is a big priority.
“We still want to look at that position for a younger developing player,” Angelo added.
But whatever happens in the draft, the Bears figure they’ve found the player who they’ve been looking for in the strong-armed Cutler. They’ve gone through nearly two dozen starting quarterbacks since Jim McMahon in the mid 1980s, searching for a franchise player.
“It’s a huge piece,” Angelo said.
“There’s a good chance you go through your whole career and not have one. We’ve done a pretty good job in Chicago of playing around the quarterback. To get to the Super Bowl in ’06 without having a marquee quarterback – and no disrespect to the accomplishments that Rex (Grossman) made – I think that’s pretty good,” he added.
out there on Sunday. But again, we just have to wait and see.”
Add A Comment