defiantgiant

Yeah, we take something on the order of a $5m cap hit for cutting Vasher. Unless we can trade him, I expect he'll be back. All three guys are worth keeping as reserves, they just shouldn't necessarily be starting next season.

Here are the guys I'd take a look at. I've omitted older players and guy who I think are likely to get resigned (Bigby, Eugene Wilson, etc.) by their current teams. I'm especially interested in Anthony Smith: it seems like he fell out of favor with Tomlin after guaranteeing a win over the Pats, so they might be willing to let him go, despite his talent.

He could be a great pickup in the third or the fourth. From what I've read, it's not quite clear if he's a corner or a free safety in the NFL. The Bears need both, so that's almost a plus. He's got the size and strength to play safety (5' 11.5", 205, power cleans 330) and has adequate speed for a corner in the cover-2. I'd say draft him early on day 2: whichever position he works out best at, it's guaranteed to fill a need for Chicago. EDIT: Just read an interview with Byrd. He said he feels like safety is his natural position, but said he's developed a lot as a corner, and he acknowledged that it'll be his coaches' decision where to play him at the next level.

Exactly. We have three guys who are best at SS in Payne, McGowan, and Steltz. None of them is really a free safety. Manning has proven he's better at nickel than safety. If we drop Mike Brown, we have ZERO free safeties on the roster. Even if we retain Brown, we ought to draft a guy to develop. If we let him go, we need someone to step in right away on top of that. If that guy is Manning, we're not only putting him in a worse position, we're opening a hole at nickel. If we move Vasher to nickel or cut him, we need a starting corner. Unless Angelo's planning on making a big move in free agency, he's setting us up to use multiple draft picks on defensive backs, when we already need a few linemen, a running back, and a starting wideout. There aren't exactly a ton of potential starters in the free-agent market either. There's Asomugha, but it's unlikely that the Bears shell out for him. I'm kind of interested in the Rams' free agent DBs, Atogwe and Bartell. One of the two might get franchised, but they're both young and definitely good enough to contribute, maybe even good enough to start. Well, if the Bears pry Carey away from Miami, I will have no problem with them cutting Tait. If they're cutting him in order to add a younger guy of Carey's caliber at the same position, I'm all for it.

Couldn't agree with this more. The Bears need a reliable possession receiver, and Nicks, Britt, Iglesias or Robiskie could all be that. Hester looks like he'll be fine as a deep threat, especially given how he played toward the end of the season.

Yeah, when I read Angelo's comments on Vasher and Mike Brown, I started to get worried. Maybe neither of them should be starting any more, but do we really need to get rid of them? They're both quality depth, if nothing else. We have enough holes already. The same goes for cutting Tait. Keep him for depth, even if he shouldn't be starting any more. He'd be serviceable as a backup. As for the mock - aside from all the trades, I like most of your picks. I'd love for us to get Duke Robinson in the 2nd. Evans in the 4th might be kind of a reach, though: he had a lousy season and got busted for possession, to boot. He should definitely be around in the 5th.

I disagree about the need for a DE. Our pass rush looked worse than it was this season because opposing WRs were consistently wide open 5-7 yards from the line. If the other team's quarterback can take a three-step drop and throw to his first read every time, no D-lineman is going to get to him. I still think we need another end, since Anderson's a question mark and Ogunleye's getting old, but I'd want to make it a late-round pick unless somebody good starts falling really far. If Connor Barwin or Paul Kruger are there when we pick in the 3rd, that'll be another story. I could see getting a short-yardage back instead of a speed guy. I picked Frank Summers on the assumption that Turner would continue to use the FB for short yardage, since I don't see him changing that any time soon. I took another speed back because I think the jury's still out on Wolfe. He lit it up in college, but he's had a miserable YPC in the NFL so far. I like him on special teams, but I'd rather there were another guy competing with him to be the #2 back. If Scott's there in the 6th, so much the better.

I've been hearing it both ways, so I really don't know. Personally, I think he'd be a reach in the first and a total steal in the third. He's definitely great in coverage at this level, but how many successful NFL corners are under 5'9"?

If you believe what Angelo's been saying, the Bears are likely to cut ties with Nate Vasher and move Manning to free safety. That would leave a huge hole in the secondary - we'd need a new starter at corner and a nickel back. I like Corey Graham, he showed some good things this season, but I'm certainly not sold enough on him to make him the starter with no competition. Sean Smith could be a very good free safety or compete with Graham for the starting corner spot, and Alphonso Smith could step in and play the nickel or rotate with Graham at corner. Also, Bernard Scott just rushed for over 2100 yards and had over 800 receiving. He scored 34 times this season. He's worth a fourth-rounder, in my mind. The other three guys are 7th-rounders or undrafted free agents, so yeah, I'm OK with them being from small schools.

EDIT: double post.

Yeah, I wouldn't take Moore in the first. Here's what I'm hoping for. 1) Sean Smith, CB/FS, Utah - this is a little bit of a reach, but he looked really impressive against Julio Jones, and he projects well to free safety or cover-2 CB. If Manning moves to FS, Smith could step in at corner. If Manning stays at nickel back, Smith could potentially start at safety with some coaching from Mike Brown. 2) Hakeem Nicks, WR, UNC or Kenny Britt, WR, Rutgers - whichever of the two is available. Either could start opposite Hester. They're both tall, strong enough to beat a jam, and have good hands. 3) Alphonso Smith, CB, Wake Forest - a lot of draft sites have him going in the first, but all the quotes I've seen from actual scouts indicate that he'll drop to the 2nd-early 3rd on account of his height. According to Mike Mayock, he could step in at nickel immediately. He's a ballhawk and a half, but he might always struggle against tall receivers. If he's not around when the Bears pick, this spot goes to the best available CB, maybe Macho Harris. 3) Trevor Canfield, OG, Cincinnati - possibly good enough to step in for Garza during his first season. If not, he's at least a very good developmental prospect, and should make a good starting guard before long. He's got the size, his technique is very sound, and he's mean. 4) Bernard Scott, RB, Abilene Christian - has all the ability in the world, but had some character issues that will drop his draft stock. If he's got his head on straight, as he says he does, then he could be a great change-of-pace behind Forte. Played very well in the Texas v. Nation game, and will probably look good in the combine, as well. 5) Rulon Davis, DE, California - hard-nosed, high-character guy who should take well to Rod Marinelli's style of coaching. Has an ideal frame for a 4-3 end. He's 25 (after three years' duty in the Marines) and has had one or two injuries, but could become a major contributor at DE. 6) Alex Boone, RT, Ohio State - had a 4th-5th round grade before his little run-in with the law two days ago. Didn't look great this season at LT, but could easily develop into a starting RT with time. 7) Johnny Knox, WR, Abilene Christian - developmental WR, good speed, potential special teams gunner to start out. 7) Jason Boltus, QB, Hartwick - huge arm, good mechanics, good size and timed speed. Should be a good developmental QB. He can fit the ball into a small space, but he doesn't yet have much touch on his passes. UDFA) Willie Williams, LB, Union College - has character issues, really major ones compared to Scott and Boone. Still, he has ridiculous talent, and the Bears don't lose anything by gambling on him as a free agent. UDFA) Frank Summers, FB, UNLV - good lead blocker, excellent receiver, and has enough explosiveness and leg drive to make Ron Turner's favorite play, the FB dive, a viable option. The above mock assumes that the Bears get two compensatory picks, a 3rd and a 7th. Also, ideally, they'd sign two major free agents: Byron Leftwich from the Steelers and Vernon Carey from the Dolphins. Leftwich is good enough to back up Orton, and I really don't want to see the Bears go after Chris Simms. Carey could not only start at right tackle, but can play LT as well, were Chris Williams to struggle badly. Either Tait or St. Clair would make a fine swing tackle behind Williams and Carey. Without those two FA pickups, I'd have rated QB and RT as greater areas of need. Also, I'm assuming (despite what Angelo says) that the Bears will eventually bring Mike Brown back, but not as a starter. I can't imagine he'd draw a ton of interest from other teams, and he should still have some value to the Bears. If nothing else, he'd be exactly the guy to mentor a young FS like Danieal Manning or Sean Smith.