FanNation

With the 2008 NFL Draft now over, here's how I think the Bears did.

Pick 1 - Round 1 - 14th Overall - Chris Williams - OT - Vanderbilt

The Bears addressed a big need here. They needed to put some youth into their offensive line, and left tackle was a top priority. I love the fact that Williams saw plenty of elite pass rushers in the SEC during his college career. He has great size (6'6", 315 lbs.) and could come in and make an immediate impact up front for the Bears.

Pick 2 - Round 2 - 44th Overall - Matt Forte - RB - Tulane

I like the player they got here, I just think they took him too soon. At the time, no receivers had been taken at all, and the Bears also had their choice of Brian Brohm or Chad Henne. Both were bigger needs than running back. I won't complain too much, it's all in the past now, but I think the Bears could have waited another round or two before they got Forte.

I do like his size (6'2", 220 lbs) and he had an amazing year for Tulane last season. He rushed for 2,127 yards and had five games of over 200 yards rushing, as well as 2 games where he rushed for more than 300 yards. I think Forte projects more as a starter in the NFL than Chicago's other running backs that back up Cedric Benson, (Adrian Peterson and Garrett Wolfe) so it wouldn't surprise me to see Forte jump ahead of them on the depth chart. I also think Forte may help Benson. We all saw how he did in 2006 splitting carries, so having another big, able bodied back could really help out Chicago's running game.

Pick 3 - Round 3 - 70th Overall - Earl Bennett - WR - Vanderbilt

Receiver was a big need for Chicago coming into the draft. While they missed the second round run on receivers, Bennett was underrated. He's not a one year wonder like some of the top prospects were, and he had some impressive games against some tough SEC defenses. In 2006 he lost his quarterback Jay Cutler to the NFL, and his production actually increased. He did all of this while being virtually the only weapon on a passing offense that was ranked 107th in the NCAA last season. Bennett has good size at 6'0" and 210 lbs, so look for him to work his way up the depth chart and make an immediate impact.

Pick 4 - Round 3 - 90th Overall - Marcus Harrison - DT - Arkansas

While I think their focus should have still been on offense at this time, with Darwin Walker and Dusty Dvoracek both struggling with injuries, the Bears added another big body on the defensive line. He has decent pro size (6'3", 310 lbs) and was a four year starter in college, but he only has four sacks in that time span and he seems like more of a gap plugging run stuffer than he does a pass rusher.

Pick 5 - Round 4 - 120th Overall - Nick Steltz - S - LSU

I thought this was one of the Bears better picks on Sunday. Steltz was a huge leader for a top defense in college football, and he's always around the ball. He was an All-American and All-SEC player last season, and his hard hitting mentality fits in perfectly with what the Bears look for in a Cover 2 safety. The Bears needed to add players here with Mike Brown's health always in question, and outside of him and Danieal Manning, no other safety showed much for Chicago last season.

Pick 6 - Round 5 - 142nd Overall - Zackary Bowman - CB - Nebraska

This was a questonable pick to me. Chicago drafted two corners last season as well, they still have nickelback Ricky Manning Jr., and last summer they re-signed Charles Tillman and Nathan Vasher to long term deals. Not only that, but Bowman didn't play at all in 2006 due to having leg surgeries, and in 2007 he only started 4 of 11 games for the Cornhuskers. Now usually the Bears do a good job evaluating talent, especially for secondary players, but I still don't see much of an upside to this pick.

Pick 7 - Round 5 - 158th Overall - Kellen Davis - TE - Michigan State

Davis is very athletic and has big size at 6'7" and 262 lbs. He had a good senior season, with 32 catches for 513 yards and an impressive 16.0 yards per catch. He also lined up on defense and had two sacks coming off the edge, as well as playing special teams, which I get the feeling is mainly what Chicago drafted him for. They signed Desmond Clark to an extension, and with him and Olson both having good production last season I don't see Davis getting much playing time at tight end over either of them. Still, this could open up the Bears offense and allow Olson to play sot receiver more in the future.

Pick 8 - Round 7 - 208th Overall - Ervin Baldwin - DE - Michigan State

I'm not gonna be nice with this pick. It makes almost no sense to draft a defensive end here. They signed Alex Brown to an extension, they have Adewale Ogunleye and Mark Anderson at the position, and they drafted Dan Bazuin, a defensive end in the third round last year, and he was a huge reach there.

Pick 9 - Round 7 - 222nd Overall - Chester Adams - G - Georgia

Can't find much information on this guy, other than that he's big. 6'4", 320 lbs. I like the pick here, the guard was also a need for Chicago with Ruben Brown ending his 12 year NFL career, and Roberto Garza getting up there in age too. I think the right guard position is a two man race between last year's draftee Josh Beekman and Adams.

Pick 10 - Round 7 - 243rd Overall - Joey LaRocque - LB - Oregon State

Not much to say here, other than they added another good linebacker, probably for special teams. He was all Pac-10 second team both his junior and senior year, and Chicago knows their linebackers so I trust this kid will do a good job.

Pick 11 - Round 7 - 247th Overall - Kirk Barton - OT - Ohio State

Another good addition to the offensive line. It sounds like Chicago doesn't think he can play left tackle in the NFL, and will try him out at guard. Should be interesting to watch him progress.

Pick 12 - Round 7 - 248th Overall - Marcus Monk - WR - Arkansas

A huge body, possession type receiver, exactly what the Bears needed to add. Monk had a great 2006, even without a very good quarterback, but only played in six games last season.

I won't grade the draft overall, nobody can tell how these players will pan out for another few seasons. But just considering the needs Chicago had coming in, the guys they took and when they took them, it was a bit of a disappointing weekend. Teams like New England, New York, Pittsburgh, Green Bay, and other franchises with pretty solid players already at quarterback all took passer this year, and Chicago didn't?

The regime is putting a lot of faith in Grossman or Orton to step up. While either one of them might pull their weight this season, neither is long term. And while this draft class wasn't rated very highly for quarterbacks, I still think there were plenty of solid guys available both days that Chicago could easily have taken a chance with. I guess my biggest problem is them not taking a quarterback to groom in for the future, but other than that, they did a good job getting offensive linemen and receivers, two big needs.