2012 Bears Mock Draft- Lovie Smith Version

The Bears under Lovie Smith don't typically say much of substance to give away any sort of strategic advantage they feel they have.  But when they do speak, maybe people should listen.  Last year, OL coach Mike Tice let the world know he wanted Gabe Carimi.  Defensive Coordinator, Rod Marinelli let the same world know he was a big fan of Stephen Paea.  The Bears almost traded up for Carimi (long story, you all should be familiar with) and did trade up for Paea in the 2nd.  If you listen toward Halas Hall this offseason, the Bears have made it clear the players they are interested in for the upcoming NFL draft.  Here is my mock based on what the Bears are "telling" us by their actions.

1st Round- Pick #19.  Kendall Wright, WR, Baylor
 Lovie dined with Wright, personally watched Wright on his pro day, and took his WR coach with him to Waco to see Wright.  The same can be said of Stephen Hill, but unlike Hill, Wright was invited to Halas Hall for a private workout.  Bears clearly like him to take the top of the defense opposite of Brandon Marshall.

2nd Round- Pick #50.  Bruce Irvin, DE/OLB West Virginia
 Lovie again attended WVUs pro day.  Irvin has also been invited to Chicago for a workout.  I was wondering what interest the Bears would have in a 245lb, undersized pass rusher, but then I thought about it.  New GM, Phil Emery has watched his Chiefs team the last 3 years play the Raiders and Broncos twice a year.  Raiders used Kamerion Wimbley as a SLB on running downs and put him at DE in the nickel.  Broncos just drafted Von Miller, who does the same thing in Denver.  They are both 255lbs, could the Bears envision Irvin with 10lbs and in this role? 


3rd Round- Pick #79.  Casey Hayward, CB Vanderbilt
 Casey is kind of a man crush of mine.  I watched about 9 Vandy games this year, and not because they were a great team.  My thoughts that he was the prototypical Cover 2 CB were confirmed when Lovie showed up at his pro day.  Tim Fugger (DE/OLB) also caught Lovie's eye, but I believe this is the guy he was there to see.

4th Round- Pick #111. Michael Egnew, TE Missouri
 Bears re-signed Kellen Davis, but they are not convinced he's the answer.  Bears sent their TE coach to Missouri to personally work out Egnew and their WRs.  Bears like to keep up with the Jones-es, and the trend is for big athletic TEs. At 6'5", Egnew fits the big requirement.  Having lined up flexed for most of his time in Mizzou's spread offense, fits the athletic part.

5th Round- Pick # 150. Kelcie McCray, SS Arkansas St
 Lovie didn't send anyone to ASU.  No coaches worked out McCray.  So why is he here?  Lovie is on record of saying he "likes Wright and Conte" as starters at S, but the team will "look to add to the position".  The Bears were also 1 of 15 teams at the ASU pro day.  Lastly, outside of last year, the Bears drafted a player from a non-BCS school in the South every single year under Lovie, who is from Texas himself. 

6th Round- Pick # 184. Donald Stephenson, OT Oklahoma
 Personally, I hate waiting this late to draft OL.  But again, Lovie has said that he likes the OL.  Tice has said the same, both saying they see J'Marcus Webb as the starting LT again next year.  Regardless, the Bears need depth at OT.  Tice worked out Stephenson at OUs pro day.  He's 6-6 and fits the Tice requirement for height and athleticism.  Needs a lot of work in quickly getting his feet set in pass protection, but Tice would give him the best OL coach in the league (even though he's now OC).

7th Round- Pick #220. Robert Blanton, CB Notre Dame
 I admit, didn't really know where to go with this pick.  But the Bears were at the aTm pro day and they do only have 3 CBs under contract, so drafting 2 just for depth purposes seems like a necessity.  The Bears were deep at ND's pro day today and Blanton apparently stood out.  He has good size, OK speed, and looks like a Cover 2 CB only.  Looks like a similar player to Corey Graham who the Bears lost in free agency this offseason.  Can play some CB, maybe can be worked into the FS rotation if needed, but looks like he could be a 4-phase special teamer, which is needed for late round picks to make rosters.

This isn't necessarily what I would do, but what it looks like the Bears could do, but I would be extremely happy with these 7 players in Bears uniforms at the end of the month.

Thanks