Jerry Angelo's Poker Face for the Draft

So, I was thinking about this year's draft and wondering if the Bears are going to stay pat, or make a move. It seems like Jerry Angelo is keeping his cards, as usual close to his chest. Will we move up? Will we trade our 3rd round pick for more picks? Will we stay pat?

Moving Up

In order to move up we would have to trade someone. I guess the leading candidate happens to be Greg Olsen. How far could that move us up? Probably a mid-to-late second round pick. However, with Santonio Holmes only garnering a 5th it may hurt Olsen's trade value. With that said, Marshall did go for 2 2nd Round picks, which was more than I had him pegged for. I had him going for a 2nd and a 4th earlier this year. Who would Olsen go to? Perhaps the Patriots who have 3 2nd round picks. But the Patriots did just sign Alge Crumpler, so I am not too sure they are in the market for a Greg Olsen anymore. My guess is we do not move up. If we do though, I think you have to look for a quality RT in the second round. Schaffer played okay, but he certainly isn't any sort of answer at RT.

Moving Down

In order to do this the Bears would have to trade their early third round pick, and probably move it to the latter part of the third round. Maybe they'd get an extra 5th or 6th round pick. I do not really think it is worth it. There may be someone who drops from the second to the early third round that can help you immediately. Remember this years first two rounds are generally more talented than other years because of the potential of a lockout and a rookie salary cap. So, I would not want the Bears to trade out of their current position to later in the draft because of the chance of missing out on a potential first round talent in any other draft slipping to the early third.

Staying the Course

This is the Bears best option in my opinion. However, you never know, Jerry does have his poker face on. I think the Bears should remain in their position and draft either the best guard or FREE safety, unless of course someone really drops like a rock. I capitalized free safety because it seems like the Bears have done nothing but draft strong safeties the last few years: Craig Steltz, Al Alfalava, and Kevin Payne. I mean it's pretty clear that Daniel Manning sucks at free safety, which really stinks because he has all the tools to excel at the position. Elite speed, great hands, and he can make tackles. He just can't cover worth crap and is constantly out of position.We haven't had a viable option back there since Mike Brown pre-injuries. I say pre-injuries because let's face it, he was getting injured every year and we could not count on him.

(Jerry's Pokerhand)

So, to sum it up I say that the Bears stay pat and draft either the best available free safety or guard in the third round. With the obvious caveat that if someone drops like a rock for no explainable reason, we take them. Here is to hoping that happens!