The Bears played it safe in the first round when they made Vanderbilt’s Chris Williams the third tackle selected in the draft behind top overall pick Jake Long and Ryan Clady (No. 12). The Bears believe Williams immediately can become the starter at left tackle, with incumbent OLT John Tait moving to right tackle — a position better-suited for Tait at this stage of his career. Williams is the first O-lineman selected by the Bears in the first round since Marc Colombo in 2002 — Jerry Angelo’s first draft as the team’s general manager. Second-round RB Matt Forté’s ability to make things happen at the second level should make him a legitimate challenger to incumbent Cedric Benson for the starting RB job. Forté has had problems holding on to the ball and running too upright, but his big-play ability in the open field and passion for the game could have Benson looking over his shoulder more than a little. WR Earl Bennett, a teammate of Williams at Vanderbilt, became the leading receiver in Southeastern Conference history in only three years. He lacks separation speed but should have an opportunity to contribute immediately to the Bears’ work-in-progress WR corps. Arkansas DT Marcus Harrison has the skills to play both DT spots and can be a beast in one-on-one matchups, but he slipped on some draft boards due to injuries and character questions and could need further surgery to repair his knee. Fourth-round pick Craig Steltz should provide badly needed depth at safety and perhaps challenge for a starting job, in addition to contributing on special teams. Big and instinctive, Steltz is better-suited playing the run than the pass and is a good fit in the Bears’ cover-2 system. The Bears continued bolstering their secondary with the addition of CB Zackary Bowman, who has the size to match up with big receivers in the cover-2 and has great recovery speed coming out of breaks. His stock plummeted due to two serious knee injuries the last two seasons. Fellow fifth-rounder Kellen Davis is a natural talent who could potentially replace the departed John Gilmore as the team’s No. 3 blocking tight end. Of the team’s five seventh-round picks, the one who probably has the best chance of sticking on the roster is Georgia OG Chester Adams, who brings size, strength and versatility to the line. Michigan State DE Ervin Baldwin could compete for a pass-rush specialist role. Oregon State LB Joey LaRocque could challenge for a special-teams role. Ohio State OT Kirk Barton is very stiff but could provide depth at tackle. Arkansas WR Marcus Monk can bring value in the red zone with great size and leaping ability if he can stay healthy.
