Catching up on the Chicago Bears’ activities in rounds two through four of the 2012 NFL Draft:

The second and third rounds of the draft were gambling picks for the Bears, according to the Chicago Tribune. In the second they took 6’3″, boom or bust receiver Alshon Jeffery from South Carolina. In the third, they picked Safety Brandon Hardin from Oregon State.

Jeffery was projected as a top-ten overall pick following the 2010 season, but his production fell off and his weight ballooned in 2011. His size will give the Bears the biggest WR corps since the late 1990′s with Marcus Robinson, Macey Brooks, etc.

Hardin missed all of 2011 with a shoulder injury as a converted cornerback. It is the third straight year the Bears have selected a safety in the third round.

In the fourth round Chicago selected Evan Rodriguez of Temple. Rodriguez is listed in separate places as a fullback or tight end. Some call him a “poor man’s Aaron Hernandez” (Patriot tight end).

Having traded up in the second round to take Jeffery, the Bears do not have a fifth round pick. They will select players in the sixth and seventh rounds later today.

I’ve been paying a great deal of attention to the NFL Draft and the Bears’ selections for about 20 years now. The Bears’ selection of DE Shea McClellin was a huge surprise to me, as it seems it was to many. The other Bears early draft surprises over the last 20 years have no bearing on whether McClellin will go on to be a successful NFL player or not, mind you, but let’s briefly look at some other players that were surprise high picks and how they fared:

1994: OT Marcus Spears in the 2nd round: Spears wasn’t on the radar of many, and in Dave Wannstedt’s first draft he conducted with Michael McCaskey (personnel VP Bill Tobin had input in 1993), Chicago took Spears as an offensive lineman while future Hall of Fame guard Larry Allen was still on the board. Spears was inactive on gamedays much of the time until the 1996 season, when he finally saw spot duty. He was out of the NFL shortly thereafter.

1995: DE Patrick Riley in the 2nd round: Riley was selected with the first of two Bears second-round picks in 1995. He played substitutionally, sparingly in 1995. In 1996 the Bears attempted to trade him to the Atlanta Falcons, but the Falcons ultimately rejected the trade. Bust.

2000: S Mike Brown in the 2nd round: There were higher ranked safeties still on the board when the Bears took Brown early in the second round. I can easily say this one worked out.

2005: WR Mark Bradley in the 2nd round: I was closely watching this draft and already mad as hell that the Bears took RB Cedric Benson with the fourth overall selection. When Bradley’s name was announced, I went right to my draft guide and found that he wasn’t even listed among the dozens of wide receivers ranked from first rounders to free agents. Puzzling pick. While Bradley showed flashes his rookie season up until he tore an ACL, he didn’t do much of anything before being cut outright early in the 2008 season.

2007: DE Dan Bazuin in the 2nd round: Angelo again thought he had a steal that nobody else realized, like with Bradley. Unfortunately what everyone else had obviously realized was that Bazuin would never play a down in the NFL and be a complete second-round bust.

2007: RB Garrett Wolfe in the 3rd round: It was a surprise to me at least to see the Bears take Wolfe in the third round since he was roundly considered to be a sixth-round or lower talent. Angelo took him anyway, stating at the time that “if you want a player that badly you have to make sure you get him regardless of where you take him.” Wolfe was relegated to special teams play and trouble off the field after not being re-signed by Chicago for the 2010 season.

2009: The almost-surprise bust that didn’t happen: In 2009, Angelo was reported to be enamored by Ohio safety Michael Mitchell and was ready to take the player with the 49th overall selection in the second round. Thankfully for the Bears, comparable draft boob Al Davis of the Raiders traded up two spots ahead of the Bears to “steal” him. Draft experts were shocked that these two teams were so enamored with a sixth or seventh-round talent. Verdict? So far Mitchell has failed to make any kind of impact in Oakland.

So there you have it. Again these players have nothing to do with the potential success of Shea McClellin. But to me it was still certainly a surprise.

Surprising pick, to me, with more heralded names still on the board. With the 19th pick in the first round of the NFL draft, the Chicago Bears selected Boise State DE Shea McClellin.

My first reaction is I hope McClellin is a lot closer to JJ Watt (Houston Texans first round DE in 2011) than Dan Bauzin, another surprise pick of the Bears that busted out without playing a down. And I sure as hell hope Phil Emery and his staff know what they’re doing with this pick.

Just a little baffling, with the more heralded DE Whitney Mercilus still on the board. And while I was hoping they would select a DE, the second-best offensive tackle in Iowa’s Reilly Reiff was available and would have been sure to bolster the line.

Just a couple of lines on McClellin from Lindy’s draft guide: “doesn’t stand out…doesn’t have the natural burst to be consistent or dominant…not elite…average…but relentless and tenacious that simply makes plays.”

Time will tell. Certainly a great surprise that needs to pan out.

Chicago Bears receivers Johnny Knox and Earl Bennett will be signing autographs in Rockford, IL this Saturday (4/21/12) for charity. Please check out the details on the Facebook event page if interested.

No use in me manually typing the 2012 Chicago Bears schedule here, since it can be obtained from a thousand other places online, like on the Bears website.

My initial thoughts:

- Glad to see another opening day at Soldier Field, which I thoroughly missed from 2005-2009. This year the Bears host the Indianapolis Colts on September 9th at Noon, and hopefully will get a win against a rebuilding team with a rookie quarterback starting his first professional game.

- The Bears then travel to Green Bay for an early-season Thursday night game. Nothing like getting to business quickly.

- Chicago plays at night five times this season. In addition to the aforementioned Thursday night match in Green Bay, they play at Dallas and San Francisco on Monday nights, and host Detroit on another Monday night and Houston on Sunday night.

- We host Minnesota on Thanksgiving weekend, then play there two weeks later.

- Three of the final four games of the season are against NFC North rivals. The Bears host Green Bay on December 16th and finish the season at Detroit on December 30th.

Looking forward to it!

Today the Chicago Bears added an additional year onto often-disgruntled linebacker Lance Briggs’ contract, which results in a new three-year, $17.5 million contract. Profootballtalk breaks it down here. As they note, the market for linebackers is down as it is for running backs, so Briggs should be happy with what he has gotten. Anyone wonder whether it will be year one, two or three of this new deal that Briggs will get disgruntled again?

Speaking of disgruntled players playing a position with descending financial value, they also write today that per Adam Schefter of ESPN, Matt Forte says that absent a long-term contract from the Bears, Forte won’t be signing anything. (Forte was designated the Bears’ franchise player at a one-year salary of $7.7 million. If he wants to play in 2012, it is under this deal, or he sits.)

I’m having a hard time finding and expressing my feelings on Forte. I like him as a player and seemingly as a person (for someone I of course don’t and will never know.) But he plays under the bargaining agreement his union agreed to on his behalf. He is being fairly treated by the Bears under the rules of this CBA. Many fans feel that because of Forte’s status as a good guy and dependable running back, the Bears should “pay the man.” I’ve tweeted that myself in celebration when he made big plays. Forte wants one of the ridiculous deals that were given to Adrian Peterson, Deangelo Williams and Chris Johnson. So far none of those have paid off for the teams. Can’t blame Forte for wanting that, but I also can’t blame the Bears for making a smart business decision under the rules they are allowed. History has proven that running backs given monster deals have a hard time earning those enormous checks, which often has hurt the teams that gave the deals out. We will see how it shakes out.

Finally, again from Profootballtalk, Brian Urlacher optimistically states that he loves what new General Manager Phil Emery has done. I think I’m swinging towards agreeing with Urlacher.

Finally, veteran Bears reporter and good guy John Mullin talks Bears on PFT Live.

Not a bad Bears news day for early April.

One of my personal concerns since the Bears haven’t made any major signings on defense has been the state of the cornerback position. Top corner Charles Tillman made his first Pro Bowl in 2011, and the hope is that despite the beating his body has taken over his nine-year career, he will continue to perform at a high level.

Yes, the team also re-signed #2 corner Tim Jennings, and I do think Jennings is a decent player in Chicago’s scheme if there is a solid pass rush.

But with the departure of Corey Graham and Zack Bowman (no loss there), the Bears found themselves with only two corners on the roster (with the exception of nickel back DJ Moore). That was until last week, when they signed Kelvin Hayden and Jonathan Wilhite.

I have to say, that’s nice work on the Bears and GM Phil Emery’s parts. Going from a bust 3rd corner in Bowman and a primarily special teams player in Graham, to two corners that have legitimate starting experience was a nice pair of moves.

I’m still concerned about the safety position. The oft-injured Major Wright and Chris Conte are our starters; behind them the Bears field Craig Steltz and Winston Venable. Not making me feel good given that the safeties are more important in Lovie Smith’s scheme than the corners. We can only hope that in the draft, along with a stud defensive end and tackle, the Bears are able to find a safety with talent-not just throwing yet another late-round pick at the position as Jerry Angelo did year after year.

Speaking of Angelo, I have been working on a massive article about his years in Chicago. My real-life schedule has pushed the delivery date back and back, but hang in there with me.

The Bears fired General Manager Jerry Angelo after the 2011 Chicago Bears Season, ostensibly because they wanted changes. And ostensibly changes for the better.

But new GM Phil Emery’s signing of former second-round draft bust Devin Thomas seems just like Angelo’s modus operandi from 2011, signing former bust-outs Vernon Gholdson, Amobi Okoye and Roy Williams. So do we have a new direction or not?

Speaking of Okoye, I’m surprised Emery hasn’t seemed to want to re-sign the solid rotational defensive tackle. I have heard nothing about the Bears trying to bring him back, and Okoye is embarking on a free agent tour. Maybe parting with Okoye is the sign of a new direction, but why not bring back a solid, affordable reserve at a key position in Lovie Smith’s defense?

I’m still a little confused by the Bears’ actions during the 2012 free agency period. They have improved the offense by bringing in Brandon Marshall (if he’s not suspended for the whole season), Jason Campbell and Michael Bush. But I’m still really paranoid about the defense. Pass rush is the absolute key to successful defense in Smith’s scheme, and incumbent Israel Idonije won’t cut it across from Julius Peppers. With a stronger pass rush the need for a better corner across from Charles Tillman isn’t as great, but with no improvement there the corner position is again a liability. And the Bears’ safeties are inconsistent and frequently injured.

The window is closing. Super Bowl in 2012 or bust. Whither the defense?

Rather surprising in my opinion, to hear today that the Bears signed former Raiders running back Michael Bush. Bush was thought to be the best available running back on the free agent market. Bush received a lucrative four-year contract worth $14 million with $7 million guaranteed.

Yes, it helps the Bears to get a quality second running back after swinging and missing at the position since the Bears had a productive tandem in Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson. Let’s hope this works out better than the last two attempts (Marion Barber, Chester Taylor).

But I can’t help feeling odd that the Bears have invested $14 million in a second running back when in my opinion they still need serious upgrades at defensive end, safety and throughout the offensive line.

Let’s hope new GM Phil Emery is supremely confident that help for those positions will be available in the 2012 draft.

And did I mention that Matt Forte is pissed at the development? As explained in the article at Profootballtalk, tough, this is where the market is for running backs.

I haven’t had the chance even in my own mind to run through everything the Bears have done in the first three days of free agency, so here’s a recap.

First, the Bears traded for Dolphins WR Brandon Marshall. They we find out Marshall had “slugged” a woman just two days prior. Great. Marshall has posted five straight 1,000 yard receiving seasons, and the Bears haven’t had a single one since 2002. Now if only he can keep from getting suspended for much of the 2012 season.

Jason Campbell, last the starting quarterback in Oakland, signed a one-year deal to become Jay Cutler‘s backup. Incumbent backup Josh McCown was also re-signed.

The Bears re-signed their own players in CB Tim Jennings and TE Kellen Davis, both to two-year deals.

Special teams players Blake Costanzo (LB, 49ers) and Eric Weems (WR, Atlanta), were also more minor signings. Weems will be the team’s fifth receiver and can also return kicks.

In for visits have been Raiders RB Michael Bush, G Anthony Herrera and CB Kelvin Hayden, but no further signings have been made as of Thursday. Today, Bears General Manager Phil Emery said the team is currently taking a breath.

The Bears were rumored on Monday night to be the favorite team to land DE Mario Williams, this year’s big catch in free agency. Williams has since signed with the Buffalo Bills.

I do trust (but still hope) the Bears have a plan here. Getting a defensive end not named Israel Idonije is still a huge priority. It has been reported that Jeremy Mincey was all but signed by the Bears before he made the last-minute decision to stay in Jacksonville. So Chicago still must find a quality player there. They also must get one more corner since they only have three currently on the roster.

And according to Emery in his press conference, the Bears won’t be looking to add a new starting offensive lineman, meaning we’re probably stuck with J’Marcus Webb at the critical left tackle spot for another year.