Adam Podlesh-Punter-Free Agent 2011: Chicago’s previous punter Brad Maynard had a successful ten-year run with the Bears after he was signed away from the New York Giants prior to the 2001 season. Maynard provided precision pinning of opponents inside their 20 yard line, if not big leg strength. But as of 2011 it was clear [...]

Hard to believe as of today, only 13 more business days remain until the Bears open training camp! As I’ve been lamenting to many who have asked me the last several weeks, of course I love when football season starts. But I love Summer as well, and when football starts we know it’s a short [...]

Cedric Benson-RB-Texas-Round 1 2005: With the fourth overall pick in the 2005 draft, the Bears selected Cedric Benson. My personal favorite pre-draft line about Benson was that he was built like (former Saint and Dolphin) Ricky Williams, but wasn’t as good and had more potential for problems. And the pundits were right. Benson was in [...]

Michael Haynes-DE-Penn State-Round 1 2003: The biggest busts are reserved for the failed first-round picks. Haynes was selected with the 14th overall pick, their top pick in the draft that year, after leading the Big Ten conference in sacks the previous year. The Bears could have stayed with the 13th pick and taken a solid [...]

Dan Bazuin-DE-Central Michigan-Round 2 2007: One of Angelo’s most epic busts. Angelo thought the small-school end would be a sleeper. Not much here to write about a player that never suited up for a game and was cut following one year on injured reserve. In fairness to Bazuin and Angelo, a knee injury during the [...]

Michael Okwo-LB-Stanford-Round 3 2007: Another collosal bust from the 2007 draft. Okwo was selected with the Bears’ own third-round draft pick that year. The team was in the thick of Lance Briggs’ (first) contract dispute, and Angelo projected Okwo to have a similar skillset to Briggs. Okwo was placed on injured reserve prior to his [...]

Mark Bradley-WR-Oklahoma-Round 2 2005: Bradley was not listed anywhere in the 2005 version of Lindy’s NFL Draft guide, thus I reacted to the pick with wonderment. He was tall and fast, and also had red flags flapping in the wind around him due to knee injuries. Bradley looked like he would be a find in [...]

Chris Williams-T-Vanderbilt-Round 1 2008: In fairness, entering 2012 Williams is still a starter for the Bears, unlike many of Jerry Angelo’s top draft picks. He has not been a complete bust, but with the 14th overall selection in a draft, general managers are held accountable for strong results. The Bears needed a left tackle in [...]

Garrett Wolfe-RB-Northern Illinois-Round 3 2007: Angelo again traded down in the ill-fated 2007 NFL draft, a year that failed to produce a single selection that is still with the team as of 2012. For the Bears’ 37th overall selection (obtained in a swap of second-round picks with the New York Jets for RB Thomas Jones), [...]

Dan LeFevour-QB-Central Michigan-Round 6 2010: It’s hard to call any sixth-round draft pick a mistake, since the vast majority of these players aren’t expected to go onto great NFL success. And Dan LeFevour was a record-setting college quarterback. But there are several reasons for this. Late in the 2010 season it was revealed that during [...]