Jerry Angelo will enter his 11th season as General Manger of the Chicago Bears and he is their chief decision maker come draft day. 2011 will mark the first time in two years that the Bears have had a pick in the first two rounds of the draft. Lately they have dealt their opening round picks away for veteran players. Angelo likes to trade down and does not believe he finds great value in the first round of the draft.
Overall Angelo is under average draft day decision maker. His last few drafts have been particularly bad. In 2007 he made nine picks and all he has to show for that is starting TE Greg Olsen. Personally I say Chris Williams is a bust, and only the play of Earl Bennett as the slot receiver, and Matt Forte’s turnaround following surgery has saved his 2008 draft class. We know that Angelo likes to draft defensive players first, and that makes sense since he was one a defensive coach. Lately he has shown more interest in guys from bigger schools.
Over the last five years the he has done poorly on draft day. In that time the Bears have made 53 picks and three of them have played in a pro bowl. Only seven are starters, while 17 are backups. Nine currently play for other teams and 10 are completely out of the NFL. None of those numbers are good and Angelo, despite the 2010 success of his team, finds himself sitting on a warming seat.
Related Links:
- Chicago Bears War Room
- Joshua Lobdell.com