29. OT Gabe Carimi A

Seattle passing on Derek Sherrod, Ben Ijalana and Gabe Carimi for James Carpenter allowed the Bears to get their choice between those 3. Given their struggles upfront, I don’t think they could have gone wrong with this pick so long as they took one of those three. I had Carimi rated highest, but Ijalana and Sherrod have more upside.

53. DT Stephen Paea A

Paea was being mentioned as an option at 29 should all of the first round tackles be off the board, so getting him at 53 is a very smart move for this borderline first round prospect. They moved up for him, but doing so was smart as it was probably necessary to get their guy.

93. S Chris Conte D

I didn’t have safety high on their needs list. I also didn’t have close to a 3^rd round grade on Conte. The only reason this isn’t an F is because they’ll need depth at safety should Danieal Manning leave as a free agent.

160. QB Nathan Enderle B

Quarterback shouldn’t be higher on their needs list than another running back to replace Chester Taylor and his 2.4 YPC average or even another offensive lineman. However, they may look to move Caleb Hanie through a trade, once that’s allowed. Some desperate team might overpay for him based off of his performance in the NFC Championship game. If they did that, they’d have nothing at quarterback should Jay Cutler get “hurt” again. Enderle fits the range.

195. OLB JT Thomas B

Unfortunately, Lance Briggs and Brian Urlacher won’t be able to play forever. While their linebackers are a strength now, they have a lot of age there. Thomas brings youth, can play special teams, and fits the range. A running back, offensive lineman, and a wide receiver would have been higher on my needs list, however.

Overall:

I really liked what they did with their first two picks. Obviously it would have been tough for them to mess up at 29 given the options available, but I’m still giving credit where credit is due. Moving up for Paea in the 2^nd was smart. The Chris Conte pick didn’t make much sense and that’s the reason this isn’t an A grade, but they did end decently. I would have liked to have seen them take another offensive lineman, a wide receiver, and a running back over a safety, a quarterback, and an outside linebacker, but the last two weren’t terrible ideas.

Grade: B+