With six games remaining in the 2012 NFL season, much of the league has sifted into the general areas of their where they will be in the 2012 NFL draft -- as such, draft experts and analysts have begun to prognosticate.
Draft experts must first predict the final 2012 NFL standings before they can begin to assess each team's slotting in the draft. The current standings, sorted by win-loss record and then point differentials, looks like this:
| Possible Draft Position |
Team | W | L | W-L% | Pts | Opp Pts |
Diff |
| 1 | Indianapolis Colts | 0 | 10 | .000 | 131 | 300 | -169 |
| 2 | St. Louis Rams | 2 | 7 | .222 | 113 | 223 | -110 |
| 3 | Minnesota Vikings | 2 | 7 | .222 | 179 | 244 | -65 |
| 4 | Carolina Panthers | 2 | 7 | .222 | 190 | 237 | -47 |
| 5 | Miami Dolphins | 2 | 7 | .222 | 158 | 178 | -20 |
| 6 | Seattle Seahawks | 3 | 6 | .333 | 144 | 202 | -58 |
| 7 | Cleveland Browns | 3 | 6 | .333 | 131 | 183 | -52 |
| 8 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 3 | 6 | .333 | 115 | 166 | -51 |
| 9 | Washington Redskins | 3 | 6 | .333 | 136 | 178 | -42 |
| 10 | Arizona Cardinals | 3 | 6 | .333 | 183 | 213 | -30 |
| 11 | Philadelphia Eagles | 3 | 6 | .333 | 220 | 203 | 17 |
| 12 | Kansas City Chiefs | 4 | 5 | .444 | 141 | 218 | -77 |
| 13 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 4 | 5 | .444 | 156 | 233 | -77 |
| 14 | Denver Broncos | 4 | 5 | .444 | 188 | 234 | -46 |
| 15 | San Diego Chargers | 4 | 5 | .444 | 216 | 228 | -12 |
| 16 | Oakland Raiders | 5 | 4 | .556 | 208 | 233 | -25 |
| 17 | Buffalo Bills | 5 | 4 | .556 | 229 | 218 | 11 |
| 18 | Tennessee Titans | 5 | 4 | .556 | 186 | 172 | 14 |
| 19 | New York Jets | 5 | 4 | .556 | 215 | 200 | 15 |
| 20 | Atlanta Falcons | 5 | 4 | .556 | 212 | 196 | 16 |
| 21 | Dallas Cowboys | 5 | 4 | .556 | 223 | 182 | 41 |
| 22 | New York Giants | 6 | 3 | .667 | 218 | 211 | 7 |
| 23 | Cincinnati Bengals | 6 | 3 | .667 | 212 | 164 | 48 |
| 24 | Chicago Bears | 6 | 3 | .667 | 237 | 187 | 50 |
| 25 | New England Patriots | 6 | 3 | .667 | 259 | 200 | 59 |
| 26 | Detroit Lions | 6 | 3 | .667 | 252 | 184 | 68 |
| 27 | Baltimore Ravens | 6 | 3 | .667 | 225 | 152 | 73 |
| 28 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 7 | 3 | .700 | 220 | 179 | 41 |
| 29 | New Orleans Saints | 7 | 3 | .700 | 313 | 228 | 85 |
| 30 | Houston Texans | 7 | 3 | .700 | 273 | 166 | 107 |
| 31 | San Francisco 49ers | 8 | 1 | .889 | 233 | 138 | 95 |
| 32 | Green Bay Packers | 9 | 0 | 1.000 | 320 | 186 | 134 |
Peter Schrager appears to be one of the first draft gurus to come out with his 2012 draft predictions, and he thinks the Bears will go back to the o-line well:
22. Chicago Bears: Cordy Glenn, OG, Georgia: Cutler got a big tackle in Gabe Carimi last draft. Glenn is the top offensive guard in the SEC. Adding him to the offensive line would be music to Cutler’s ears...
Schrager has the Bears drafting in the 22nd slot, which is rather close to the current standings above which forecast a 24th slot. He also suspects the Bears will go guard in the first round -- a round typically reserved for tackles if an offensive lineman gets picked at all -- to shore up an offensive line that has been struggling through the past three seasons.
Currently, after the Chris Williams injury that sent him to the IR, the Bears have former New Orleans Saints center Chris Spencer and second-year man Edwin Williams handling the guard positions.
Chris Williams had played better at guard this season after moving from tackle, where he was drafted, but Schrager anticipates the Bears will look to add greater stability to the position -- though he himself admits his mock draft may be way off:
A lot can change between now and the end of the season, and even more will change between the end of the season and April's draft.
For more NFL news and notes, head over to SB Nation Pro Football, and stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago for more Bears updates and analysis.