It’s no mystery that the Chicago Bears will be looking to improve their offensive line in the 2011 NFL Draft. Particularly at the two tackle positions, the Bears were woeful in 2010. And though this year’s crop of OTs wasn’t considered to be historically good, there were several prospects that draftniks thought might be good fits for Chicago and also available when the Bears picked at No. 29.
Nate Solder went off the board at No. 17 when the New England Patriots selected the hulking Colorado Buffaloes grad. Then at No. 22, the Indianapolis Colts got the pass protection upgrade at T for Peyton Manning that they needed by acquiring Boston College’s Anthony Castonzo. Still left on the board are Wisconsin’s Gabe Carimi, a talent that most believed would be taken in the teens. There’s also Derek Sherrod, a solid pass blocking tackle out of Mississippi State. There’s also the possibility that Chicago views James Carpenter out of Alabama as a better long term option than Sherrod.
We’ll see. With Danny Watkins just coming off the board to the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 23, we can scratch the 27-year old former firefighter off the list as a potential draft pick by the Bears here near the end of the first round.
Stay tuned here and at Windy City Gridiron for more NFL Draft updates and fan reaction as we wait for the Bears to select a bit later in the evening.