The Bears spent their first round selection on an offensive weapon and it’s safe to say that if Adam Gase is a halfway decent offensive coordinator and Jay Cutler buys into his approach the Bears will be a solid offensive unit in 2015. Their defense – even with some high profile and high priced additions – needs to get younger. The Antrel Rolles and Ray McDonalds and Mason Fosters of the world are fine but they are not going to be the foundation of a sustainably great defensive unit.

Below are some names to keep in mind as rounds two and three swallow up your television this evening. I like each of the players listed but videos accompany the player in each category for which I have a particular affinity.

Inside Linebackers

Eric Kendricks, UCLA

Denzel Perryman, Miami

Bernardrick McKinney, Mississippi State

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With the seventh pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, Ryan Pace and John Fox did what many predicted they would do and selected West Virginia wide receiver Kevin White. What does the pick mean?

• It means Pace won’t be pressured into fixing the defense overnight. Nobody would have faulted the new GM for taking Beasley or Dupree in this slot and pointing to the 2014 defensive rankings. Instead Pace went for high upside and gave Jay Cutler another weapon.
• It means the Bears aren’t sure Alshon Jeffery is a true number one receiver. If they were I’d have to believe they wouLd have been looking for a complementary player later in the draft.
• It means the 2015 Bears are going to give Jay Cutler some very easy throws. I expect this offense will feature even more bubble screens than Trestman’s did but now those screens will have big play potential and not just embarrass the city of Chicago on Thanksgiving.
• It means the Bears weren’t willing to give up what the Titans wanted for Marcus Mariota. Based upon what Tennessee turned down from Philly, I can only imagine what it would have taken to pry that pick loose.
• It may mean the Bears REALLY DID commit to Cutler short term once Mariota deal died. White is big and loves to go up and get the ball. Those are Cutler’s favorite types of receivers.

Willhe be great? Who knows. But he will be interesting to watch.

As with every NFL Draft, DBB will be here provide information on every Bears selection just minutes after each selection is made (at least for the first five picks or so). Here are a few thoughts in the lead-up to tonight’s festivities:

• I predicted Monday the Bears would take Amari Cooper with the seventh pick. Still believe that will be the pick if Cooper is on the board. But when I asked an NFL scout friend of mine if Cooper will be on the board at seven he responded with a swift “hell no”. (He believes Cooper may very well be the best player in this draft.)
• John Fox is a run the ball, stop the run guy. That’s why I believe the Bears covet Danny Shelton more than they’re letting on. Leonard Williams may have more upside in the pass rush department but my friend believes Shelton will be a premiere run stuffer the second he touches the field. (I agree with him.)
• Two names that have come to the forefront of “the mocks” over the last few days: WR Kevin White and CB Trae Waynes.
• From Patrick Finley in the Sun-Times: “Just because the draft is deep at a few positions — namely, wide receiver and edge rusher— doesn’t mean Pace would hesitate to draft a player from that group in the first round.” This is a point that can’t be reiterated strongly enough. “Deep” draft means nothing. Nobody knows how any of these kids are going to perform in the pros. We’ll know how deep this draft is at a particular position in three years. Never pass on a player you perceive to be elite.

See you tonight. Breathe today, draft nerds. Never forget to breathe.

Last year I wrote a column showcasing the players in the draft who jumped off the screen on college football Saturdays. In that column I highlighted Chris Borland, De’Anthony Thomas, Demarcus Lawrence, Martavis Bryant & Zach Mettenberger. Not bad. Let’s see how this year goes.

Tyler Lockett, WR, Kansas State

• Does not have huge size at around 5’9″ but plays far bigger than that. With Jake Waters playing that big, bumbling quarterback role Bill Snyder loves, Lockett has 187 catches over the last two season for nearly 2,800 yards and 22 touchdowns.
• Lockett is lightning quick in pads. If the Bears are all-in on Alshon Jeffery being their number one receiver moving forward, Lockett could be the ideal complement running out of the slot.
• His critics think he is too slightly built to be a full-time kick returner in the NFL. I don’t buy it.

Nick O’Leary, TE, Florida State

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Week One – Sunday September 13th (noon)

• Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers 

Week Two – Sunday September 20th (noon)

• Chicago Bears vs. Arizona Cardinals

Week Three – Sunday September 27th (3:25)

• Chicago Bears @ Seattle Seahawks

Week Four – Sunday October 4th (noon)

• Chicago Bears vs. Oakland Raiders 

NOTE ON THE FIRST QUARTER

This is a classic you’d-sign-for-.500 start to the season.

______________________

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The NFL will announce the 2015 schedule at some point this week, setting travel calendars for many of the sport’s fans this fall and winter. Personally, I love the announcement as much as any day in the off-season. It’s like building a brilliant travel itinerary. Sure, the fun is actually executing that itinerary but creating the itinerary itself makes the trip real. Seeing the Bears 16 games laid out makes the 2015 season suddenly real.

Here are my hopes…

HOPE #1 – Return the Bears to Sunday at Noon

I know the Bears are a huge television draw and the NFL has more prime time slots than Law & Order in the 90s. But two years straight the Bears have gone almost a month late in the season without playing on Sunday afternoon.

When the Bears don’t play on Sundays, Sundays are worthless to me. Sure you get the chance to watch a few other clubs closely but I do that on Mondays and Tuesdays anyway. Sundays are about routine. Sundays are about ritual. Some folks like to go to church. I like to go to Josie Woods and pray the Bears don’t embarrass themselves.

HOPE #2 – Send the Bears to San Diego in December

You think a lot of Bears fans show up to Nashville and Dallas and Charlotte? Try scheduling the Bears in paradise once the winter has rolled into Chicago. I’ll have my hotel room booked an hour after the schedule is released.

Side note: the Chargers should have petitioned the NFL for this. They already are amongst the league’s worst fans and with word leaking the team has its eyes on LA, it isn’t going to get better any time soon.

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Scott Wright spends every day of his year on the NFL Draft do I turn to him for the information I lack time and interest to gather on my own. On the pod we discuss:

• Scott’s decision to give the Bears Amari Cooper over Vic Beasley in his latest mock draft.
• Some of my favorite players in this draft, including Nick O’Leary, Shaq Thompson, Shane Ray, BJ Finney (who I think I call Kinney) & Phillip Dorsett.
• The Marcus Mariota Thing.
• Mid-round safety prospects.
• Scott’s undervalued prospects.