Jerry Angelo's Draft History Part IV: The 2005 Draft

The Bears didn’t have a lot of picks in the 2005 NFL Draft but they attempted to use them wisely in choosing some players that they felt they really needed.  All told, looking back on it now, this draft was one of the worst that Angelo has had since he has been with the Bears.  Not one player taken in this draft is with the Bears now and only one really contributed something to the team during their time with the Bears.
The following is a look at each player that the Bears drafted in the 2005 NFL Draft.

Round 1-Cedric Benson-RB-Texas-Even though the Bears had Thomas Jones at the running back spot (and he was more than capable of running the ball) the Bears rolled the dice and chose Benson low in the first round.  Benson ended up holding out well into training camp and then he suffered a variety of injuries taking him out of games at critical times.  All told, Benson played in 35 games for the Bears starting 12 of those games.  He had 420 rushing attempts gaining a total of 1593 yards averaging 3.79 yards per rush.  His longest run was 43 yards and he scored 10 touchdowns on the ground.  He caught 26 passes for 180 yards with no touchdowns.  Benson fumbled four times while with the Bears losing three of those fumbles.  After an injury plagued short career with the Bears along with some off the field problems, the Bears cut Benson in 2008.  He landed with the Cincinnati Bengals and has had quite a rebirth there and even had a big game against the Bears earlier this year.  It was a good move for the Bears to get rid of Benson as he was a cancer on the team but fans and the team alike wish that he could have done what he is doing now with the team when he was there.

Round 2-Mark Bradley-WR-Oklahoma-Bradley was another player in this draft that the Bears had struggles with before eventually letting him go.  Bradley was supposed to be a solid number two (or perhaps even number one) wide receiver for the Bears and he showed flashes of ability at times but injuries got the best of him and he just didn’t cut it with the team.  Bradley played in 34 games for the Bears starting just four of those games.  He caught 38 passes for 583 yards and four touchdowns.  His longest catch was 54 yards and he had just one lost fumble.  Bradley’s career was muddled with injuries and he never quite caught on with the team and as a result he was let go in 2008.  After that he spent a couple of seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs before getting cut just a few weeks ago.  He is now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Round 5-Kyle Orton-QB-Purdue-Orton ended up being one of the most interesting and most productive picks in the 2005 NFL Draft for the Bears and he can be considered the only real gem in that draft.  Orton was forced to come in when Rex Grossman went down with an injury before the start of the 2005 season.  Orton ended up starting 15 games that year and helped to lead the Bears into the playoffs.  He ended up winning the quarterback competition between himself and Rex Grossman prior to the 2008 season and was the starter for all but one game.  During his time with the Bears, Orton played in 33 games starting all 33 of those games.  He attempted 913 passes completing 505 of those passes for a completion percentage of 54.63.  He threw for 5319 yards with 30 touchdowns and 27 interceptions.  He also fumbled 12 times losing five.  Orton was thought to be the starter going into the 2009 season but the Bears had a shot at getting former Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler so they took it and traded Orton (along with some other picks) to Denver.  Right now, Orton is having a solid but not spectacular season as the starter in Denver and could be their quarterback for several seasons to come.

Round 5-Ariese Currie-WR-Clemson-The Bears went after some depth at wide receiver by taking Arise Currie in the fifth round of the 2005 NFL Draft.  All told, Currie played in one game for the Bears (in two years) and didn’t have any stats.  He was hurt during his first season with the team and just didn’t pan out in his second.  He is out of football now.

Round 6-Chris Harris-S-Louisiana Monroe-Harris was a player who came to the Bears as a rookie in 2005 and was thrust into action and played pretty well.  During his time in Chicago, Harris played in 25 games for the Bears starting 20 of those games.  He recorded 112 total tackles with 92 of those solo and 20 of those assisted.  He had five interceptions and no forced fumbles.  Prior to the start of the 2007 season, the Bears decided to trade Harris to the Carolina Panthers leaving some people dumbfounded because Harris was a productive player for the team.  All Harris has done since leaving the Bears is have a solid career in being one of the best players the Panthers have in their secondary.  It’s too bad that the Bears let him go as he would have helped keep the safety position stable in what has been a time of instability at that position.

Round 7-Rodriques Wilson-LB-South Carolina-Wilson was drafted to get some additional depth at linebacker but things didn’t quite work out well for Wilson.  All together, Wilson played in 28 games for the Bears starting none of those games (he played primarily on special teams).  He had 34 total tackles with 28 solo and six assisted.  He also had one forced fumble.  Wilson didn’t play his first season in the league because of an injury but played the next two seasons with the Bears, primarily on special teams.  He was let go during the offseason (before the 2008 season) and ended up with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where he is still at (but on injured reserve).

This draft had a lot of potential but that potential fizzled out quickly and the Bears basically lost an entire draft thanks to these picks (that never panned out).  Orton was the best player to come out in this draft for the Bears as well as the most productive but he is no longer there (and playing somewhat well in Denver).  It’s too bad that nothing panned out for the Bears in this draft.

Next Up: The Bear’s 2006 NFL Draft.