The 2009 NFL Draft: What Should the Bears Do about the Safety Position?

Let's face it, people. We have no real idea who the Bears will take in any round of the draft, but the emphasis from the media has been placed, as always, on their first and second round selections.

After all, that's where you draft the best players to fill your team's most gaping holes. And that's exactly what the Bears' secondary is for this team. What used to be a paper cut three years ago has grown into a massive oozing, festering, infected ulcer in 2009.

But there is a silver lining. The coming draft is full of great prospects that could be of great help to a secondary in dire need of young, healthy talent, particularly at the safety position.

Still, the Bears need to be careful about drafting safeties. Safety is one of several positions where the drop off in the talent level from a first round prospect to a fourth round prospect is negligible.

The best example I can give to show this is that prior to the 2004 Draft where division rivals Giants and Redskins were both in the market for some help at the safety position. Washington addressed this need with their first round pick, selecting Sean Taylor. New York on the other hand, didn't get around to it until the fourth round, when they selected Gibril Wilson.

For their first couple of seasons in the league, the two put up very similar numbers.

The difference in the long run is that New York got the better deal because they were able to use their first round pick to acquire a franchise quarterback in Eli Manning.

Of course there are freak safeties like Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu who not only warrant first round looks, but mandate them. If Taylor Mays continues to improve, he will most likely fall under the same category. But these guys are definitely in the minority, and I haven't heard anyone saying that William Moore will be anywhere near that good in the NFL.

Statistically, you actually have a better chance of making the Pro-Bowl as a safety if you're drafted in later rounds than if you are drafted in the first. What do Bob Sanders, Mike Brown, Rodney Harrison, Brian Dawkins, Darren Sharper, and John Lynch have in common besides their position and the fact that they've all been to the Pro-Bowl?

Not one of them was taken in the first round of their respective drafts.

With all that being said, the Bears are in a position where they need to bolster their secondary in the draft, since it seems Mike Brown will not be back for 2009.

As the roster currently stands, they will start Kevin Payne at strong safety, and possibly move Danieal Manning into the free safety spot. There is also a remote possibility of moving Charles Tillman into that role next year, given his penchant for causing turnovers.

But the Bears do need help there, and there are plenty of good safeties getting serious looks who will probably not be drafted until the second round or later. Players like Notre Dame's David Brutton, Alabama's Rashad Johnson, and Louis Delmas from Western Michigan are all smart prototype free safeties with excellent coverage abilities. They have little if any injury concerns and are good leaders on and off the field.

That's exactly what the Bears will need to help fill the void left by Mike Brown.

The Bears don't need to go after William Moore to greatly improve their secondary. It would be hard to pass up a mega-talent like Taylor Mays if he were on the board, but ultimately the Bears should count themselves lucky that they can use their first and possibly second round picks on other areas of concern for the team.