2012 NFL Draft: And with the 19th Pick the Chicago Bears Select….

After months of speculation, mock drafts and discussion, the NFL draft is finally here.  Bears fans can now end the waiting game by watching to see what their team will end up doing in the draft. 

There has already been some idea of what the Bears might do in the draft given up by their general manager as he has stated that the Bears are targeting seven players with their first-round pick.  But who are those seven players that the Bears are targeting and at what positions are they at?

Chicago has several primary needs in the draft.  Those needs include getting some help on the offensive line, grabbing some help at the defensive end and defensive tackle position, a need at the wide receiver position as well as at the cornerback position. 

Obviously the Bears can’t fill all of these needs in the first round, but they can pick up the best player available that fills a particular need.

So which player and at which position will the Bears select with their first-round pick? 

The answer is not at all obvious.  First, looking at the wide receiver position, this draft has a lot of depth at that position and Chicago made some additions in the offseason that may warrant they wait until a later round to take a wide receiver.  Granted, they could use some help at the position but the first round may not be where they find it.

So perhaps we may not expect to see the Bears take a wide receiver in the first round.

The cornerback depth in the first round isn’t as good as it is in later rounds, and unless one of the top first-round cornerbacks falls to the Bears, you can expect them to wait until later to fill this position.  There is some good second- to fourth-round talent at this position, and the Bears may choose to take advantage of that depth.

The offensive line continued to be a problem for the Bears last season and may be that way again in 2012.  Chicago needs to do some upgrading at several positions on the offensive line, but they may choose to wait a little while in the draft to do some of that. 

They may not want to have an inexperienced player on the offensive line giving them trouble this year and may choose to develop someone at either the guard or tackle position over time.

So maybe the Bears will wait to get an offensive linemen a little bit later in the draft.

Chicago seems to really like some of the talent at the defensive end and tackle position in the draft and indications would point to the fact that they may select a player at one of these two positions. 

At the defensive end position, adding someone on the opposite side of Julius Peppers to help rush the passer is a must.  A good defensive end could go a long ways towards helping the Bears win on defense.

On the inside of the defensive line, at the tackle position, the Bears have found themselves struggling and could use a top-of-the-line player there to help seal things up and make the interior of that line much better.  And knowing that this is a team built on defense first, the Bears may choose to roll the dice with a defensive tackle (or defensive player) at the top of the draft and worry about other pieces later on.

So the ultimate question is who will the Bears select with their first-round pick in this year’s draft? 

Look for them to take a defensive tackle or end with their first-round pick.  There should be some good talent left there for them to choose from including such players as USC defensive end Nick Perry, LSU defensive tackle Michael Brockers and Illinois outside linebacker/defensive end Whitney Mercilus. 

These are just three of several players that the Bears could choose at the defensive end or defensive tackle position with that No. 19 selection.

So look for the Bears to fix their problems on the defensive side of the ball in the first round by selecting either the best defensive end or defensive tackle available at No. 19 in the first round of 2012 NFL draft.