Jerry Angelo's Draft History Part III The 2004 NFL Draft

The Bears had a mediocre draft in 2004 and it was a draft that produced only one standout star in Tommie Harris while the rest of the draft class has either failed to contribute much or moved on to other teams.  Nathan Vasher had a fine start to his career but has trailed off and is no longer the player that he once was.  Bernard Berrian would have been a great part of this team had the Bears decided to pay him what he wanted and would have thrived with a guy like Jay Cutler at quarterback. 

Here is a look at the players drafted by the Bears in the 2004 NFL Draft, how they did when they were with the Bears and where they are now.

Round 1-Tommie Harris-DT-Oklahoma-Angelo made a great pick when he chose Harris early in the first round and Harris was very productive for his first three years but has trailed off since.  Harris has been selected to three Pro Bowls and through ten games in 2009 he has played in 84 games starting 70 of those games.  He has recorded a total of 192 tackles with 154 of those solo and 38 of those assisted.  He has had 26 sacks, four passes defended, one interception and five forced fumbles.  As mentioned, Harris had a great first three seasons with the Bears but injuries took their toll and his performance dropped off quite a bit.  He began to miss more time and this really affected the Bears defense.  Then, in the 208 season, he was suspended for a game because he missed some treatment time (for an injury) and was held out of one game because the coaching staff felt that he wasn’t playing up to par.  In the Arizona game this season, he was on the field for less than two minutes before being ejected for punch an opposing player in the head.  It’s possible that the Bears may do a little housecleaning during the offseason and let go of Harris, especially if he isn’t showing any improvement.

Round 2-Terry “Tank” Johnson-DT-Washington-Chicago decided to go for some additional help at the defensive tackle position and give Tommie Harris some company so they selected Johnson in the second round.  Johnson came to the Bears with some off the field problems and a short time after he began his career with the team, he found himself in trouble again.  This ultimately led to his being released by the team after the 2006 season.  All told, Johnson played in 46 games for the Bears starting 15 of those games.  He recorded a total of 63 total tackles with 50 solo and 13 assisted tackles.  He had nine sacks, one safety and two forced fumbles.  Following his career with the Bears, Johnson was suspended for violating the league’s personal conduct policy and then ended up with the Dallas Cowboys and finally with the Cincinnati Bengals where he remains today.

Round 3-Bernard Berrian-WR-Fresno State-The Bears upgraded their passing game by taking the speedy Berrian in the third round of the draft that year.  The Bears quarterback situation didn’t allow for Berrian to fully develop his skills as a wide receiver and after the 2007 he was lost in free agency.  During his time with the Bears, Berrian played in 58 games starting 32 of those games.  He caught 150 passes for 2197 yards and 14 touchdowns.  The Bears let Berrian slip away in free agency and he is now playing well for division rival Minnesota.  Perhaps the Bears should have bit the bullet and paid him some of the money that he had been looking for but in the end it all worked out for the best.

Round 4-Nathan Vasher-CB-Texas-Vasher’s career with the Bears started out very well as he was one of the top cover corners for a period of time and was even named to the Pro Bowl.  However, since he signed a large contract extension Vasher hasn’t been playing that well.  He is either injured or ineffective and as a result he has lost his starting job.  Since coming to Chicago, Vasher has played in (through 11 games this season) 69 games starting 45 of those games.  He has had 161 total tackles with 136 solo and 25 assisted.  He has had 19 interceptions, 28 passes defended and he has returned two for touchdowns.  He has also forced one fumble.  Vasher has been used at times this season as a backup and at safety but the Bears may look to replace him this coming summer.  However, with such a large contract, it’s difficult seeing the Bears cut him because of the money that they have to pay him but unless he gets better Chicago may be looking for someone else in 2010.

Round 4-Leon Joe-LB-Maryland-Chicago went after some depth at the linebacker position in the fourth round and took Joe.  All told, Joe played in 24 games with the Bears starting one game.  He had a total of 38 tackles with the Bears including 32 solo and seven assisted.  Joe was let go by the Bears during the 2004 season and he landed with the Arizona Cardinals for a short amount of time.  Joe came back to the Bears for a couple of seasons but was let go after the 2006 season.  After that he played with the Buffalo Bills and is now out of the NFL.

Round 5-Claude Harriott-DE-Pittsburgh-Chicago continued to bolster their defense with some help from Harriott but Harriott didn’t figure into the teams long term plans.  Harriott didn’t play a single game for the Bears as he was cut in training camp during his rookie season.  He ended up with the Detroit Lions for a little while during the 2006 season and is out of football now.

Round 5-Craig Krenzel-QB-Ohio State-In the Bears revolving door of quarterbacks there was a place for Krenzel.  Krenzel played in six games for the Bears starting five of those games.  He had 29 completions out of 127 attempts and threw for 718 yards with three touchdowns and six interceptions.  He also fumbled the ball eight times losing six.  Krenzel will forever be remembered as a stop gap player who had to be throw into mix due to injury.  Krenzel only played one season for the Bears and was let go during the next offseason.  He ended up with the Cincinnati Bengals but didn’t play in any games and is now out of football.

Round 7-Alfonso Marshall-CB-Miami-Marshall wasn’t supposed to make an impact on the Bears in his first year and was lucky to even make the team but he did play for a couple of seasons with Chicago before being cut.  All told, Marshall played in seven games for the Bears and had seven total tackles with four solo and three assisted.  Most of his time was spent on special teams.  He was let go the next season.

This draft was a good draft for the first three or four years after the class was drafted but since then it’s been falling off.  Tommie Harris and Nathan Vasher are no longer the players that they were earlier in their careers and it’s possible that we may not see these two guys on the team next season.  Berrian was allowed to leave during free agency and the Bears could have really used him with Jay Cutler coming to town.  Johnson had a good start but his legal problems got the best of him and the Bears and he had to be let go.  He was just a big problem for Chicago.

Next Up:  A look at Angelo’s 2005 draft.