Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Posted: 1:42 p.m.
By John Mullin
CSNChicago.com
The draft is still a little more than four weeks distant but the ebb and flow around players and teams is never dull.
Cases in point:
The standing of Cam Newton continues to be of interest and will be right up until the Carolina Panthers are on the clock (although no projections Ive seen have Ron Riveras first draft choice as a new head coach being for Newton). Teams are visiting with Newton this week, but Im intrigued by where Pro Football Weekly draft insider Nolan Nawrocki has Newton.
For one thing, Nolan in PFWs 2011 draft guide slots Newton No. 5 among quarterbacks, behind Blaine Gabbert, Jake Locker, Ricky Stanzi and Colin Kaepernick. Only Gabbert is generally projected to go before Newton, and Nolan has those two as his only straight first-rounders. Locker is round 1-2 and the other two are 2-3.
But while Nolan has Newton going within the first 15 picks, he criticizes him for marginal field vision despite a very respectable 21 score on the Wonderlic test. And Newton has a track record of being undependable and a fake rah-rah leader. He concludes, In five years dont be surprised if hes looking for another job.
NFL
Nasty stuff. And in the draft guide Nolan cites, has a huge ego and personality traits that have doomed similar prospects in recent years.
Ouch. Sounds like suggestions that you can rearrange the letters in Cam Newton and come out with Ryan Leaf or JaMarcus Russell.
Bears taking Carimi?
NFL.com senior draft analyst Pat Kirwan projects the Bears coming out of the first round with Wisconsin tackle Gabe Carimi at No. 29 and that they will consider themselves fortunate if things fall that way.
Im not so sure.
Carimi provided a chuckle at last months Scouting Combine by unabashedly declaring himself the best tackle in this draft class. BCs Anthony Castonzo and USCs Tyron Smith may beg to differ but Carimi was the Outland Trophy winner last season as the nations best O-lineman.
Carimi is not the issue, however, and the Bears certainly would be well served if they can bring in an offensive lineman capable of starting as a rookie and projecting considerably higher than JMarcus Webb did last season as a newbie.
But the Bears primary need on the line is less on the edges than inside. Webb projects as the starting left tackle, and right now Chris Williams is ticketed for right tackle, where he played creditably in the final third of 2009. Williams was a sub-standard guard last season; Roberto Garza just turned 32 last Saturday; and Garza and Olin Kreutz are veterans of double-digit seasons, if the Bears indeed can and do re-sign Kreutz.
The Bears have made trips to check out Baylor strongman Danny Watkins and Floridas Mike Pouncey. Both can play guard and Pouncey prefers center. Both of them fill a more immediate need than Carimi, with the real question possibly coming down to who is available at No., 29 after a run on offensive linemen.
John "Moon" Mullin is CSNChicago.com's Bears Insider, and appears regularly on Bears Postgame Live and Chicago Tribune Live. Follow Moon on Twitter for up-to-the-minute Bears information.