Mendenhall visits Bears

One way or another, the Bears have to build a solid running game for next season. Of all the things that went wrong last year, the Bears total inability to move the ball on the ground may have been the most frustrating. The offensive line was horrible and Cedric Benson and Adrian Peterson formed the league’s least formidable rushing tandem.

The Bears seem determined to draft an offensive lineman at pick 14, which is probably a good idea in theory. Only one problem: will the ones left be any good? Jake Long will be gone for sure, and Ryan Clady likely will too. Either Vanderbilt’s Chris Williams or Pitt’s Jeff Otah should be gone as well.

So if Rashard Mendenhall, who visited Halas Hall today, is sitting there at pick 14, say with Williams and Virginia guard Brandon Albert, who would the Bears take?

I fully support the idea of rebuilding the offensive line- after all, that is the Bears biggest weakness- but Mendenhall, for me, would be too good to turn down in that situation.

We may as well put Shard in the TUP Hall of Fame with Grossman, Tyrus, Derrick Rose, Calvin Johnson, Mark Mangino, and the Seventh Floor Crew: he’s one of the five best players in this draft and could be on par Darren McFadden. He will be a star. I’m sure of that. Would the Bears really pass on him with the better half of offensive linemen off the board?

Ideally, Boise State’s Clady would be the pick. He could go as high as pick five, however, and it’s unlikely he’d slip past the Broncos at 12 or the Panthers at 13. It seems no one really knows too much about Chris Williams, the man most mock drafts have the Bears taking. The Broncos have interest in him as well, so he may even be gone. Albert is an interesting case because he’s a dominant guard and some feel he could be a standout left tackle. Otah, who the Fanhouse has the Bears taking, has the biggest bust potential for all three. Guys that big struggle so much in pass protection- just look at former Bills first rounder Mike Williams.

Back to Mendenhall: say the Bears take Albert at 14 with Shard still available, a scenario that I think looks fairly plausible. This would be the worst possible situation for the Bears. The hometown kid then goes to Detroit with the next pick, and suddenly the Bears have four games every year against two of the league’s elite runners in Mendenhall and Adrian Peterson. Shard won’t be as good as Peterson because he’s not as fast but he’ll still be one of the league’s elite backs.

The Bears are going to draft a draft a running back with one of their four picks in the first three rounds, and they should. Benson has been horribly disappointing and it doesn’t seem like any Bears fans think he’ll be able to salvage his career. Peterson is my least favorite Bear and should never touch the ball in any situation. With most NFL teams going with a two-tailback system, Peterson isn’t good enough to be part of one. The Bears are said to like Tulane bruiser Matt Forte and Texas speedster Jamaal Charles is they opt for o-line help in round one.

USC’s Sam Baker would be a great catch if he was there in round two after the Bears took Mendenhall. Nebraska’s Carl Nicks could be an option as well.