The Big Winners in the Draft … Da Bears??

I’ve always found it comical that the “so-called” draft experts and other talking heads are able to give all the NFL teams a grade on their draft picks when not one of the selections has ever played a down in the NFL. We’re talking about the highest level of American football on the planet and most of these guys were either at a frat party or a kegger only a matter of months ago. I’m a firm believer that you can only begin to judge a team’s draft success after three years or so. Over the next week, I’m going to assess the 2004 draft from the standpoint of the 2006 playoff teams starting with the NFC.

After looking at the draft selections of the six NFC playoff teams from last year, it’s not hard to see why they rose to the top of their conference. The big winners in the 2004 NFL draft seem to be the NFC Champion Chicago Bears. Out of eight overall picks, the Bears snagged four starters and a backup linebacker. Of the four starters, DT Tommie Harris and CB Nathan Vasher have developed into perennial pro bowlers, while the gun running DT Tank Johnson and explosive WR Bernard Berrian have proven to be productive players as well. Two of the late round picks are out of football all together now and a DE, also taken late, has moved on to another team making 2004 an incredibly productive draft and a big reason the Chicago Bears were the NFC representative in the Super Bowl in 2007.

Stay tuned for more!!