Thread: Bears focusing on 7 players, GM Emery says

Bears focusing on 7 players, GM Emery says
By Dan Pompei
Tribune reporter

1:04 p.m. CDT, April 23, 2012

The first round of the draft still is three days away, and 18 teams get to pick ahead of the Bears, but general manager Phil Emery says the team already has zeroed in on seven players.

Chances are good one of them will be the Bears’ first round pick.

Some of those players likely are defensive ends. Asked about pass rushers, Emery said, “It’s important to any team in terms of being able to apply pressure on the quarterback. The D-end position, like our other positions, we’re always trying to add players that complement the mix that we have that are dynamic in nature that bring something athletically in playmaking and production that other players aren’t that keep making us better.”

The Bears won’t necessarily draft one of those seven players with the 19th pick, however. Emery said the Bears have been fielding calls from teams interested in dealing. Some of those teams are picking ahead of the Bears, and some are picking behind.

Asked if he will be inclined to move, Emery said, “’We’ll do whatever it takes for us to get the best players that we feel can get us closest to the championship in the fastest way possible.

There is a sense of urgency. We want to be as good as we can be -- this year and moving forward. Obviously we want to get players that have shelf life, that we’re going to see here five, seven, eight nine years down the road. But we also want to move and get to the layers that we feel can help us the most. So, if that means trading up and that’s a good option vs. the risk involved, yes. If that means moving back and we feel good about that player list that we move back from and who those players would be, yes we would do that. We wouldn’t hesitate.”

Emery indicated he hopes to get players who can contribute quickly, especially with the Bears’ first and second round picks.

However, he did not sound as if he was looking for immediate replacements for aging defensive stars. “Who you have on your roster is always a consideration, but I still see a productive defense,” he said. “And that’s he most important thing that the players that we have in starter roles, are they producers? ... Do they still have legs? Do they still have burst? Can they still go get the ball? ... I see players on our defense as starters who still have that burst, that are producing.”

He also noted that the Bears’ moves with veterans give the team flexibility in the draft. “What we've done in free agency really allows us the chance to go one way or the other,” he said. “It's given us flexibility in terms of how we can draft into perceived strength so that we make sure we get the player who's going to help us win a championship the quickest way possible, or we can go and fill in what we perceive as a need.”

In terms of taking the best available player versus one that fills a need, Emery said, “Really, we’re very oriented toward finding the player that’s going to get us there the fastest. And if that means that player patched a hole, great. If that means that player is at a position of strength but he maybe is a little better at some aspect of his game than the ones we have even though we have a strong position, then we’ll go that way.”

dpompei@tribune.com

Bears focusing on 7 players, GM Emery says - chicagotribune.com