Bears may turn to Utah's Beadles for tackle help
It's difficult to project which players will be available when the Bears get around to their first pick, which is 76th overall, but they would probably be delighted if Utah's Zane Beadles was still on the board.
Beadles was mostly a left tackle in college, starting there for the past three years. But several NFL talent evaluators project him to guard, where he started for the Utes as a freshman. He seems to lack the athleticism necessary to play left tackle in the NFL, but he could find a home at right tackle.
That would allow the Bears the flexibility of starting Beadles at whichever of those two positions isn't filled by Frank Omiyale, who started at guard most of last season but had more experience at tackle.
Another Utah player the Bears could target on draft weekend is safety Robert Johnson, who was not invited to the NFL scouting combine but could be a sleeper. Johnson already has a visit set up with the Bears at Halas Hall on April 6.
The Bears were among 16 teams at Utah's pro day Monday. Afterward, Vikings scout Kevin McCabe told the Daily Utah Chronicle, "(Johnson) has got great ball skills, and he has great range. He made a lot of great catches down in the corner."
Johnson measured a fraction over 6-feet-2 and weighed in at 203 pounds. He ran the 40 in the 4.6 range, which is adequate, but his 4.06 in the 20-yard shuttle and 6.56 in the three-cone drill would have been tops among safeties at the combine.
Safety in numbers: Five-year veteran safety Josh Bullocks signed his one-year tender offer of $1,226,000 on Thursday.
Had Bullocks, a restricted free agent, signed with another team, the Bears would have received a third-round draft choice in return. Bullocks started four games last season, one at strong safety, one at free safety and two when the Bears opened the game with a three-safety alignment.
But Bears coach Lovie Smith and general manager Jerry Angelo were not satisfied with the production from any of the team's safeties last season and are expected to add competition at the position in free agency and/or through the draft next month.
The 6-foot, 207-pound Bullocks played in 12 games in 2009 and finished with 21 tackles, 14 of which came in the last two weeks. He has 74 career starts, including 43 in his first three NFL seasons with the Saints.
Coming attractions: The off-season schedule is officially set through June's organized team activities (OTAs), although the start of training camp won't be known until the preseason schedule is released.
The rookie mini-camp, as usual, will be the first weekend after the draft.
This year the draft is a three-day affair, with the first round beginning at 6:30 p.m. April 22. Rounds 2 and 3 will be Friday, starting at 5 p.m., and Rounds 4-7 are Saturday beginning at 9 a.m.
Rookie mini-camp is at Halas Hall the following Saturday and Sunday, May 1-2. The full-team mini-camp is Friday-Sunday, May 21-23, at Halas Hall.
OTAs commence June 2 and run through June 24. Practices will be Monday through Thursday most weeks, although there will be two open dates, probably at the end of the sessions, since only 14 OTAs are permitted.
Training camp can begin 15 days before the first scheduled preseason game. Off-season workouts begin March 29.
Numbers game: Defensive end Julius Peppers will continue to wear No. 90 in 2010, the same number he wore for eight years with the Carolina Panthers before he left via free agency to join the Bears last Friday.
Third-round defensive lineman Jarron Gilbert wore No. 90 last season as a rookie, but no new number has been announced for him. When Peppers visited Halas Hall last Friday, he was asked how much he would pay to have Gilbert relinquish the number.
"Hopefully he'll give it up out of respect," Peppers said, laughing.
No word yet on how much, if any, money was exchanged for the switch.
Peppers' six-year deal with the Bears could pay $91.5 million if he hits every incentive.