Time for Bears' defensive draftees to deliver

BOURBONNAIS - Bears GM Jerry Angelo has always believed in building a defense starting with the big guys up front, and he's used three of the top five draft picks over the past two seasons on defensive linemen.

Now it's time for some of them to come up big, or at least contribute.

Last year Angelo used his first choice, a third-rounder (68th overall), on Jarron Gilbert, the guy made famous by the YouTube video that showed him jumping out of a swimming pool onto the deck. But Gilbert hasn't made a splash yet in the NFL, or even caused a ripple. He played very briefly in four games last year and did not record a tackle. He hasn't done much more than that in training camp.

"Jarron lost a lot of weight so he could be a little bit lighter so he can play on the outside as an end," Angelo said. "He had a handful of plays (in the preseason opener). He looked OK. He's got to pick it up, obviously. We need to see something out of Jarron."

If not, Gilbert, who the Bears still list at 6-foot-5 and 285 pounds, probably won't be cut. But he could spend most of the season watching on Sunday, especially if the Bears decide to activate only eight D-linemen instead of the usual nine.

Henry Melton was drafted in the round after Gilbert (105th overall), but he spent his rookie season on injured reserve. He has bulked up some from the 260 pounds he weighed last year in order to compete for playing time at the three-technique tackle, but he's still undersized at around 265, although his quickness can cause mismatches. Melton also has the ability to play end in nickel situations as an extra pass rusher. He has been moist noticeable in training camp during two-on-two pass-rush drills, where his quickness is difficult for bigger players to contend with.

"Henry, we think he's really going to blossom this year," Angelo said. "He's put on some weight in the off-season. He's looked really good in certain aspects of the scheme. (Defensive coordinator) Rod Marinelli is starting to play him a little bit outside as a defensive end. That's what he played in college. But he's got all of the necessary traits that we look for at the under (three-technique) tackle. Obviously pass rush is what we see in his future with us."

This year, just as last year, the Bears were without draft picks in the first two rounds, but Angelo used his second choice to take Northwestern defensive end Corey Wootton in the fourth round (109th overall).

Marinelli likes some of the intangibles that the 6-foot-6, 270-pound Wootton brings to the table. But he has yet to make a major impact and needs some technique refinement.

"(He) stands up too much and plays too high," Marinelli said. "What I've really been impressed with is his mental toughness. I mean, every down, he plays hard and he's physical. He listens, he's not thin-skinned and he's getting better every day. I mean he plays hard; I'm impressed with that. He just plays too tall right now."

What the Bears would rather see in Saturday night's second preseason game is for some of their young defensive linemen come up big.