Will Bears draft another safety?

Having spent their past two third-round draft choices on safeties Major Wright and then Chris Conte, the Bears should be in good shape at the position, especially considering four-year veteran Craig Steltz was re-signed last month.

However, Wright has been nicked up off and on throughout his first two seasons, and his performance has been inconsistent throughout. He has started games at both strong and free safety, but he missed four games last season and five games as a rookie in 2010.

Conte was promoted to the starting job at free safety as a rookie after Brandon Meriweather played himself out of the lineup. Conte did a solid job of keeping plays in front of him through nine starts, but an ankle/foot injury landed him on injured reserve for the final two games.

The injuries to Wright and Conte allowed Steltz to get a career-high five starts, including the final four, all at strong safety. In the last five games of the season, Steltz had 37 tackles, trailing only linebackers Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs.

The Bears have selected a safety in each of their last seven drafts under Jerry Angelo, including Steltz in the fourth round in 2008. This year’s crop of safeties lacks quality, although there are a handful of size-speed guys who could be available in the middle and late rounds.

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