Bears brass looking to 'Combine' OTs and WRs

Bears general manager Jerry Angelo, head coach Lovie Smith, assistant coaches and scouts will be paying particular attention to offensive tackles and wide receivers when the NFL Scouting Combine gets under way Wednesday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

This is considered a strong draft class at both positions, which is fortunate for the Bears, since that's where their two greatest needs lie.

The Bears are way overdue to start allocating some resources to the offensive line, which has been all but ignored in recent drafts.

Before taking Chris Williams with last year's first-round pick, the Bears had not taken an offensive lineman in any of the first three rounds since 2002, when they selected Marc Colombo in the first round and Terrence Metcalf in the third.

In the next five drafts, the Bears had 32 picks in the first five rounds but used just one on an offensive lineman, taking Josh Beekman in the fourth round in 2007.

That's why, if John Tait retires and John St. Clair leaves via free agency, the Bears wouldn't have any tackles who've started a game in the NFL, although Beekman started all 16 games last season at left guard.

"We want to use the draft as a strong vehicle to build our team," Angelo has said in the past. "Fiscally it's sounder. Obviously when you develop your own players, it's easier to reward them."

The consensus is that at least five offensive linemen could be rewarded with first-round money this year: Virginia's Eugene Monroe, Baylor's Jason Smith, Alabama's Andre Smith, Arizona's Eben Britton and Mississippi's Michael Oher.

The first three are expected to be gone before the Bears pick at No. 18, but all five will be evaluated closely by Angelo and Co.

NFL teams are allowed to interview up to 60 of the 333 players invited to this year's Combine, which runs through Feb. 24.

Workouts begin Saturday with offensive linemen, tight ends and kickers. On Sunday, quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers will run, jump and shuttle as best they can to boost their stock before the draft on the final weekend in April.

Six wide receivers could come off the board in the first round, starting with Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree and followed by Missouri's Jeremy Maclin, Maryland's Darrius Heyward-Bey, North Carolina's Hakeem Nicks, Rutgers' Kenny Britt and Florida's Percy Harvin.

Crabtree and Maclin are rated a notch above the other four, all of whom might be available at 18.

Although the Bears have devoted a bit more attention to receivers in the past few years, it hasn't resulted in much production.

They took Earl Bennett in the third round last season, but he hardly played and didn't catch a pass.

In the two previous years, the Bears didn't use any of their 16 picks on a wide receiver, although 2006 second-round pick Devin Hester was switched to that position after being drafted as a cornerback and return specialist.

Mark Bradley, a second-rounder in 2005 and David Terrell, a first-rounder in '01, both wound up in the "bust" category.

Three of the Bears' best wide receiver picks since Angelo began running their drafts in 2002 were starters for other teams last season: the Vikings' Bernard Berrian (a third-rounder in '04) and Bobby Wade, and the Titans' Justin Gage. Wade and Gage were both fifth-rounders in '03.