On the theory you can never be too rich, too thin or start thinking about the draft too soon …
Because the Bears are perilously thin at running back and are doing nothing during the fall to stock the position, the No. 1 back projects to be the top or near-top priority for the Bears after this season. The roster has only incumbent tailbacks James Allen and Marlon Barnes now that Curtis Enis has been moved to fullback.
If the Bears remain understaffed at the position, “you’re going to have to find somebody either through draft or free agency,” pro scouting director Scott Campbell said.
At 1-5, the Bears are on pace to have the No. 3 pick of the 2001 draft, behind only winless Cincinnati and San Diego. Obviously, much can happen over the next 11 weeks, including the possibility of moving up to No. 2 or 1. The Bears are unlikely to be favored until they play host to Green Bay on Dec. 3, if then.
The last time they picked No. 4, the Bears landed Dan Hampton in 1979. In 1975 they picked fourth and selected Walter Payton. In 1965 they found Gale Sayers at No. 4 after selecting Dick Butkus at No. 3. They grabbed Enis with a No. 5 in 1998.
The key always is record. A 4-12 mark in ’98 brought them the fifth overall pick used for Enis. The 4-12 mark of San Francisco last year was good (or bad) enough for No. 3.
Cleveland had the No. 1 pick by virtue of its 2-14 mark last year. The 3-13 of New Orleans meant No. 2 (previously traded to Washington). The Bears have not been as bad as 3-13 since the 1969 team went 1-13, after which it lost a coin flip for the chance to pick Terry Bradshaw. The club then traded the No. 2 pick to Green Bay for three soon-to-be-former players.
This year the Baltimore Ravens selected starting tailback Jamal Lewis at No. 5; he averages 4.7 yards per carry. The Arizona Cardinals chose Thomas Jones at No. 7 and the New York Giants selected Ron Dayne at No. 11. The picks helped both teams, the Giants improving from 24th to sixth in rushing and the Ravens from 16th to eighth.
The Packers (Dorsey Levens), Falcons (Jamal Anderson) and Broncos (Mike Anderson, Terrell Davis) have hit on choices in the fifth round and later.
There will be choices in 2001, most of them quality seniors. Northwestern junior running back Damien Anderson (5 feet 11 inches, 208 pounds) is the only Division I-A rusher over 1,000 yards, averaging 7.4 yards on 141 carries. With his 13 touchdowns, he crosses a goal line once every 11 times he touches the ball. Another Northwestern running back, Darnell Autry, may not have worked out as the Bears’ fourth-round pick in 1997 but he is starting Sunday for Philadelphia.
TCU’s LaDainian Tomlinson (5-11, 217) ran for 1,850 yards last year, including an NCAA-record 406 against UTEP. His 974 yards this year have come on a 5.8-yard average and with 12 TDs. Michigan senior Anthony Thomas is among the biggest (6-2, 225) of the pending draft class and is averaging 5.8 while gaining 851 yards this fall.
Bears personnel vice president Mark Hatley attended last weekend’s Miami-Florida State game and saw FSU’s Travis Minor (6-1, 190) held to 36 yards in 12 carries besides catching five passes. Mississippi’s Deuce McAllister (6-1, 220), among the most highly touted backs in college football, is averaging 5.6 yards per carry and 87 yards per game.
Trading also is a possibility, as the Rams did to acquire Marshall Faulk and the Steelers did to pick up Jerome Bettis. Hatley is the NFL’s most prolific trader.
An early shopping list may include the Denver Broncos, with Davis and sixth-rounder Mike Anderson running in a blocking scheme similar to what the Bears run.
Free agency brought current NFL rushing leader Charlie Garner (609 yards) to San Francisco in 1999, Ricky Watters (450) to Seattle and Curtis Martin (390) to the New York Jets. Free agency may include Corey Dillon, whose acrimonious dealings with Cincinnati management have him eager to leave.
But the Bears, projected to be at least $11 million under next year’s salary cap, also will have to decide what they want to spend on a troublesome position.
“We haven’t assessed it or gone through it,” Campbell said. “Our needs at the beginning of the year may be different than what they are at the end too.”
