He has followed the template with which the late Jim Finks and Bill Tobin built the great Bears teams of the 1980s.
But though Jerry Angelo has gone about the NFL draft seemingly in the right way, success has eluded the Bears’ general manager.
This year Angelo has the fourth selection, a franchise-altering pick that in the past has brought Hall of Famers Gale Sayers, Walter Payton and Dan Hampton to Chicago. This year’s decision could determine Angelo’s ultimate fate.
For NFL general managers only so many misses are allowed, fair or not, before there are consequences. In his four years here, Angelo has used up more of his misses than he would have preferred. And the injuries that have affected the careers of first-round picks Marc Colombo and Rex Grossman would not count against Angelo if he had not missed on high picks such as Michael Haynes and Roosevelt Williams.
So a pick that comes with extreme pressure normally, as well as a huge financial commitment for the team, comes now with the added gravity of a GM in need of a breakthrough.
“You better take a guy who is the total package,” said Tobin, now a scout with the Cincinnati Bengals. “And if you pick just the right one at that point, it’s a great draft, almost no matter what else happens.”
Only two of Angelo’s four first-round selections are starters, and Grossman has yet to play more than three consecutive games at quarterback without an injury.
Because of poor draft picks–not all Angelo’s–and injuries, the Bears have been forced to rely on expensive free-agent deals for offensive tackles, , a wide receiver, a running back and a guard. When Haynes and Alex Brown showed little before the 2004 season, the Bears gave up Pro Bowl wide receiver Marty Booker to bring in pass rusher Adewale Ogunleye. The Bears had to spend a second-round draft pick for cornerback Charles Tillman one year after they missed completely on Williams in the third round.
Finks built the Bears from the line up. After Payton in 1975, he took an offensive or defensive lineman with his first pick in six of the next eight drafts.
Between Payton in 1975 and Neal Anderson in 1986, the Bears selected only one “skill position” player with a first pick: Jim McMahon in 1982.
In 11 of the last 14 drafts in which Angelo has been involved, his teams selected either an offensive or defensive lineman with its first pick.
“I’ve always felt you build `inside-out,'” Angelo said. “Some positions have more value than others. The offensive line, defensive line and [cornerback have] a tremendous value.”
The problem is that the shrinking pool of top-grade offensive linemen means “you’re seeing guys drafted probably two rounds higher than where they should go, relative to their peers,” Angelo said.
Angelo’s pick of offensive tackle Colombo in the first round is viewed by many experts as such a reach.
No Bears draft choice of Angelo’s has been selected for a Pro Bowl.
A cornerstone of Angelo’s draft philosophy is a concern more with what he terms a player’s “floor” than his “ceiling.” It is more important to make a pick with the smallest chance of failure than one with perhaps a huge upside but with a bigger chance he could fail.
“It’s like drafting not to lose,” suggested one NFL scout.
“There are factors you’re going to take into account: the overall health, production and athletic ability for his position, his competitiveness, football intelligence,” said Bill Rees, director of player personnel for the Cleveland Browns and former college scouting director for the Bears. “For all those things, you have to have a `check’ in the box, regardless of position, taking a player that high.”
With the fourth pick of this draft, Angelo has a pick high enough to garner an elite player, particularly a skill-position player. It is one of those times when the “ceiling” becomes at least as important as the “floor.”
“These players we’re talking about all have high floors and high ceilings,” Angelo said. “With these guys, `decent’ would be `bad. I’m thinking `good’ to `very good.'”
While Angelo and then-Tampa Bay general manager Rich McKay were running the Buccaneers drafts, the Bucs selected linemen such as defensive tackles Warren Sapp and Anthony McFarland. Angelo also was involved in selecting Wisconsin tackle Paul Gruber, a fixture at left tackle for the Bucs in his 13-year career.
Angelo has struggled to find high-impact running backs and wide receivers.
“I would say the bust factor with offensive linemen is a lot less than at probably any other position,” he said. One knock on Angelo has been that he does not want the pressure–and the organization does not want to spend the money–that comes with a top-five pick. Angelo traded out of the No. 4 pick in 2003, and few would be surprised if he drops down this time.
“It’s not that you’re afraid to pull the trigger at four,” Angelo said, “[But] if you feel like you can get a quality player by trading down and pick up another quality player in the second or the third round, that’s something you have to look at.”
Whatever the top choice, if it is high, it will subject Angelo to extreme scrutiny and inevitable second-guessing.
“With those high picks, it sounds like a good deal,” Tobin said. “But you sure better get the right guy. You only get one player and you have to leave 400 behind, and there’s a good chance that some of those 400 will turn out better than the one you picked.”
Angelo drafts: Hits and misses
A look at the early rounds of Bears drafts under general manager Jerry Angelo.
TOUCHDOWNS
YEAR, RD., PLAYER, POS., COLLEGE, COMMENT,
2002, 4th, Alex Brown, DE, Florida, Improved last year but not a consistent impact player yet.
2003, 1st, Rex Grossman, QB, Florida, Still an unknown because of injuries; Bears 3-3 in his starts.
2nd, Charles Tillman, CB, La.-Lafayette, Potential to be top NFC corner depending on return from ’04 injury.
3rd, Lance Briggs, LB, Arizona, Starter who has been a steady contributor.
4th, Ian Scott, DT, Florida, Strong inside force beat out 2004’s No. 2 pick for job.
2004, 1st, Tommie Harris, DT, Oklahoma, Best defensive draft pick since Urlacher; potential Pro Bowler.
PERSONNEL FOULS
YEAR, RD., PLAYER , POS., COLLEGE, COMMENT
2002, 1st, Marc Colombo, T, Boston College, Hampered by knee injury; pick was considered a reach at the time.
3rd, Roosevelt Williams, CB, Tuskegee, Bust. Cut after poor rookie season, leading to Tillman selection.
3rd, Terrance Metcalf, G, Mississippi, Serviceable backup, but more expected from this draft slot.
2003, 1st, Michael Haynes, DE, Penn State, Adequate, but lack of impact sent Bears after Ogunleye.
2004, 2nd, Tank Johnson, DT, Washington, Spot player used in rotation needs to show more.
3rd, Bernard Berrian, WR, Fresno State, Made some plays but not enough to stop Bears from looking for WRs.
Draft facts
When: Saturday-Sunday.
Where: Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York.
TV: Saturday–11 a.m., ESPN; 4:30 p.m., ESPN2.
Sunday–10 a.m., ESPN.
Bears selections
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RD. OVERALL RD. OVERALL
1 4th 5 140th
2 39th 6 181st
4 106th 7 220th
Bears’ 4th overall selections
YEAR PLAYER POS.
1979 Dan Hampton DE
1975 Walter Payton RB
1974 Waymond Bryant LB
1965 Gale Sayers RB
1946 Johnny Lujack QB
No. 4 selections since 1980
YR. TEAM PLAYER
80 Green Bay Bruce Clark, DE
81 Seattle Kenny Easley, DB
82 Baltimore Art Schlichter, QB
83 Denver Chris Hinton, T
84 N.Y. Giants Carl Banks, LB
85 Minnesota Chris Doleman, LB
86 Indianapolis Jon Hand, DE
87 Green Bay Brent Fullwood, RB
88 Tampa Bay Paul Gruber, T
89 Kansas City Derrick Thomas, DE
90 Tampa Bay Keith McCants, DE
91 Denver Mike Cro, LB
92 Washington Desmond Howard, WR
93 N.Y. Jets Marvin Jones, LB
94 New England Willie McGinest, LB
95 Washington Michael Westbrook, WR
96 Baltimore Jonathan Ogden, T
97 Baltimore Peter Boulware, LB
98 Oakland Charles Woodson, CB
99 Indianapolis Edgerrin James, RB
00 Cincinnati Peter Warrick, WR
01 Cincinnati Justin Smith, DE
02 Buffalo Mike Williams, T
03 N.Y. Jets Dewayne Robertson, DT
04 N.Y. Giants Philip Rivers, QB
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