With the 50th pick of Pride of Detroit's 2012 NFL mock draft, the Chicago Bears select Nebraska cornerback Alfonzo Dennard. Nate D. is serving as the Bears' general manager, and his reasoning for the pick is below.

After stabilizing the Bears' biggest weakness, I now turn my attention to the position group the team is most thin and talent deprived at -- the secondary. Each "tier" of the Bears defense has at least a single standout (Julius Peppers on the DL, Lance Briggs/Brian Urlacher at LB), and while Charles Tillman has proven himself to be a leader in the secondary, there is a massive drop-off after him.

Dennard is a physical corner with average size who could stabilize the Chicago secondary. Known to defend the run well, he is a utility guy who doesn't create a lot of turnovers but is solid in all aspects of his game. Pundits question his 4.5 second 40-yard dash time, but his ability to jam and reroute receivers makes up for what he lacks in straight line speed. Dennard fits the mold as a strong cover 2 zone corner who plays close to the line, and if I were a Bears fan, a Tillman/Dennard combo for the next few years would sound pretty good to me.

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