With the 62nd pick of Pride of Detroit's 2011 NFL Mock Draft, the Chicago Bears select Alabama offensive lineman James Carpenter. The Profiler is serving as the Bears' general manager, and his reasoning for the pick is below.
This pick was pretty easy for me. It was between Hudson and Carpenter, but there was no question that I had to address the offensive line. Carpenter has experience as a tackle and is projected by some as a guard, but I have no doubts he will upgrade a position on the Bears current offensive line. Drafting Marvin Austin in round one helped add youth to the defense and fill a giant hole in the D-line, but the Bears' top need, I believe, is still offensive line.
Carpenter is a mauler in the run game, which should have Matt Forte very excited. The Bears need to protect Jay Cutler, and as Lions fans know the Mike Martz offense can be brutal on a QB, so there is a really good chance we will select at least one more offensive lineman in this draft and look for some targets in free agency whenever that actually occurs.
Orlando Franklin was going to be this pick but was taken earlier, so luckily for the Chicago Bears one of my top second round prospects was still available. Other considerations were Will Rackley, Clint Boling, Marcus Gilbert, Greg Little and Jerrel Jernigan. When I weighed my board against need and value Carpenter was the only option.
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Check out the 2011 Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft tracker for a look at all of the picks.