Sports

Bears Take Vandy WR Bennett, Arkansas DT Harrison

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) ― The Chicago Bears drafted Vanderbilt wide receiver Earl Bennett and Arkansas defensive tackle Marcus Harrison in the third round on Sunday, after addressing needs on the offensive line and at running back the previous day.

The Bears then traded down in the fourth round, taking Louisiana State safety Craig Steltz with the 120th pick.

Bennett, picked 70th, caught an SEC record 236 passes for 2,852 yards in three years and set most of the school's single-game and season records. He had 75 catches for 830 yards last season.

"He's got great quickness, really good route runner," offensive coordinator Ron Turner said. "Very precise route runner. He'll go up and catch the ball. Very competitive. He's a good all-around receiver."
 
Turner went so far as to compare him to Steelers wideout Hines Ward, which Bennett didn't mind.

"That is a great comparison," he said. "Hines Ward is one of the best wide receivers in the league right now. I'm delighted to be mentioned as like him."

Bennett was the first wide receiver taken on the second day, and he was the second Commodore taken by the Bears in this draft, joining left tackle Chris Williams.

Chicago took Williams with the 14th pick on Saturday and addressed another issue at running back by going with Tulane's Matt Forte in the second round, putting him in competition with incumbent Cedric Benson.

Wide receiver was another area of concern, after Bernard Berrian signed with Minnesota and Muhsin Muhammad got cut. Chicago signed free agents Brandon Lloyd and Marty Booker but was still looking for help, so it added Bennett to the mix.

Bennett had 876 yards as a freshman and continued to be productive the next two years even though he no longer had Jay Cutler throwing to him.
"I have to give a lot of credit to the coaches," Bennett said. "They did a good job of moving guys around. And they found different ways to give me the ball."

Chicago again passed on a quarterback in the fourth round and went with Steltz, who led LSU with six interceptions in his first full season as the starting strong safety while helping the Tigers win the national championship. He fractured his right shoulder in that game and missed the combine, but he said he's fine.

"I worked out at the LSU pro day," Steltz said. "My shoulder is back to 100 percent. It's getting better everyday."

Chicago took Nebraska cornerback Zackary Bowman in the fifth round at 142 despite two serious knee injuries. He missed the 2006 season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during fall practice and ruptured the patellar tendon in his right knee midway through spring practice. He played in 11 of 12 games last season and was in on 29 tackles.

The Bears got him after sending the 110th pick to Miami for the 115th and a seventh-rounder (208). They moved down again in the round, dealing the Dolphins' spot and a sixth-rounder (175) to Tampa Bay for the 120th selection and a fifth-rounder (158).

General manager Jerry Angelo had said the Bears would emphasize good character in this draft and the first three picks appeared to fit that mold. Harrison, though, appears to be a gamble.

Harrison was arrested on a felony drug charge and several misdemeanors just before last season's opener, when he was accused of having marijuana and an Ecstasy pill after police in Fayetteville pulled him over. He also has a history of knee problems, undergoing surgery in 2006 and tearing an anterior-cruciate ligament last spring. But he was healthy enough as a senior to finish with a career-high 50 tackles, although he had just 1 1/2 sacks.

"I'll tell you right now, I made a really horrible mistake," Harrison said. "It was just a mistake I made in the past, and I've moved on from it. Right now, I'm just ... taking care of my business, as far as meeting with my counselors."

He said he's been spending more time with his family and his girlfriend since the arrest, and he added his knee is fine.

Bears director of college scouting Greg Gabriel said the legal and health issues knocked Harrison out of the first round and that Chicago is getting him at a "bargain rate."

"He made a mistake, he's paying the price," Gabriel said. "The price is millions of dollars, literally, between the first round and the third round."
He said Harrison will be in the clear once he completes a preadjudication program. Even so, the Bears jogged memories of Tank Johnson by drafting a defensive tackle with legal problems.

Johnson had a long run of legal troubles, including gun charges following a police raid on his home and a trip to a Chicago nightclub a few days later that resulted in the shooting death of his bodyguard. The Bears finally released him last June.

"Different set of circumstances, different kind of problem," Gabriel said. "But I know where you're coming from. It's just a whole different circumstances. The trouble he got into wasn't the same type of thing that Tank was involved in."

The Bears followed a run to the Super Bowl by going 7-9 last season thanks to a long line of injuries on both sides of the ball and poor play in general. The offense ranked 27th, and the Bears were looking to inject youth into a line that had four starters in their 30s. That is where Williams comes in.

"Me and Chris are very good friends," Bennett said. "I called this morning and told him. He was just in bed, I don't know what he was doing last night, but he said, 'Congratulations, let's get ready to head to Chicago to win the Super Bowl."'

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