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Randy Gregory Makes Most Sense For Chicago Bears In 2015 NFL Draft

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Randy Gregory Nebraska Chicago Bears

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The Chicago Bears have plenty of holes to fill. Most of those holes sit on the defensive side of the ball, and plenty of them aren’t just holes, they are giant gaping wounds. As Bears fans wait for new GM Ryan Pace to hire a new head coach, Pace has already started talent evaluations and what the Bears will target in free agency, as well as the NFL Draft.

Chicago sits with the No. 7 pick in the draft, and there are plenty of directions they could go. But the one that makes the most sense is for the Bears to draft Randy Gregory, the defensive end from Nebraska with that pick.

There will be a cry from the fanbase to take a quarterback in the first round, because their instant reaction is going to be to replace Jay Cutler as soon as possible; but quarterback is not the right choice there. There’s a good chance that Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota will both be gone, but even if one of them does slip down to the Bears at No. 7, I still wouldn’t select them. Winston has plenty of character issues surrounding him, and it’s highly questionable (at least in my eyes) if Mariota can make the jump from college QB to NFL QB.

The Bears have excellent players at their offensive skill positions, and their offensive line is improving. Those are the last places I would spend a valuable first-round pick. The Bears need to go defense.

Chicago needs help on all aspects of defense. They could take someone on the line, the linebacking corps or the secondary and no one could really argue. Based on what’s available in this year’s draft, there isn’t a top 10 secondary talent. Any secondary player the Bears take at no. 7 would be a bit of a stretch. Alabama safety Landon Collins could be a fit, but I think there is better value at No. 7 than Collins.

The other position that the Bears could really use is a dynamic middle linebacker. Jon Bostic is athletic and has improved, but he doesn’t look like a franchise player; and Christian Jones, to me, looks like the only linebacker on the current roster who is even worthy of a starting position. However, this draft just doesn’t have that type of linebacker available and there is zero reason to look this direction in the first round.

That leaves the defensive front four. Willie Young was a nice addition to the Bears’ pass rushing group, but Jared Allen is clearly playing with his best days behind him and Lamarr Houston could not have been a bigger bust. The Bears need to fortify their defensive line and a pass rusher is a great place to start.

Leonard Williams out of USC would be a tremendous pick and looks to be a slam dunk star, but he is almost certainly going to be the first non-QB taken and shouldn’t make it past pick No. 3.

The guy the Bears need to target is Gregory. He is an athletic specimen who does need to put on some weight but has the frame to do it. Gregory also has a motor that never stops, something that would endear him to fans and more importantly coaches. Gregory is the type of talent that can constantly be in the backfield and create havoc for opposing quarterbacks. He is another player who probably won’t make it to the Bears at No. 7, but they would likely only need to trade up a couple spots to get him, something more manageable than having to trade all the way up to No. 2 or 3 to get Williams.

Shane Ray or Bud Dupree are also probably pass rushers that the Bears could target and both should be available with the No. 7 pick, but there isn’t a player available who makes more sense than Gregory. He has had some injuries that seem to be behind him but might be reason for some teams to pass on him. If he slides to the Bears, they must take him with the seventh pick.

Ryan Pace is on the clock. He has several decisions to make, but making the right choice with his initial first-round pick can set the tone to a 2015 season that everyone hopes is on the upswing.

Bill Zimmerman is a Chicago Bears writer for www.RantSports.Com. Follow him on Twitter, like him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.

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