Da Bear Cast Blog

You can occasionally find that hidden gem in the draft, especially in the later rounds. They even may go undrafted for some odd reason. I think the Bears found a few when they signed twelve undrafted free agents this year. The few I’m speaking of are Tim Walter,  at Center, Freddie Barnes, at Wide Receiver, and Cornellius Brown, at Cornerback. I have a feeling those three will make a positive impact with the Bears.

Lets start off with Tim Walter. He started all games in 2008 and 2009 at Center. He’s a member of the Rimington Trophy watch list for the nations top Center. Here’s some more awesome fun facts about Tim, he allowed only one sack in more than 300 passing plays and didn’t have a bad snap in over 700 offensive plays. If the Bears keep him on the final roster as a backup to Olin Kreutz, it would make my day. Walter would gain so much experience from the future Hall of Famer. In case you’re wondering about his physical stats, he’s 6′6″ and 289 pounds of fury. I really hope they keep Walter on the final roster, it would be a shame for someone else to pick him up.

Another hidden gem the Bears might of found is Freddie Barnes, a wide receiver with hands made of glue. The first thing I noticed about him is the amount of catches he piled up in 2009. He caught 155 catches and had 19 touchdowns, and that led the entire nation.  He has won several awards for his undeniable skill at the wide receiver position.  Did I forgot to mention that the 155 catches as a NCAA record for both Division I and all Divisions. It’s amazing he didn’t get drafted by some other team, especially a passing team like the Patriots, Packers and the Colts. The only reason that comes to mind is that he’s a bit slow. He ran a 4.67 40-yard dash at Bowling Green’s Pro Day. He’s also registers at 6′0″ and 215 pounds. Freddie isn’t the fastest or tallest guy on the field, but he certainly can catch pretty much anything you can throw to him. If the Bears use Freddie’s talent to catch the ball correctly, he could be an unstoppable slot receiver.

Finally, cornerback Cornelius Brown from UTEP. He registers at 6′0″ and 195 pounds and was a three year starter. As a three year starter he had 119 tackles, 7 interceptions and 1 forced fumble and was the MVP at the Texas vs. The Nation all-star game.  He also ran a 4.46 40-yard dash at his pro day, so he definitely has some speed. To be a three year starter at the cornerback position in college football, it means your are doing something right and I have a feeling that’s what the Bears organization saw as well. They need help in a weak defensive backfield that gives opposing quarterbacks career highs. With his ability to find the ball and cause turnovers, he can be a hidden gem for the Bears. Oh, did I forget to mention that he also has two blocked kicks? We all know how the Bears love to create turnovers and big plays on special teams. Let’s hope he doesn’t stay on Special Teams for very long though.

-GammaBears

Tags: Chicago Bears, Chicago Bears Draft

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 27th, 2010 at 8:53 pm and is filed under Bears. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.