The NFL draft begins at 7 p.m. Thursday and the Chicago Bears have the 19th overall pick.
The Bears have a checkered draft history, to say the least. For every Walter Payton, there’s a Rashaan Salaam. But, of all Bears mistakes on draft day, which is the worst? We did our best to compile a list of worthy nominees and we limited our choices to the first round:
- Michael Haynes, 2003, 14th overall. The Penn State defensive end never developed into the dominant force the Bears envisioned. In three seasons with the Bears Haynes compiled 5.5 sacks.
- David Terrell, 2001, 8th overall. The highly-touted Michigan wide receiver played four seasons with the Bears and never caught more than 43 passes. Terrell also was charged with domestic battery this year.
- Cade McNown, 1999, 12th overall. The UCLA quarterback was supposed to be a franchise savior, but he played only two seasons with the Bears and won only three games. Although McNown did reportedly manage to get banned from the Playboy mansion.
- Curtis Enis, 1998, 5th overall. The Penn State runningback played only three seasons, never gaining 1,000 yards and averaging 3.3 yards per carry. A degenerative knee condition cut his career short.
- Stan Thomas, 1991, 22nd overall. The tackle from Texas started only 7 games in four seasons with the Bears.
- Joe Moore, 1971, 11th overall. This running back from Missouri gained only 287 yards in two seasons, averaging 3.2 yards per carry.
Those are our nominees. Vote in the comment section, or feel free to tell us who you think was the Bears worst draft pick.
Columbo I left off the list because he ended up being a productive starter for the Cowboys...his Bears time was ruined by injuries...but he could play once he got healthy.