New Bears GM wraps up busy, unusual draft

"  LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) In his first draft, new Chicago Bears general manager Phil Emeryproved he is not afraid to take a risk.After making controversial picks in the first three rounds, theBears on Saturday selected Temple tight end Evan Rodriguez, aplayer with a somewhat troubled past. Considering they took acornerback who will change positions to safety, a wide receiverbelieved by some to be a discipline problem and a top draft pickwho could be too light to play defensive end, it looks a great deallike the Bears aren't afraid to take chances on players theylike.''We started this offseason trying to improve our ballclub,''coach Lovie Smith said. ''We did that at the receiver position. Asfar as taking risks, I mean, there's risks in every player that youlook at, but you weigh that.''We checked out everybody that we brought in. We all feltcomfortable with that.''Rodriguez, the 111th pick overall (fourth round), started hiscareer at West Virginia, but transferred following the 2007 seasonafter a felony assault charge for an alleged physical altercationwith a female residence hall adviser. It was later reduced to amisdemeanor charge. At Temple, he was arrested for disorderlyconduct in 2009, and later was held out of a game for disciplinaryreasons.Emery pointed out that Rodriguez has not had any convictions andbelieves he benefited greatly as a result of his relationship withTemple coach Steve Adazzio.''Some players you have to put your thumb on a little bitharder,'' Emery said. ''I think Evan responds to really good, hard,old-fashioned coaching and he's had that, believe me, at Temple,especially with coach Adazzio.''Emery said his contacts at the school, extensive research he haddid, and Rodriguez's visit to Halas Hall convinced him this was nota risky pick.''It's growing pains as long as you learn from mistakes anddon't let them happen again and mature, which I have done,''Rodriguez said. ''They believed in me and I'm happy they gave methis opportunity. And I'm not going to let them down.''The Bears needed a tight end who could line up as an H-back andblock out of the fullback position or the slot, while alsopossessing speed to get downfield in pass patterns. Emery saidRodriguez, who is 6-foot-2, 244 pounds, has 4.56-second speed inthe 40-yard dash.Rodriguez has compared himself to another of Adazzio's tightends, New England's Aaron Hernandez. Rodriguez caught 69 passes for871 yards and six touchdowns at Temple.''I would consider myself a physical blocker,'' Rodriguez said.''I'm just a tough player. I don't mind getting dirty.''Also Saturday, the Bears drafted Nevada cornerback Isaiah Freyin the sixth round and TCU cornerback Greg McCoy in the seventhround. The 5-foot-11, 188-pound Frey played mostly in man-to-mancoverage at Nevada and will need to become more adept at zone withthe Bears. McCoy brings credentials as a kicker returner whoaveraged 30.6 yards per return last season.''Our scouts and coaches worked very hard on that back end ofthe draft on those skilled players, the corners and safeties,''Emery said. ''We had a list of four; we were able to get two ofthem. Felt very good about that in terms of knowing where we'd beable to find them and what their upside was.''On Thursday, the Bears at No. 19 drafted defensive end SheaMcClellin, considered by some too small to be a 4-3 defensive endin Smith's system and more suited to 3-4 linebacker. On Friday,they took South Carolina wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, who has hadweight and disciplinary issues. They drafted Oregon Statecornerback Brandon Hardin, who missed 2011 with a broken shoulderand is moving to a more physical position at strong safety.Smith took issue with the notion McClellin cannot play defensiveend at 6-3, 260 pounds.''Weight is one of the most overrated things that there is whenyou're talking about a football player,'' he said. ''You're talkingabout strength and athletic ability more than that. ... Shea,believe me, he will be able to hold his own with the big boys thathe's playing.''Emery said Friday he considered Jeffery one of the draft's topthree receivers, and overall was pleased with his first draft eventhough the Bears failed to come away with a tackle to help anoffensive line that allowed 105 sacks the last two seasons.''The overriding thing was again what we talked about earlier inthis week is finding the players that can help us the quickest toreach our goals of winning a championship, and we felt very goodthat we made progress in that area,'' he said."