Bears First-Round Draft Picks



BRIAN URLACHER

     If past history is any indication, offensive tackle Gabe Carimi of Wisconsin has a 10.6 percent chance to eventually be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Nine of his 85 predecessors as a Bears first-round draft choice have done so, which is a pretty good success rate. Alas, at least an equal number have proven to be all but worthless. Time will tell whether Carimi gets his bust in Canton, goes bust, or ends up somewhere in between.     
     Two of the Bears' first-round draft picks were future Bears head coaches (Jim Dooley and Mike Ditka). Three were Heisman Trophy winners (Tom Harmon, Johnny Lujack, and Rashaan Salaam).
     In 1965, the Bears drafted two future Hall of Famers (Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers) with consecutive picks. From 1975 (Walter Payton) through 1990 (Mark Carrier), every first-round pick became a productive player, at least for a while, and most became stars. For the past 20 years, it has been a lot more bad than good. Brian Urlacher is the only bonafide all-timer in the group, while Tommie Harris was a star that shone briefly. Rex Grossman was not quite as good as his admirers wished him to be nor quite as bad as his detractors believed him to be.
     Below is the complete list of Bears first-round draft choices. The player's overall draft position is in parentheses, and an asterisk indicates a Hall of Famer.


Bears first-round draft picks

1936 - Joe Stydahar, tackle, West Virginia (6)*
1937 - Les McDonald, end, Nebraska (8)
1938 - Joe Gray, back, Oregon State (10)
1939 - Sid Luckman, quarterback, Columbia (2)*
1939 - Bill Osmanski, fullback, Holy Cross (6)

1940 - Bulldog Turner, center, Hardin-Simmons (7)*
1941 - Tom Harmon, halfback, Michigan (1)
1941 - Norm Standlee, fullback, Stanford (3)
1941 - Don Scott, back, Ohio State (9)
1942 - Frankie Albert, quarterback, Stanford (10)
1943 - Bob Steuber, halfback, DePauw (9)
1944 - Ray Evans, tailback, Kansas (9)
1945 - Don Lund, back, Michigan (7)
1946 - Johnny Lujack, quarterback, Notre Dame (4)
1947 - Bob Fenimore, halfback, Oklahoma State (1)
1947 - Don Kindt, defensive back, Wisconsin (11)
1948 - Bobby Layne, quarterback, Texas (3)*
1948 - Max Bumgardner, defensive end, Texas (10)
1949 - Dick Harris, center, Texas (11)

1950 - Chuck Hunsinger, halfback, Florida (3)
1950 - Fred Morrison, fullback, Ohio State (10)
1951 - Bob Williams, quarterback, Notre Dame (2)
1951 - Gene Schroeder, end, Virginia (12)
1952 - Jim Dooley, back, Miami - Florida (8)
1953 - Billy Anderson, defensive back, Compton - Calif. (6)
1954 - Stan Wallace, defensive back, Illinois (6)
1955 - Ron Drzewiecki, halfback, Marquette (11)
1956 - Tex Schriewer, end, Texas (10)
1957 - Earl Leggett, defensive tackle, LSU (13)
1958 - Chuck Howley, linebacker, West Virginia (7)
1959 - Don Clark, back, Ohio State (7)

1960 - Roger Davis, guard, Syracuse (7)
1961 - Mike Ditka, tight end, Pittsburgh (5)*
1962 - Ronnie Bull, running back, Baylor (7)
1963 - Dave Behrman, center, Michigan State (11)
1964 - Dick Evey, defensive tackle, Tennessee (14)
1965 - Dick Butkus, linebacker, Illinois (3)*
1965 - Gale Sayers, running back, Kansas (4)*
1965 - Steve DeLong, defensive end, Tennessee (6)
1966 - George Rice, defensive tackle, LSU (12)
1967 - Loyd Phillips, defensive end, Arkansas (10)
1968 - Mike Hull, running back , USC (16)
1969 - Rufus Mayes, tackle, Ohio State (14)

1970 - none
1971 - Joe Moore, running back, Missouri (11)
1972 - Lionel Antoine, tackle, Southern Illinois (3)
1972 - Craig Clemons, defensive back, Iowa (12)
1973 - Wally Chambers, defensive tackle, Eastern Kentucky (8)
1974 - Waymond Bryant, linebacker, Tennessee State (4)
1974 - Dave Gallagher, defensive end, Michigan (8)
1975 - Walter Payton, running back, Jackson State (4)*
1976 - Dennis Lick, tackle, Wisconsin (8)
1977 - Ted Albrecht, tackle, California (16)
1978 - none
1979 - Dan Hampton, defensive end, Arkansas (4)*
1979 - Al Harris, defensive end, Arizona State (8)

1980 - Otis Wilson, linebacker, Louisville (19)
1981 - Keith Van Horne, tackle, USC (11)
1982 - Jim McMahon, quarterback, Brigham Young (5)
1983 - Jimbo Covert, tackle, Pittsburgh (6)
1983 - Willie Gault, wide receiver, Tennessee (18)
1984 - Wilber Marshall, linebacker, Florida (11)
1985 - William Perry, defensive tackle, Clemson (22)
1986 - Neal Anderson, running back, Florida (27)
1987 - Jim Harbaugh, quarterback, Michigan (26)
1988 - Brad Muster, fullback, Stanford (23)
1988 - Wendell Davis, wide receiver, LSU (27)
1989 - Donnell Woolford, defensive back, Clemson (11)
1989 - Trace Armstrong, defensive end, Florida (12)

1990 - Mark Carrier, defensive back, USC (6)
1991 - Stan Thomas, tackle, Texas (22)
1992 - Alonzo Spellman, defensive end, Ohio State (22)
1993 - Curtis Conway, wide receiver, USC (7)
1994 - John Thierry, defensive end, Alcorn State (11)
1995 - Rashaan Salaam, running back, Colorado (21)
1996 - Walt Harris, defensive back, Mississippi State (13)
1997 - none
1998 - Curtis Enis, running back, Penn State (5)
1999 - Cade McNown, quarterback, UCLA (12)

2000 - Brian Urlacher, linebacker, New Mexico (9)
2001 - David Terrell, wide receiver, Michigan (8)
2002 - Marc Colombo, tackle, Boston College (29)
2003 - Michael Haynes, defensive end, Penn State (14)
2003 - Rex Grossman, quarterback, Florida (22)
2004 - Tommie Harris, defensive tackle, Oklahoma (14)
2005 - Cedric Benson, running back, Texas (4)

2006 - none
2007 - Greg Olsen, tight end, Miami - Florida (31)
2008 - Chris Williams, tackle, Vanderbilt (14)
2009 - none
2010 - none

2011 - Gabe Carimi, tackle, Wisconsin