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10 worst Bears draft picks since 2000

Brendan Sugrue
·8 min read
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The NFL draft is arguably one of the most hopeful times of the year for pro football fans across the nation. The opportunity to find the next great playmaker at a certain position brings excitement and anticipation and this year is no different.

For fans of the Chicago Bears, however, it’s also a reminder of all of the major misses that have occurred over the years.

From injuries to legal issues and simply poor play, every draft class is going to have its share of busts and players who fail to meet expectations. We already looked at the best draft picks the Bears have made over the last 20 years, now it’s time to look at the worst of the worst.

DT Jarron Gilbert

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  • 2009, third round, pick No. 68

While it was tempting to put second-round flops like wide receiver Mark Bradley and tight end Adam Shaheen in this list, it’s defensive lineman Jarron Gilbert that edges them both out. The man most famous for jumping out of a pool coming into the draft is still best known for jumping out of a pool. Gilbert was picked in the third round of the 2009 NFL draft and was the Bears’ first pick after dealing their first and second round selections to the Denver Broncos for quarterback Jay Cutler. Gilbert played in just four games in two seasons, registering a single tackle during his tenure before being released.

OL Chris Williams

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  • 2008, first round, pick No. 14

The 2008 NFL draft was loaded with star offensive tackles. Jake Long, Ryan Clady, Branden Albert, and Duane Brown were among the best in the class and it was good timing for the Bears as they were in desperate need of protection on the offensive line. They took a swing and a miss with Chris Williams out of Vanderbilt. Williams got off to a rough start due to a back injury and didn’t make his debut until halfway through his rookie year. After some ups and downs at tackle, he was moved to guard in 2010, having some success, but also continuing to deal with injuries. Williams never panned out as the team’s franchise left tackle and wound up being a serviceable interior lineman at best. Not great when there were other perennial Pro Bowlers available.

DE Michael Haynes

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  • 2003, first round, pick No. 14

The Bears made a curious decision to trade down with the New York Jets from their original pick at fourth overall to acquire an extra first-round pick. Their first selection came at 14th overall with defensive end Michael Haynes out of Penn State. Haynes never became an impactful pass rusher and was essentially replaced after just one season when the Bears traded for Miami Dolphins pass rusher Adewale Ogunleye prior to the 2004 season. Haynes totaled just 5.5 sacks in his three years with the Bears before being released. He never played a regular season snap after that.

RB Cedric Benson

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  • 2005, first round, pick No. 4

For the second time in three seasons, the Bears owned a top-five pick in the NFL draft. Instead of trading it like the last time in 2003, they opted to keep it and selected running back Cedric Benson from Texas. The workhorse back was seen as a top prospect, but the selection was curious as the Bears had bigger issues on offense than running back. It didn’t help that Benson had a lengthy holdout that carried into training camp. Though he eventually played a key role in the Bears run to the Super Bowl in 2006, Benson failed to rise to the occasion as the team’s full-time starter in 2007. He was released the next season after legal troubles surfaced, but eventually found success with the Cincinnati Bengals and Green Bay Packers. Benson’s football career wasn’t a total bust, just his time with the Bears.

OT Marc Colombo

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  • 2002, first round, pick No. 29

Like Benson, Marc Colombo was a first-round pick that found new life after his Bears days had ended. Picked near the end of the first round out of Boston College in 2002, Colombo struggled with injuries right out of the gate. He missed half of his rookie year with a knee injury, then the entire 2003 season. From there, he played sparingly before being released in 2005. But he caught on with the Dallas Cowboys and lived up to his potential for the next half decade as their starting right tackle.

DE Dan Bazuin

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  • 2007, second round, pick No. 62

Most of this list rightfully consists of first-round misses, but when a team spends a draft pick in the second round on a player with known medical issues who doesn’t play a single game for them, they deserve a spot. Dan Bazuin was drafted out of Central Michigan and never made it to the regular season. He missed his rookie year due to a knee injury and was released prior to the 2008 season. It’s tough to classify players as busts when they can’t play because of injuries, but it’s part of the evaluation and Bazuin was a major miss for a team trying to sustain success.

WR David Terrell

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  • 2001, first round, pick No. 8

When the Bears found themselves drafting wide receiver David Terrell, it seemed like they found their next great pass catcher for years to come. Terrell was unbelievable at Michigan, catching passes from Tom Brady to form a deadly duo. Unfortunately, Terrell couldn’t live up to expectations at the next level. Though he had a decent rookie year with 415 yards, Terrell struggled the next two seasons. Even his best statistical year in 2004 when he had 699 receiving yards saw him catch just 42 of 90 targets. He was out of football after four seasons. What really makes the Terrell pick stick out, however, was that he was picked in a class littered with Pro Bowlers in the first round, three of which have made it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

OT Gabe Carimi

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  • 2011, first round, pick No. 29

Here’s a word of advice to Ryan Poles and any other future general manager of the Bears: If the team is picking at 29th overall and wants to take an offensive tackle, don’t do it. Carimi, like Colombo, was picked 29th overall after the team had a surprising playoff berth, but needed to shore up an offensive line that nearly got their quarterback killed. Also like Colombo, he missed time almost immediately due to injuries when he dislocated his kneecap in Week 2. But unlike Colombo, Carimi never showed he could play the position when healthy. He was constantly pushed around at right tackle and was moved inside late in the season in 2012. He lasted just two seasons in Chicago, getting traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a sixth-round draft pick. He was out of the league after the 2014 season. To add insult to injury, the 2011 first round will go down as a historic draft class and the Bears came up empty handed.

WR Kevin White

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  • 2015, first round, pick No. 7

Some people will argue Kevin White deserves to be atop this list and there’s definitely merit to those conversations. White blew up in his final season at West Virginia, becoming one of the top wide receivers in the country. With the Bears under new management with Ryan Pace at general manager and looking for younger offensive playmakers, White was the logical choice at seventh overall. But he missed his entire rookie season due to a shin injury that worsened over time. He then played in just five games over the next two seasons with more injuries piling up. By 2018, he was pushed down the depth chart and his best highlight came on a Hail Mary heave against the New England Patriots that he caught one-year short of the endzone that would have put the Bears in a position to tie. His career has sputtered as he’s tried catching on with other teams. The pick was easily the worst of the top 10 and put a damper on any momentum that Pace had coming into his first season.

DE/LB Shea McClellin

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  • 2012, first round, pick No. 19

Looking at the stat sheet, Shea McClellin may not seem like he should be the top bust on this list. He had moments of production and totaled 81 tackles when he was moved to linebacker. Not great, but not the worst, right? The biggest issue with McClellin was his fit in the Bears defense. The Boise State standout was a man without a position in Lovie Smith’s defense and the pick made no sense for a team still entrenched in the 4-3 cover two scheme. McClellin was a specialized player his first season with Smith and struggled to play with his hand in the dirt. He was overmatched too many times and with other edge rushers such as Chandler Jones and Whitney Mercilus on the board, it just didn’t make sense to take a chance on an unknown. Other players on this list had less production, but were logical selections. McClellin was a dart throw that missed the board.

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