"With the 20th pick in the draft, the Bears select Kyle Long."
As the commissioner spoke, did you say, "Who?!" to your television? You're not alone.
Phil Emery has once again surprised the Bears world with his pick, proving that he takes secrecy to a whole new level.
Throughout the day, buzz built that the Bears would pick Notre Dame's Manti Te'o. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said the Bears "loved" Te'o, and that the Bears would need to use No. 20 to grab him before the Vikings. Then, with several top defensive players like Alec Ogletree and Shariff Floyd on the board, Chicago went for another offensive lineman.
There's no doubt that the Bears' offensive line needs help. They have not gotten the job done of protecting Jay Cutler or opening holes for Matt Forte. In free agency, the Bears picked up Pro Bowl tackle Jermon Bushrod and veteran guard Matt Slauson. They re-signed Jonathan Scott. They added center Taylor Boggs, and they discussed moving former first-round pick Gabe Carimi inside to right guard.
The offensive line was an area that had been addressed through free agency leaving many to believe the Bears could go after the best available player on the board, or at least a position of desparatation -- like linebacker.
But the mystery of the Long pick lines up with trends in Emery's tenure in Chicago. He managed to pull off the Brandon Marshall trade with no word leaking out. He shocked many prognosticators when he chose Shea McClellin in the first-round last year. Emery also took a leap when he grabbed Marc Trestman from the Canadian Football League to become the teams next head coach.
And here Emery is picking not only a player who was unexpected, but a position that was unexpected. It's way too early to say if it was a good or bad pick, but as always, Emery shocked us all.
