Holt Or No Holt The Bears Need To Draft A Receiver

It was a week ago today that the very foundation of Chicago Bears football shook sending fans toppling over in shock in the process.  That was when the news broke that the Bears had done the unthinkable and traded Kyle Orton and a gaggle of draft picks to the Denver Broncos for Jay Cutler.  Ever since there's been an undeniable optimism around Halas Hall and within the hearts of Bears fans that maybe the 2009 season won't be as horrible as expected.

Still, there's one tiny little problem the Bears have.  Sure, they now have their franchise quarterback in Cutler, but there's still the question of whom exactly our savior is going to throw the ball to.  Now there have been all sorts of suggestions for the Bears.

Newly signed left tackle Orlando Pace is lobbying for his former teammate in St. Louis Torry Holt to make the trip up I-55 and join him on the Bears, and some even think that the Bears should give Plaxico Burress a shot.  It seems that the team's gun cabinet has gotten a little dusty since Tank Johnson left town, and the team needs somebody to fill it.

At the very least having Burress in town will give Olin Kruetz a new friend to take to the shooting range with him.  Let's just hope Plaxico doesn't shoot himself again while he's there.

If the Bears are to go the free agent route, and they should, Holt would probably be the better option not because he's a better football player than Burress, but because the team can be more confident that Holt won't shoot Cutler should he miss him on a corner route in the end zone.

It should be pointed out, however, that the draft has plenty of options as well and the Bears should utilize that.  Sure, the Bears don't have many draft picks available to them anymore, but there's word that the team is now considering moving up in the draft to get Ohio State's Brian Robiskie.  Robiskie would be a nice pick up but it's not likely he'll fall to the Bears in the second round as the word is the New York Giants have their eyes on him as a replacement for Burress.

Still, the Bears really do need to use a draft pick on a receiver.  They can sign Holt if they like, but 32-year old receivers on the downside of their careers aren't long-term answers.  If they can't get Robiskie then there are plenty of other options like North Carolina's Hakeem Nicks and Georgia's Mohamed Massaquoi.  Both are big targets for Cutler, and though neither will probably be ready to be big contributors this season, with a veteran like Holt in the fold, they don't have to be.

Along with writing for NBCCHICAGO.com, Tom Fornelli can also be found contributing at FanHouse, SPORTSbyBROOKS, and his own Chicago sports blog Foul Balls.