CHICAGO _ Certainly Bears defensive end Akiem Hicks is in the minority in Chicago, a football-minded grinder in a football-crazed city with little to no interest in the upcoming NFL draft. Asked Tuesday afternoon whether he at least takes a glance at the ubiquitous prognostications of whom the Bears might select with the No. 8 pick, Hicks shook his head.
"I hate the draft," he said. "Somebody coming to replace me? No. I haven't watched the draft since I was in it (in 2012). Let's put it that way."
So no thoughts, Akiem, on what the Bears can add in the draft to enliven the defense?
"I don't like the draft, dude" Hicks reiterated. "I always like to see the same faces. I'm superstitious, but I also like things to stay the same to an extent. I like to see the same faces and have that camaraderie already built up."
That led one local reporter to jokingly suggest an attention-grabbing headline: "Complacent Akiem Hicks prefers no upgrades for Bears defense."
Kidding aside, Hicks and his defensive mates should expect reinforcement in the coming days. And it might come as early as Thursday night's first round, when general manager Ryan Pace will have a golden opportunity to make coordinator Vic Fangio a very happy man.
With a real possibility that up to a half-dozen offensive players will be scooped up before the Bears go on the clock at No. 8, the big board at Halas Hall should offer an extensive menu of defensive playmakers from which to choose.
That's terrific news for Pace. Even with all the positive feelings coming out of Lake Forest about the direction of Fangio's defense, one inescapable fact remains: The Bears don't have a single defensive player who has ever been named to a Pro Bowl.
Game changers are needed. So for now, in the home stretch of the exhaustive pre-draft process, the Bears have a license to imagine for a few more days, to dream about a number of supremely talented prospects who could further catalyze their defensive resurgence.
