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ESPNChicago.com kicks off its countdown to the April 25-27 NFL draft with a look back at last year's draft class. Check back each day leading up to the draft for a positional preview of all the draft prospects.

The Chicago Bears muddied the draft picture for outsiders with the moves they made in free agency, but that certainly added flexibility for what the club can now do with the 20th overall pick.

So as we prepare to get into that subject in preparing to kick off coverage of the 2013 NFL draft, let's take a look at how the team fared in 2012 with its six draft picks. Often immediately after a selection is made, reporters -- having not seen any of the prospects play a single down in the NFL -- submit overly positive or negative grades.

Well, we've now had an entire season to make an evaluation, and here's what we think:

Shea McClellin, DE, Boise State

Round: 1 Pick: 19 (Overall: 19)

What we said after the draft: General manager Phil Emery raved about McClellin's natural instincts, and functional athleticism, which should translate well as an NFL pass rusher. His physical attributes don't necessarily jump off the charts, but he plays better than workout testing would indicate. Drafting McClellin over Whitney Mercilus and Chandler Jones says a lot Chicago's belief in his ability opposite Julius Peppers.
Initial grade: B+

What we say now: First, the bad. McClellin struggled early on at training camp, and never cracked the starting lineup as a rookie. Sure, he was a rookie. But shouldn't a team's first-round pick be an immediate starter and impact player? McClellin wasn't either of those, but that's not to say he didn't produce a solid rookie campaign. He played in 14 games with 2.5 sacks and seven tackles, and after the season, Emery discussed metrics that would indicate McClellin was an impact player. The problem was he didn't make enough of an impact. Right now, this looks like an Emery single. This team needs home runs with the first-round picks.

Current grade: C

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BOURBONNAIS, Ill. -- The rotation at left tackle remained the same Sunday with J'Marcus Webb taking the bulk of repetitions at left tackle and Chris Williams backing up Gabe Carimi at right tackle.

It appears the Chicago Bears plan to go into Thursday’s preseason opener against the Denver Broncos with Webb in the starting lineup. That’s expected, considering offensive coordinator Mike Tice has said Webb would receive the first shot at the job by virtue of the fact he finished 2011 as the starter.

Here are some more quick-hitting observations from Sunday’s practice at Olivet Nazarene University:

Rookie Alshon Jeffery made the most acrobatic catch of the session when he reached over the back of cornerback Tim Jennings to make a leaping one-handed grab.

Rookie Evan Rodriguez took snaps with the starters during team when the Bears operated out of a double tight end formation that also featured Matt Spaeth.

Second-year veteran Chris Conte made a leaping interception on a pass from Jay Cutler intended for Brandon Marshall. The shotgun snap rolled on the ground before reaching Cutler, who rushed out the throw.

Rookie Isaiah Frey tipped a pass from Josh McCown to Terriun Crump before coming down with the interception.

Undrafted rookie Brittan Golden repped with the second team Sunday because of an injury to Earl Bennett and Devin Thomas' retirement announcement, and made several clutch catches. After practice Golden continued to work on the field with fellow rookies Joe Anderson, Chris Summers and quarterback Matt Blanchard.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Bears agreed to terms on a four-year contract with 2012 sixth-round draft choice cornerback Isaiah Frey, the club announced Wednesday.

Frey was a first-team all-WAC selection for Nevada his senior year, when he had a team-high five interceptions and broke up 21 passes. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound defensive back appeared in 51 games for the Wolfpack from 2008 to '11, and finished his career with 141 tackles, seven interceptions, 38 passes broken up and two forced fumbles.

There is expected to be competition to make the roster at the cornerback position after the club signed veterans Kelvin Hayden and Jonathan Wilhite in free agency, then drafted Frey and Greg McCoy (seventh round) at the end of April. Last year’s starter Tim Jennings was re-signed after fellow cornerbacks Corey Graham and Zack Bowman departed via free agency.

Frey is now the fourth member of the 2012 Bears draft class to agree to a deal, joining second-round pick Alshon Jeffery, fourth-round selection Evan Rodriguez and McCoy, a seventh-round choice out of TCU.

The Bears will conduct their annual rookie minicamp May 11-13 at Halas Hall.