LAKE FOREST, Ill. – In his latest mock draft released Thursday, NFL.com senior writer Steve Wyche predicts that the Bears will select Tennessee defensive end Robert Ayers with the 18th pick in the first round.

Robert Ayers was named the defensive player of the game in the Senior Bowl.

“Ayers is physically impressive and could re-start the process of adding playmaking athletes to the defensive line,” Wyche writes. “Chicago’s linebackers need someone to steer attention elsewhere and Ayers could help.”

The five players that Wyche predicts will be selected before the Bears are USC linebacker Brian Cushing (13th by the Redskins), LSU defensive end Tyson Jackson (14th by the Saints), Penn State defensive end Aaron Maybin (15th by the Texans), USC linebacker Ray Maualuga (16th by the Chargers) and Kansas State quarterback Josh Freeman (17th by the Jets).

Players still on the board at No. 18 in Wyche’s mock draft include offensive tackles Eben Britton of Arizona and Michael Oher of Mississippi; and wide receivers Kenny Britt of Rutgers, Percy Harvin of Florida, Darrius Heyward-Bey of Maryland and Hakeem Nicks of North Carolina.

In an unscientific sampling of 10 other online mock drafts that were updated within the past two days, eight different players are projected as going to the Bears at No. 18.

Heyward-Bey appears in three of the mock drafts, while the other seven predict that Chicago will select Harvin, Nicks, Ayers, Connecticut tackle William Beatty, Northern Illinois defensive end Larry English, Ohio State defensive back Malcolm Jenkins and Missouri receiver Jeremy Maclin.