LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The Bears on Sunday selected Oklahoma wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias with the 99th overall pick in the third round of the NFL Draft.

A four-year contributor and three-year starter, the 6-1, 210-pounder led Sooners receivers in catches and yards each of the past two seasons, catching 68 passes for 907 yards and 5 touchdowns as a junior in 2007 and 74 passes for 1,150 yards and 10 TDs as a senior in 2008.

Wideout Juaquin Iglesias led Oklahoma in receiving each of the past two seasons.

“He’s been the go-to receiver at Oklahoma the last two years,” said Greg Gabriel, the Bears’ director of college scouting. “He’s a good player. He’s going to fit in good here.”

Iglesias possesses excellent quickness, agility and body control. Pro Football Weekly’s 2009 Draft Preview reports that he is “best suited to do the dirty work alongside a burner and work the short passing game in a West Coast offense.”

Iglesias appears to be more prepared to contribute as a rookie than some other draft prospects after working in an NFL-type offense at Oklahoma, where he ranks second on the school’s all-time receiving list with 202 receptions and 2,821 yards. 

“He’s played more in a pro-style offense than a lot of the spreads,” Gabriel said. “He’s quite diversified. He’s run a lot of different routes. He’s a very good player. He’s got great hands. His run after [the catch] ability is outstanding.

“He’s a very sure-handed guy. I think he probably has one of the better pairs of hands in this class of receivers.”

Iglesias is also a talented return specialist, setting Oklahoma records for most kickoff return yards in a career (1,664) and season (826 in 2007). In 2008, he set a Fiesta Bowl record with 195 kickoff return yards, the second-best game total in school history.

Iglesias is a native of Killeen, Texas, the same town that produced Bears defensive tackle Tommie Harris.

The Oklahoma product was extremely happy to get selected by the Bears after hitting it off with receivers coach Darryl Drake during an individual workout in Texas.

“This is where I wanted to go, and I’m just excited about the privilege of playing in the NFL," Iglesias said. "I’m ready to go to work and do everything I can to get on the field and help this team.

“The main thing was that the receivers coach came to Killeen and worked me out and I got a great feel for him and it just seemed like a good fit. He was good to me. He treated me well and we got along together well. The receivers coach really made me feel comfortable, and that’s the main reason why I wanted to go there.”

While he didn’t receive the same publicity at Oklahoma as quarterback Sam Bradford and receiver Malcolm Kelly, Iglesias was a primary contributor with the Sooners.

“Every great team has role players and I definitely think I was one of those role players,” Iglesias said. “I had a big part of the offense. But it was a big program. Other people overshadow other people and that’s just how the game is, and that’s just how it was at Oklahoma. But it was good for me because now I’m a Chicago Bear.”

Iglesias is looking forward to working with new Bears quarterback Jay Cutler.

“I just know that he’s a great quarterback,” Iglesias said. “I know he’s very talented. He has a big arm and that’s really it. I’ve seen him play before. I’ve watched some of his games. I know he’s my teammate and he’s out there to be prepared and get to work. Hopefully it will work out. I think it will.”