There is a buzz around the league that Bears general manager Jerry Angelo might consider doing something he only has done once previously in his regime: trade up in the draft.

The Bears are in need of a safety and when coach Lovie Smith appeared at the South Florida pro day Tuesday, speculation immediately was fueled that he was there to get a close look at the Bulls' Nate Allen. Smith doesn't hit the road often in the spring looking at draft prospects and when he does, the Bears aren't sending up smoke signals.

It was Smith who proclaimed at the scouting combine that the Bears needed to "invest" more in the safety position. There simply are not any legitimate upgrades on the open market. O.J. Atogwe is a restricted free agent in St. Louis and the Rams are working to sign him to a long-term extension. So, logic would dictate the Bears need to "invest" more in the draft in a safety instead of taking their usual approach and throwing a late-round draft pick at the position.

Nolan Nawrocki, the draft analyst for Pro Football Weekly, said on a teleconference Wednesday that four safeties could go in the first round. Tennessee's Eric Berry projects to be gone sometime between No. 5 and No. 10 overall. Georgia Tech's Morgan Burnett is climbing draft boards quickly and USC's Taylor Mays and Texas' Earl Thomas also are in the mix. Nawrocki also wouldn't rule out Allen as a possibility to sneak into the end of the first round, which likely would put him out of reach for the Bears, who lack first- and second-round picks and don't have a selection until No. 75 in the third round.

For the Bears to trade up into the second round, it likely would take their second-round pick in 2011 and more.

Can we trade Smith and Martz for players?