So far, Hatley, Crowton like what they see from RB Murphy

The Bears surprised some people_and disappointed some of theirfans_by waiting until the sixth round of the draft to take a runningback. But they like what they got in Kansas State's Frank Murphy.

"He might prove me wrong, but he might have been one of the mostunderrated backs in the whole draft," vice president of playerpersonnel Mark Hatley said Saturday.

It's hard to make judgments in minicamp, but the 6-foot, 206-pound Murphy already has made an impression.

"You just notice (him)," offensive coordinator Gary Crowton said."Just sitting there, (you're like), `Wow. Who's that?'

"My preliminary thought on him is that he's what we thought hewas. He has quickness and the ability to make people miss. He's gotvery good hands. He's fast. What we have to see is how fast he learnsthe offense. Can he protect the quarterback? It's hard to have a guyback there who can only do certain things without being able toprotect."

If Murphy makes the team, Hatley won't have to hear about how hepassed up running backs early in the draft.

"It would have been interesting if (Virginia's Thomas) Jones wasthere at the ninth pick," Hatley said. "We probably would have donethat. In the second and third rounds, there wasn't a running back wefelt we should take."

PERRY IN? Free-agent guard Todd Perry might re-sign with the Bearsthis week, director of business operations Jim Miller said.

"I think we'll get something done," said Miller, who spoke withPerry's agent, Howard Busch, on Friday.

Rex Tucker and Jerry Wisne have replaced Perry in minicamp, butthe Bears would prefer for Perry to start, Tucker to back him up andWisne to stay at tackle.

THE LITTLE GUY: The fastest player on the Bears is 5-6, 164-poundwide receiver Corey Bridges, a free agent who ran the 40-yard dash infaster than 4.3 seconds at a workout in South Carolina before thedraft.

Bridges played for the Minnesota Vikings in 1998, then went to theCleveland Browns in the expansion draft last year before being cut.

"He was like a bullet coming down there," Hatley said of Bridges'workout. "There was no doubt he was a world-class sprinter. He'ssmall, but there's a place for him in our offense. He can give yousome big plays."

OUCH: Wide receiver Eddie Kennison sat out the afternoon practicewith sore hamstrings.