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LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The Bears on Saturday selected Northwestern defensive end Corey Wootton with the 109th overall pick in the fourth round of the draft.

The 6-6, 270-pounder registered 21 tackles, six tackles-for-loss and four sacks last season while playing in 13 games with 11 starts. Wootton suffered a torn ACL, MCL and meniscus in his right knee in the Alamo Bowl December 2008 and didn’t show the same explosiveness as a senior.

“This is a value pick for us,” said Greg Gabriel, the Bears’ director of college scouting. “We had him going into the year as a very highly rated player. I don’t think he played as well. He’s coming off knee surgery he had in January of 2009. He wasn’t 100 percent when he played [last] year.

“This guy was thought of very highly by everybody, not only in our organization but around the league going into the season. He fell because of injury, but he’s a good player.”

Before sustaining the knee injury, Wootton was enjoying a breakout 2008 season. A unanimous All-Big Ten Conference first-team selection, he registered 42 tackles and 10 sacks. Wootton also blocked a kick for the third year in a row and recorded the fourth interception of his career.

“He’s got a lot of talent, he’s got great flexibility,” Gabriel said. “He ran about two weeks ago. His 40-time wasn’t real good, but everything else was pretty good. He ran in the 4.9s, but we don’t think he’s back to 100 percent yet. We think by training camp he will be.

“He probably rushed his rehab. I’m not speaking for him, but this is what we think. When our medical people looked at him, the knee is sound. He had a very good surgery. We know who did the surgery. He took good care of himself, but he came back and played like 7-8 months after surgery, and that’s hard to do after ACL surgery.

“So I think that probably hindered his rehab a little bit in that he was playing on it so soon, so he wasn’t quite as explosive. If you look at his tape from ’09 and then you look at the tape from ’08, there’s a difference in the athleticism. But part that of that is with ACL surgery it’s usually a year, 17 months, so it’s right around now he should be coming into full form.”

Wootton estimated that he is currently 90-95 percent healthy.

“My 40 time wasn’t that good, but my 10-yard split was pretty good, a 1.66, which was pretty similar to most of the guys who run in the 4.6s and 4.7s,” Wootton said. “My first 10 is there and I still have some room to improve in my explosiveness that I definitely will have back by training camp. I am excited for the opportunity and can’t wait for training camp.”

Getting back on the field for his senior season wasn’t easy for Wootton given the severity of his injury.

“It was very tough,” he said. “I just didn’t have the leg strength. I didn’t really get an offseason of strength training; just doing basic rehab stuff and go onto the field.

“It was definitely a tough year and it made me appreciate the game that much more. It made me a better film studier [and try to get] every advantage I could have off the field to perform at a high level because I didn’t have the same burst I had back in 2008.”

Having played just up the road in Evanston, Wootton is very familiar with Bears players and coaches.

“It’s a program I wanted to play for and I’ve been lucky enough to be drafted by them,” Wootton said. “I definitely think it’s a good fit for me and I can’t wait until minicamp.”