2025 Bears Offseason Thread

[Wilson A2000]

An all-time great trade by Poles

Edited April 27, 2025 by Wilson A2000

[gflore34]

There's no rule against Swift and even Roschon Johnson being more effective with, what's on paper, an improved offensive line.  I firmly believe every RB the Bears had targeted was picked just before their pick and Monangai was like plan Z, there's Ian Wheeler as well.  While not ideal, something good could arise, main point is will any of these RB's be effective enough to open up the passing game?  Will teams, believing Caleb cannot consistently beat them through the air, load up to stuff the run?  I do not believe this year's draft was as terrible as many here believe although, that horsefeathers LB in the 4th was a complete waste, I'll give us that.   The Bears should have taken another edge prospect, I'm certain they could have signed Hyppolite off the street after the draft.  At the very least Poles didn't do something really stupid such as trading up for Jeanty.

Edited April 27, 2025 by gflore34

[Rcal10]

While a C- may have been an overreaction, I still don’t like some of the picks they made. I think the overall grade goes up some because of Loveland and Burden. Those were very good choices. The other guys in rd 2 are ok, but I think they could have probably gotten an OT similar to Trapilo in the 3rd round. (Maybe even him at 72) And I would have rather just taken the edge rusher at 41 instead of Turner when they got him. Really do not like the 4th rd pick at all. I do like the CB they got late. I agree with gflore that guys got picked right before them and that threw the draft off a little. Had Henderson been there at 41 I think they take him. Had Skattebo been there at 109 I think they take him. Things did not fall great for them. I also think Caleb Johnson was an option, but the Bears pick never lined up right to pick him.
As I said, C- might be a bit low, but I don’t think it was much better than average. For those people suggesting all the grade outlets have the Bears, remember most outlets don’t score much worse than B-. USA Today ranked the bears at B- and 21st best draft. In my world 21st out of 32 is not B-. 

Edited April 27, 2025 by Rcal10

[BigbadB]

40 minutes ago, gflore34 said:

There's no rule against Swift and even Roschon Johnson being more effective with, what's on paper, an improved offensive line.  I firmly believe every RB the Bears had targeted was picked just before their pick and Monangai was like plan Z, there's Ian Wheeler as well.  While not ideal, something good could arise, main point is will any of these RB's be effective enough to open up the passing game?  Will teams, believing Caleb cannot consistently beat them through the air, load up to stuff the run?  I do not believe this year's draft was as terrible as many here believe although, that horsefeathers LB in the 4th was a complete waste, I'll give us that.   The Bears should have taken another edge prospect, I'm certain they could have signed Hyppolite off the street after the draft.  At the very least Poles didn't do something really stupid such as trading up for Jeanty.

I'm not going to call any of their picks "guys off the street". Dennis Allen may have wanted a speedy LB that can run with a TE in 3rd down sets. He will likely be dynamic in Special Teams. His speed is off the charts for a LB. Just about any warm body might be as good as Edmunds has been. And maybe Edmunds could use some plays off. I think I saw that Edmunds played every down in 14 of the 17 games played.

Curious if Shemar Turner can move around on the DL. His bio mentions that he has lined up at DE at times. His quickness/power could create mismatches 

[minnesotacubsfan]

Major Burns is quite the name

 

[BigbadB]

5 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

While a C- may have been an overreaction, I still don’t like some of the picks they made. I think the overall grade goes up some because of Loveland and Burden. Those were very good choices. The other guys in rd 2 are ok, but I think they could have probably gotten an OT similar to BC OT they took at 56 in the 3rd round. (Maybe even him at 72) And I would have rather just taken the edge rusher at 41 instead of Turner when they got him. Really do not like the 4th rd pick at all. I do like the CB they got late. I agree with gflore that guys got picked right before them and that threw the draft off a little. Had Henderson been there at 41 I think they take him. Had Skattebo been there at 109 I think they take him. Things did not fall great for them. As I said, C- might be a bit low, but I don’t think it was much better than average. For those people suggesting all the grade outlets have the Bears, remember most outlets don’t score much worse than B-. USA Today ranked the bears at B- and 21st best draft. In my world 21st out of 32 is not B-. 

Kiper rated the Bears the 7th best draft and really only dinged them on missing out on a DE.

[BigbadB]

1 minute ago, minnesotacubsfan said:

Major Burns is quite the name

 

I had to look him up to see if his middle name was Frank. It is not.

[Rcal10]

39 minutes ago, BigbadB said:

Kiper rated the Bears the 7th best draft and really only dinged them on missing out on a DE.

I feel what Kiper thinks used to mean more than it does now. But glad he had them 7th. Maybe if you factor in they also got a 4th rd pick for next year the draft is a little better. But with Kiper at 7 and USA Today at 21 that puts the average at 14. Which is basically an average draft, or a C. Regardless of the rating, I don’t think it fell how they had hoped. I think Burden was a pick they couldn’t pass on, but not a need. I don’t think they expected that. I like the first 2 picks and then the CB they picked. I think he was great value there. Other than that, aside from their 4th rd pick, which is bad, the other picks were meh to me.
Has they gotten a RB somewhere between the 2nd and 4th round and maybe a edge rusher there too, I would have felt better. I think they wasted a pick in rd 4. 🤷

[Wilson A2000]

1 hour ago, BigbadB said:

Kiper rated the Bears the 7th best draft and really only dinged them on missing out on a DE.

That’s good to hear, but DE was a glaring weakness

[gflore34]

Does anyone know about the kicker they signed?  Does he have a big leg?  Would really be great if the Bears found or can find an accurate kicker with a big leg.

[NorthsideAvenger]

1 hour ago, BigbadB said:

I had to look him up to see if his middle name was Frank. It is not.

"Individuality is fine, as long as we all do it together."

[tfarks]

I think Rcal is pretty accurate there. Perhaps they would have even tried a small trade-up over the Pats if Burden wasn't also on the board. I imagine they had pretty high % sim chances of their RB's falling to them in the 2nd and the 4th but that's how the draft goes, and they pivoted, which I liked what they did in the 2nd and not so much the 4th. Their offensive weapons have been upgraded in a serious way (in theory a better blocking LaPorta and a Deebo/Percy Harvin type), and it now feels like they have the skill guys necessary to run a dynamic Ben Johnson offense. 

I can understand people not being all that excited about Shemar Turner, but he can play edge in a Dennis Allen defense if they wanted him to, there's real upside to him and his versatility. But OL always gets drafted high, so I liked the value with the Trapilo pick, and I think it's being underestimated overall. Poles is a big 10 yard split threshold guy for o-line, and a 6'8" giant meeting that is rare, and his pass blocking could become elite. There is question marks/projection, but they are finally building a real NFL offensive line room that doesn't crater with injuries, as other NFL teams can seemingly do while the Bears never can. There's always more work to do, of course. 

[Ding Dong Johnson]

5 hours ago, jersey cubs fan said:

A long snapper from Iowa must have a lot of experience 

Hey, they have an offense now! But he sure as horsefeathers chucked a lot the 2 years prior.

[Wilson A2000]

2 hours ago, gflore34 said:

Does anyone know about the kicker they signed?  Does he have a big leg?  Would really be great if the Bears found or can find an accurate kicker with a big leg.

3/4 from 50+ last season which is pretty good. Has hit from 58 and 55 in his career. 

[gflore34]

40 minutes ago, Wilson A2000 said:

3/4 from 50+ last season which is pretty good. Has hit from 58 and 55 in his career. 

I'd like a kicker seemingly every other team has, FG of 50+ yards are reasonable, almost chip shots from 53-57, not the guy who has to kick a low line drive from the 34+ yard line.  Ironically, regarding low line drives from distance, the Packers are in the same boat with their kicking situation.  Hell, the Lions found someone from UFL why can't the Bears?

Edited April 27, 2025 by gflore34

[jersey cubs fan]

2 hours ago, gflore34 said:

Does anyone know about the kicker they signed?  Does he have a big leg?  Would really be great if the Bears found or can find an accurate kicker with a big leg.

He was rated as an UDFA and signed as one. The blurbs I’ve read suggest he may have a slightly stronger leg than Santos but it’s more about competition than upgrade. 

[gflore34]

29 minutes ago, jersey cubs fan said:

He was rated as an UDFA and signed as one. The blurbs I’ve read suggest he may have a slightly stronger leg than Santos but it’s more about competition than upgrade. 

Well, that sucks, an upgrade at kicker would be nice.

[gflore34]

There's hope behind an improved line they'll perform better however, at the moment, the Bears RB of room of Homer, Johnson, Swift, Wheeler and Monangai is depressing. More so when one considers how important the running game is to Ben Johnson' offense.  While I'm fairly confident Caleb' going to bust out, the RB room does give me pause.  As a result we may see the integration of non-RB's into the running game maybe, more than we should.

Edited April 27, 2025 by gflore34

[SpongeWorthy]

if we're in the hunt, i expect poles to shove in for an edge sometime during the season if someone like hendrickson, watt, crosby, etc. is still/becomes available. i think he was trying to get carter and once that fell through he wanted to trade down and get some more dry powder for an in season move.

[jersey cubs fan]

1 hour ago, gflore34 said:

There's hope behind an improved line they'll perform better however, at the moment, the Bears RB of room of Homer, Johnson, Swift, Wheeler and Monangai is depressing. More so when one considers how important the running game is to Ben Johnson' offense.  While I'm fairly confident Caleb' going to bust out, the RB room does give me pause.  As a result we may see the integration of non-RB's into the running game maybe, more than we should.

I’m not impressed with the RBs in the least and never liked the Swift signing but the position is still largely replaceable outside of 5-8 difference makers in the league. The bears room is fine. It’s not going to lose them games. It’s not going to win anything. But that’s fine. 

[SpongeWorthy]

re: santos

with touchbacks coming out to the 35 starting next season id like a big legged boomer too but im more interested in getting the first guy that can consistently land kickoffs in the must return zone with a lot of hang time

[Soul]

“Monangai could prove to be the best value of all these picks.”

—Chad Reuter, NFL.com

[Hot Sauce]

Draft grades hold little significance because, ultimately, we're all just hoping that the players we believe in will succeed despite the fact that none of us truly know how it will play out. A look at past drafts consistently reveals that players who were highly sought after will often bust while those overlooked in the middle round can emerge as stars. Even a draft that receives an A+ grade from the "experts" carries a considerable risk of failing to deliver on most of its selections. 

I started enjoying the draft more when I shifted my focus to supporting the individual success of each player my team selected rather than evaluating talent that I am unqualified to evaluate or getting attached to specific players. It's far less frustrating.  

[mul21]

For yet another opinion that nobody cares about, I liked it overall but the LB and CB picks were puzzling considering they didn't get anyone to rush the passer.  I get that the CB was a great value at that spot but unless they're getting rid of Stevenson, I'm not sure I understand that one at all.  

[Tryptamine]

16 hours ago, jersey cubs fan said:

I’m not impressed with the RBs in the least and never liked the Swift signing but the position is still largely replaceable outside of 5-8 difference makers in the league. The bears room is fine. It’s not going to lose them games. It’s not going to win anything. But that’s fine. 

See I'm not sure this is true. Swift's refusal to just take the yard or two and to try and hit a HR put them in so many 2nd and 12, 2 and 13 situations that it more or less forced them into passing situations.