2025 Bears Offseason Thread

[NorthsideAvenger]

15 minutes ago, mul21 said:

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.  

Both scream RAS picks to me. 

[jersey cubs fan]

I assume those guys are destined for special teams duty as rookies 

[Irrelevant Dude]

Speaking of RB's, whatever happened to the guy from Hard Knocks who tore his ACL and then went home to become a doctor or something?  Is he still part of the organization and will he be in camp again this year?

[jersey cubs fan]

4 minutes ago, Irrelevant Dude said:

Speaking of RB's, whatever happened to the guy from Hard Knocks who tore his ACL and then went home to become a doctor or something?  Is he still part of the organization and will he be in camp again this year?

Wasn’t that Ian Wheeler? He’s still around after spending season on IR. 

[Hot Sauce]

33 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

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.

The line has since been revamped and Eberflus can no longer handicap the team with his awful play calling. Swift deserves a mulligan for last season.

[NorthsideAvenger]

11 minutes ago, Hot Sauce said:

The line has since been revamped and Eberflus can no longer handicap the team with his awful play calling. Swift deserves a mulligan for last season.

OTOH Ben Johnson got rid of Swift when they were in Detroit. 

[Hot Sauce]

1 minute ago, NorthsideAvenger said:

OTOH Ben Johnson got rid of Swift when they were in Detroit. 

That took me by surprise at the time. He was productive there and in my opinion a bit under utilized. 

[gflore34]

42 minutes ago, Irrelevant Dude said:

Speaking of RB's, whatever happened to the guy from Hard Knocks who tore his ACL and then went home to become a doctor or something?  Is he still part of the organization and will he be in camp again this year?

Ian Wheeler, he listed on the roster at the NFL' site.

[raw]

My thoughts on Days 2 & 3 of the draft.

The Bears arguably got TE1 and WR1 in this draft, depending on who you ask (and what Travis Hunter plays). So I can't complain about the value of Luther Burden III. But my concern with LB3 is the fit. He's a similar player to DJ Moore. And while having 2 DJs isn't a bad thing, I just wonder how they use both. Hopefully, the plan is to use Burden as more of the way they used DJ last year and use DJ like an actual WR, basically taking over Keenan's Allen role from last year......which brings me to my other "fit" issue. 

I know, new offense and all, and actually a real offensive coach that knows what he's doing. But the Bears kind of had too many mouths to feed last year. They lost Allen, but they added Burden and Loveland. Now TEs usually come along slowly, and a rookie WR can be brought along slowly as well. But the Bears have Burden, Loveland, Kmet, DJ, and Rome for at least 2 years, and that's if they cut/trade Kmet or cut/trade DJ after 2026. The RB will also catch a bunch of passes. Not that weapons are a bad thing, I just wonder about the return on investment with 2 guys getting big pay and 3 more top 40 picks. 

Not a big fan of Ozzy Trapilo. OL depth was needed, but he's a guy that's strictly a tackle. He played mostly RT, but can play LT. Wright could also play LT going forward. But I feel like when you missed out on all the Day OTs, the value wasn't there at OT. You aren't getting a guy you feel confident about throwing in there in 2026 if Braxton walks. And you already picked a Day 2 OT last year as depth. Trapilo was called the "most pro ready" tackle by OL guru, Brandon Thorn, but IDK if A) you want him playing this year, B) you want to shuffle the OL by moving Wright to LT if he gets hurt. 
 

Stewart- solid player, bit of a tweener. Sounds like the Bears are going to play him all over the DL. I wish they'd just play guys at 1 position and let them get reps there. I'd prefer he just play 3T, as he has some quickness. But he's 290-300, if you want him to play edge, he's going to have to slim down, which meh.

I do like the CB they got in Frazier. Been wanting the Bears to get in on the big, freak CBs. And he's 6'3 and runs a 4.3. Like him as a project and as depth. Hyppolite and the Mich St guard are guys I don't know. Hyppolite ran a 4.4 at 240 or whatever, so that's good. IDK if he can play football though. Newman adds another "body" to the interior that has Ryan Bates as the only depth you won't dread seeing come on the field....and he hasn't been on the field much in 2 years. Wish they would have gone position flex on the OL and not on the DL. 

Kyle Monangai is a solid pick. One of the most underrated guys in this draft. Tough-nose, hard to tackle, and I don't believe he ever had a college fumble.

I still think you need a RB. Roschon isn't great. Swift still looks to be in line to take 75% of the carries, which IDK that Ben wants. 

[We Got The Whole 9]

Did Burden get DJ'd last season? Yardage cut in half, YPC down 30%. 

[mul21]

1 minute ago, We Got The Whole 9 said:

Did Burden get DJ'd last season? Yardage cut in half, YPC down 30%. 

QB was hurt a lot and other teams rolled all their coverage to him so the guy on the other side saw a lot of targets and is now a Miami Dolphin.

[Hot Sauce]

I have watched LBIII since his days at ESTL. Mizzou didn't fully utilize his potential. He'll be a dawg in Chicago. 

[jersey cubs fan]

1 hour ago, raw said:

My thoughts on Days 2 & 3 of the draft.

The Bears arguably got TE1 and WR1 in this draft, depending on who you ask (and what Travis Hunter plays). So I can't complain about the value of Luther Burden III. But my concern with LB3 is the fit. He's a similar player to DJ Moore. And while having 2 DJs isn't a bad thing, I just wonder how they use both. Hopefully, the plan is to use Burden as more of the way they used DJ last year and use DJ like an actual WR, basically taking over Keenan's Allen role from last year......which brings me to my other "fit" issue. 

I know, new offense and all, and actually a real offensive coach that knows what he's doing. But the Bears kind of had too many mouths to feed last year. They lost Allen, but they added Burden and Loveland. Now TEs usually come along slowly, and a rookie WR can be brought along slowly as well. But the Bears have Burden, Loveland, Kmet, DJ, and Rome for at least 2 years, and that's if they cut/trade Kmet or cut/trade DJ after 2026. The RB will also catch a bunch of passes. Not that weapons are a bad thing, I just wonder about the return on investment with 2 guys getting big pay and 3 more top 40 picks. 

Not a big fan of Ozzy Trapilo. OL depth was needed, but he's a guy that's strictly a tackle. He played mostly RT, but can play LT. Wright could also play LT going forward. But I feel like when you missed out on all the Day OTs, the value wasn't there at OT. You aren't getting a guy you feel confident about throwing in there in 2026 if Braxton walks. And you already picked a Day 2 OT last year as depth. Trapilo was called the "most pro ready" tackle by OL guru, Brandon Thorn, but IDK if A) you want him playing this year, B) you want to shuffle the OL by moving Wright to LT if he gets hurt. 
 

Stewart- solid player, bit of a tweener. Sounds like the Bears are going to play him all over the DL. I wish they'd just play guys at 1 position and let them get reps there. I'd prefer he just play 3T, as he has some quickness. But he's 290-300, if you want him to play edge, he's going to have to slim down, which meh.

I do like the CB they got in Frazier. Been wanting the Bears to get in on the big, freak CBs. And he's 6'3 and runs a 4.3. Like him as a project and as depth. Hyppolite and the Mich St guard are guys I don't know. Hyppolite ran a 4.4 at 240 or whatever, so that's good. IDK if he can play football though. Newman adds another "body" to the interior that has Ryan Bates as the only depth you won't dread seeing come on the field....and he hasn't been on the field much in 2 years. Wish they would have gone position flex on the OL and not on the DL. 

Kyle Monangai is a solid pick. One of the most underrated guys in this draft. Tough-nose, hard to tackle, and I don't believe he ever had a college fumble.

I still think you need a RB. Roschon isn't great. Swift still looks to be in line to take 75% of the carries, which IDK that Ben wants. 

I don’t necessarily agree about too many mouths to feed. 
 

last year Detroit had 6 guys with more than 30 targets, but only 1 over 100.

The bears had 5 guys over 30 and 3 of them over 100. Swap out Keenan with Burden (getting maybe 80 instead of 121) and slot in Loveland and you get 6 guys likely to get more than 30 targets. Roughly two per game as a baseline with most of them getting 3 or more. They’ll be fine. 
 

I think this lines them up to work with Williams second contract status. When he gets there, only two of the three receivers and one of the TE is likely to still be here.

[Soul]

2 hours ago, raw said:

Kyle Monangai is a solid pick. One of the most underrated guys in this draft. Tough-nose, hard to tackle, and I don't believe he ever had a college fumble.

He never fumbled a single time in college.  His #s steadily improved each year, and he wound up leading the B1G in yardage in 2023, then put up similar #’s in 2024.  This was with Rutgers.  He’s got to have something going for him to overcome what was going on around him.  Maybe he flew under the radar to an extent because of where he played.

He’s 7th round, I’d say given where he was picked it’s a solid selection regardless of what happens.

[We Got The Whole 9]

According to RAS, Poles walked out of the room before they made that Monangai pick

[raw]

36 minutes ago, jersey cubs fan said:

I don’t necessarily agree about too many mouths to feed. 
 

last year Detroit had 6 guys with more than 30 targets, but only 1 over 100.

The bears had 5 guys over 30 and 3 of them over 100. Swap out Keenan with Burden (getting maybe 80 instead of 121) and slot in Loveland and you get 6 guys likely to get more than 30 targets. Roughly two per game as a baseline with most of them getting 3 or more. They’ll be fine. 
 

I think this lines them up to work with Williams second contract status. When he gets there, only two of the three receivers and one of the TE is likely to still be here.

I mean, it's not too many mouths to feed per se. The issue is you have the 8th highest paid TE, a 27.5M AAV WR, a top 10 pick at WR and TE, and then another top 40 pick at WR along with the RB position. 

My concern isn't even necessarily guys complaining about lack of targets. But if you have guys getting 30-40 as the 5th/6th option that have that high of an investment made into them.....are you really getting the most bang for your buck? 

Granted, this probably won't be a super long-term thing as I'd imagine Kmet (at least) isn't long for 

[UMFan83]

Dont know how I feel about this if it happens and it's the Bears.  You can partially discount his performance last year coming off a torn ACL, but he's also 29.  He was a monster before the injury though...just don't want to commit too much in terms of a contract for him in case he's just washed.

 

 

[NorthsideAvenger]

2 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

Dont know how I feel about this if it happens and it's the Bears.  You can partially discount his performance last year coming off a torn ACL, but he's also 29.  He was a monster before the injury though...just don't want to commit too much in terms of a contract for him in case he's just washed.

 

 

Detroit is a hard no. GB has Jacobs and 2024 draft pick Marshawn Lloyd. Minnesota, I believe traded for a backup runner to Aaron Jones, so they are a doutful. Ben Johnson does not seem to be a fan of Swift, given that he got rid of him when they were in Detroit. 

Yeah, it's either the Bears or Packers for Chubb, if this report is true. 

[Tryptamine]

13 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

Dont know how I feel about this if it happens and it's the Bears.  You can partially discount his performance last year coming off a torn ACL, but he's also 29.  He was a monster before the injury though...just don't want to commit too much in terms of a contract for him in case he's just washed.

 

 

Probably the best option of a bad situation. The Bears almost assuredly got quadruple sniped on RB during the draft so here we are. 

[We Got The Whole 9]

It has to be the Bears and the idea has been on my mind for a few weeks now. He is absolutely worth the risk IMO. They aren't strapped for cap and none of the backs on the squad inspire much confidence as pure running backs, although it is a position where unlikely players make names for theirselves quite often. 

[Soul]

1 hour ago, We Got The Whole 9 said:

It has to be the Bears and the idea has been on my mind for a few weeks now. He is absolutely worth the risk IMO. They aren't strapped for cap and none of the backs on the squad inspire much confidence as pure running backs, although it is a position where unlikely players make names for theirselves quite often. 

Yeah, I’m for it provided it’s not an insane $$$/years.

[gflore34]

2 hours ago, Soul said:

Yeah, I’m for it provided it’s not an insane $$$/years.

Me too, need something out of the running game if Caleb' going to cook.

[BigbadB]

12 hours ago, Soul said:

Yeah, I’m for it provided it’s not an insane $$$/years.

That shouldn't be a problem since it would take reworking someone's contract to make a big signing fit the cap. I don't think Chubb can be asking for the moon since he was pretty blah last year. Cleveland actually benched him in favor of Ford a lot more than expected. I will say another offseason workout program should make his repaired knee stronger. The guy has been one of the best when he's healthy, so I'm on board if it is the Bears kicking the tires. Just don't kick his tires too hard.

[jersey cubs fan]

1 hour ago, BigbadB said:

. The guy has been one of the best when he's healthy, so I'm on board if it is the Bears kicking the tires. Just don't kick his tires too hard.

With your bad knees Ed you shouldn’t be kicking any tires 

[We Got The Whole 9]

I imagine Chubb would be like 1/6-8 with incentives