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- I miss all of the appeal of Smith-Njigba at 9, don’t see why he would be the guy - The Eagles used firsts on Reagor and Smith (pick 10) back to back, and then traded for AJ Brown with picks 18 and 101 in 2022. The Bengals famously have Chase, Higgins, and Boyd. Many (bad) teams would be happy to call the second best WRs on those teams as the top guy on the depth chart. As far as first division starting NFL WRs go, the Bears have Moore. Mooney’s not an outside guy as far as I can tell but seems alright. Just checked and he finished 2022 hurt. Claypool’s not good and, if there’s still something in the tank then all the merrier - All that said - I might be with anyone saying Robinson as high as 9 to the Bears makes sense. He and Fields would make a badass combo that’s pretty futuristic and Moore’s one of the better deep threats in the league. I’m on the wagon with him being a high priority guy for the Bears The Eagles traded for AJ Brown in part because Reagor was a bust of a pick. I guess you could argue the same with the Bears and the Claypool trade, but they also immediately got rid of Reagor, which is basically what I said they'd have to do with Claypool to make the pick even make sense at 9. The Bengals do have a lot invested in WR, but there was 4 years between the Boyd and Higgins draft picks. Chase was a true generational talent that was a sure top 5 talent in his draft, which JSN is not. But yeah, at this point, you might as well see if Claypool will put in the work this offseason w/ Fields, Moore and Mooney and become what the Bears thought they were trading for and the Steelers thought they were drafting. He's also a good source for a favorable comp pick formula as if he has a good year, he'll sign elsewhere for pretty decent money. They also have Velus too, FWIW. So they can "make due" with what should be a good WR group anyway this year and then go WR early next year, if needed. And they certainly will have the resources to add a WR early, where there is a ton of talent coming out every year.

I’ll keep popping in to say one *should* be the pick at 9 (Quinten Johnston!) I'd venture to say Fields has probably lobbied for JSN at 9. I say go it, weapons, weapons, weapons, can never have enough, while Fields and a terrible OL contributed to his high sack rate. I'm guessing the lack of weapons also played a part most especially after Mooney and Claypool were out. Who'd give a second thought to defending a WR room headed by Saint-Brown, Pringle and Pettis? I wouldn't HATE taking JSN at 9, though it wouldn't be my first choice (or 3rd). He isn't the 9th best talent in this draft, but he's probably close enough to top 15 that it wouldn't be a huge reach. That also seemingly will go for a lot of the players I project to be there at 9, so if the Bears feel a huge conviction to draft him, I'd understand. That being said, that's an awful lot of resources spent on WR. That would mean spending a 1st, giving up the chance at a future 1st to get DJ Moore, the highest possible 2nd, and maybe even an extension for Mooney (not to mention Moore's contract). If they trade Claypool and get a decent return for him, I'd be all for JSN. He is a true slot guy, which they don't have on the roster right now. But the way to go if they go weapons, weapons, weapons is to draft Bijan Robinson who is certainly a top 5 talent in the draft, just plays the most replaceable position on the field. And even then, I'd want to get something for Herbert if that's the case.

I appreciate a GM sticking to his draft board, but you gotta draft for need at some point. Like you can't wait til Day 3 for OL and DL this year. You just can't ignore the positions for 2 free agency rounds and then not pick BPA at a position you clearly need. Everyone says BPA, but BPA is based on need or else you'd have teams with QBs picking QBs all the time, and not just because they are old or A-holes (see Packers x 2).

It's not going to take a miracle to finish out of the bottom 1/3 FFS Goes for Carolina as well. They get 14 games vs. their division, AFC South and NFC North. The playoff teams from last year they face have Tua at QB, Geno at QB, or are the 9-8 Jags and a partially torn down Vikings team.

Yeah, sounds like Poles believes he could have gotten a 2024 FRP from Houston and potentially some additional picks this year. But I think the package from Carolina lessens a decent amount from 1 to 2. And I'm guessing that meant no DJ Moore or possibly no 2025 2nd round pick. The 49ers gave up 2 future 1sts and a future 3rd to move from 12 to 3. And they may have paid a premium with Miami assuming they'd be a playoff team in 2022 (which that picked turned out to be 28th, no chance Carolina's is that late). So, even with a similar deal you're looking at: 9th pick, 2023 3rd from Carolina, 2024 1st from Houston, 2024 1st from Carolina, 2025 1st from Carolina vs 9th pick, 2023 2nd from Carolina, 2024 1st from Carolina, 2025 2nd from Carolina, DJ Moore Of course, the Houston deal could have included another 2023 pick as well. Obviously, that Houston pick next year looks very enticing, but I think it's a huge assumption they would have given up a future 1st. And if they would have, it wouldn't have been much more than that. So basically, it comes down to DJ Moore and 2025 1st for a 2024 1st and a 2025 2nd + the proverbial "bird in the hand". Houston could have changed their minds. Carolina could have changed there's or the package. It's obviously a fine deal, which I'm sure Bears fans will completely be rational about when reading the article.

Wow. Pretty sad to see the most improvement in the league on paper, and still only a 6-win team. That'd be good for another top 10 pick.

I was wondering this throughout the Big Ten Tournament. I don't get it. Oh man, thank you! I thought it was just me being bitter because he beat IU both times this year, but he does this ALL the time, including last night. He got called for putting his hip into a defender trailing his guy on a handoff look, but he could get called almost every play. I noticed a bunch of other guys using the off arm to push also, and it was never called, so I guess....more power to them to use it.

Should be a good short yardage back. Herbert isn't special there. And could carry the load if Herbert is hurt. It's a very role specific RB room now. That comes with disadvantages, but the roles that are covered are all pretty strong I think. Has it's advantages and disadvantages for sure. I think they'll be about as even a split as they come in terms of carries, assuming both are healthy. They are almost the exact same type of runner, except Foreman is bigger and breaks more tackles. I think if one wants to get the bulk of the work, he'd better be with a JUGS machine and a blocking sled all offseason.

And that’s by choice so the people that made the choice should be held accountable. They have an outside chance of being a dangerous offense with a variety of weapons. It seems like the goal is to overwhelm the opposition with competent skill position guys. You won’t win 12 games that way, but you can compete in every game. 4 top 64 picks should net you 4 starters. It won’t, but it should. There may be 4 starters, but they may not be 4 good starters. Getting homegrown starters hasn't been the Bears issue. Getting 4 good players out of that will not happen, especially in the 2023 season.

I think that ship has sailed. Maybe he could have done that role when he was younger. In fact, that's what he did at Georgia. But nowadays, I think you just put his hand in the dirt and leave him there. He's shown to be good enough at the POA to hold up in the run game, despite being undersized, though he has only (I think) played in 3-4s.

I don't want Clowney, but I'm cool with those others guys. I'd also throw in Yannick Ngaouke if he hasn't signed anywhere today. He and Ingram are pass rush only guys at this point. Floyd has all around game, but not sure if he'd come back here. Sounded like Poles was done with interior OL based on the press conference today, but I'd cut Whitehair and bring him in without thinking twice. Seumalo has play C before at least in college.

Billings is a good add. Probably cheaper than A'Shawn Robinson who I wanted to add. A true 1-tech NT Still need a true 3-tech, but Walker will be there a bunch. An early draft pick and Justin Jones and the DT group is probably bottom 10, maybe bottom half in the league instead of the actual bottom like last year.

Whitehair was a borderline disaster snapping. Not a ton of bad snaps per se, but there would be plenty bad ones. But there were also complaints about the way he snaps as well. Can't remember what it quite was, but I know they tried to coach it out of him.

I don't see Skoronski as a fit. Short arms, and I think he's a guard, which seemingly is covered by Davis, Jenkins, Whitehair, and Carter all being on the roster still. Jenkins could move back to OT, but he doesn't have ideal length either. I hope they add someone. Even if it's just a placeholder on a 1-year deal. Cam Fleming seems like the safest bet out there. But Taylor Lewan and Donovan Smith are interesting options in that they were once really good LTs until injuries and age set in (Smith isn't quite 30 yet but has a lot a mileage). Maybe you can get a Jason Peters season out of 1 of them, which is possible since they are 10 years younger. LOL. But those type of moves wouldn't force you into OT at 9. And I personally, think I'd rather have one of the 2nd round guys (Jaelyn Duncan, Matthew Bergeron, Wanya Morris-3rd/4th) than Johnson at 9. Trade back, and I feel more comfortable with one of the 1st tier guys. Anton Harrison is my guy, OT2 for me with Paris only ahead because of star upside and Darnell Wright is my OT3, who showed at the combine he's athletic enough for this scheme and college showed an amazing anchor against top tier talent.

I know nothing about this guy, what's to like? He's not necessarily a particularly good QB but he has a good rapport with Moore and he's a really good practice guy from what I've read. Scout team legend. Pretty sure Siemien is still on the roster so he'd be the 3rd QB but I'd feel better about him coming in an emergency situation than most QB3s. In a different year I'd suggest that its possibly a waste to pay 3 vet QBs but the Bears have money to burn so I don't mind it. IDK why, but I'm a big PJ Walker fan. LOL. I watched him be a start in the XFL the first time around and thought he should be given a legit shot. He probably shouldn't actually be given a legit shot now, but he's a fun guy to watch and actually has been moderately successful when he has played. 4-3 as a starter, and 2 of those losses are a game he left injured in the 1st half and another was the infamous DJ Moore helmet removal penalty that led to a missed GW PAT and an OT loss. Walker threw for 300+ in the latter game (partly due to a Hail Mary to Moore). But yeah, he's a good guy to have to mimic the mobile QBs for the scout team O. And while I agree w/ Goony that I hate trying to mimic the skillset of the starter with a backup, Walker isn't much of a runner at all. Only 6 rush attempts in 5 starts last year. So, it's not like you're going to be running QB power with him. Like any backup, I hope he never sees the field other than blowout wins. But if he does play in the short term, he can win you a game against a bad team. That's pretty much all you can ask for.

Fun fact. When a thread title is changed, it apparently takes your subscription to the thread off. I was thinking there were no posts in here all day and never went in to check.

They didn't want him. He didn't fit what they want to do (outside zone runs) hence Herbert got 1.5 yards per carry more than him. This was bound to happen the day Luke Getsy was brought in as OC.

Based on...? When he was with Baltimore, his 1st 2 seasons he was a pro bowler at RT which could mask his lack of agility better than at LT. He was one of the best at RT which suits his strengths better than LT. Outdated thinking. Wirfs, Lane Johnson, Sewell, and Ramczyk are top 10 overall OTs and play right side. Guys like Watt, Nick Bosa, Reddick rush exclusively from the left side of the D.

I'm not an Orlando Brown fan. He wants to be paid top LT money, and he's not a top 5 LT. He's also not a good fit to move around in the outside zone run game. That being said, the Bears are desperate to A) improve the pass blocking and B) spend a bunch of money. And Brown checks both those boxes. I'm thinking. Orlando Brown- LT/RT A'Shawn Robinson- 1-tech Samson Ebukam- Edge And if Ekeler is available, go get him. Trade one of the 2nds for him + a future pick no higher than a 3rd/4th. The Bears still could use an additional weapon and he caught 107 passes last year, and they can afford to pay him with the top RBs in the league. Maybe add a CB. Maybe add a TE2. Draft Jalen Carter at 9. Draft a DE in the 2nd. That gives you a DL of: Ebukam, Carter, A'Shawn, Walker on run downs Ebukam, Walker, Carter, Draft pick (Ojulari?, I'd like a smaller pass rush specialist type) on passing downs. Mix in Justin Jones, Dominique Robinson and Gipson. OL is: Brown, Davis, C (Patrick or 2nd rounder), Jenkins, Jones Ekeler and Herbert in the backfield.

I noticed when looking at free agent lists that there weren't really many LGs on the list. The only of the top 10 or so guards were Ben Powers from the Ravens (who I didn't think was a fit, he's a big power blocking guy) and Dalton Risner from Denver, who's still out there. So, I'm going to say much ado about nothing right now.

I said free agency wasn't good at DE. The draft is definitely good at DE, it's the best position group in this draft. I also didn't really say much about Nate Davis and zone blocking, other than he doesn't have a lot of experience with it. He definitely fits the athletic profile of a zone blocker, though.

I wanted the first 3 picks to be OL and DL anyway. The DE class isn't great, so they need a long term piece regardless of who they added at DE. Even if they sign 2 DTs, they need 3 possibly 4 anyway, so a draft pick there was always also needed. They also need to find depth and potentially a long term C in the draft, so early on OL is needed a well. I've done 7000 mocks online and 90% of them I pick a combination of 3 DL/OL in my first 4 picks. It's always a place to add talent and depth, and it's where the value is in this draft, especially day 2.

Given what we're upgrading from, even a decent starter is a pretty substantial upgrade. Yeah, he's probably partially replacing Muhammad and partially replacing Angelo Blackson. Definitely an upgrade. I'd like it if he was the 4th best DL instead 1st or 2nd best. If they insist on adding more defense, give me Ebukam, a 1T with a little pass rush ability, draft Jalen Carter/Van Ness and an edge or DT with one of the 2nds and it's a respectable group.

IDK what position Walker plays. He's been a 3-4 DE his entire career IIRC. 6-4, 280lbs, so a little small for a 3-tech. A little big for 4-3 DE. I'm guessing he'll play LDE in base and move inside on passing downs. He's a Justin Jones level player. Doesn't move the needle very much.

The Bears will be fine, they finished *checks notes* last in the NFL in sacks last year. Get a RT. Another RB. More weapons and if they have the #1 offense, I won't care if they're last in sacks.