raw

He is freakishly long, is my best explanation. And you can tell it's been drilled in his head to keep the ball high in traffic so smaller guys don't steal the ball. So, the contact I do believe is incidental, but for sure it happens a bunch.

Yes, but he's going to get paid a lot. But assuming Vooch, Coby, etc. go in exchange (straight up or 3-way), the Bulls are kind of all-in on Ayton and LaVine (assuming he signs a max to stay) as the guys to build around for the next several years. If you don't sign Zach to a max, then Ayton probably wouldn't be necessary or interested.

Yep. I've heard Bears consistently draw well on prime time viewers too. Makes sense as its the largest 1 team market in the NFL but man recent Bears primetime games have been so incredibly awful and unwatchable with the exception of the Steelers game last year. And that game was awful for almost 3/4 of it.

Week 1- v 49ers Week 2- @ Packers (SNF) Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6- v. Washington (TNF) Week 7- @ Patriots (MNF) Week 8- @ Cowboys Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12 Week 13 Week 14- BYE Week 15- I've heard both Philly and Miami here, which are home games Week 16- v Buffalo Week 17 Week 18- Vikings (not confirmed if home or away)

Week 1 isn't til Sept 18th.

I don't understand the point of the last year and a half if you let Zach walk for nothing. Of course, ESPN seems to think this sign and trade is a good idea. LOL.

G- Magic $4 G- Jordan $5 G- Curry $2 F- Garnett $3 C- Ewing $1 I honestly considered Bosh over Ewing, because IDK that Jordan and Ewing would mesh well together as both did a ton of damage in the post. But Ewing >>> Bosh. Curry and Garnett are no brainers at those costs. Don't know why anyone would ever pick Giannis at $4

Remainder of picks I would've made. 5) Braxton Jones - I actually kept the same pick. I still think Borom ends up at G. My favorite pick of the draft. 5) Matthew Butler -DT Tenn Athletic quick can play 3 or 5 technique. 6) Malcolm Rodriguez LB OK St Fast Athletic former S undersized 6) Quinton Lake S UCLA 6) Curtis Brooks DT Cincy 7) Dareke Young WR Lenoir Rhyne Big WR deep threat. 7) Marquis Hayes OL Oklahoma 7) Samori Toure WR Nebraska This is my "what I would have done draft". Some is done with knowing where guys went in the draft, so while I liked a guy like Perrion Winfrey enough to take him at 39/48, he didn't go til the 4th, so if I wanted him, I would have picked him later with the benefit of hindsight of knowing that I could wait for him (for example). 39- Andrew Booth Jr., CB Clemson I like Kyler Gordon a lot, but Booth was considered by some that evaluate prospects for a living as CB1. Gordon's probably the better fit, but Booth is the better prospect, IMO. 48- George Pickens, WR Georgia This is a hindsight one, I would have just taken him at 39 and secured my WR. But he didn't go til 52, so I'd have taken him here. Booth was also rated higher IMO, so waiting til this pick would have been a toss up, but I likely would have hoped Gordon was here at worst. 71- Bernhard Raimann, OT Central Michigan I said on Twitter or something that I didn't want him at 39, because of his age and rawness, but this is about where I had him graded. The Bears ended up taking an even older guy, LOL. Could compete with Borom at LT, and given the Bears a good swing (or could move Jenkins to RG). 168- Matthew Butler, DT Tennessee I also just assume the trade downs still happen even though I wouldn't necessarily do them all if it were my choice. Butler has some potential as a 3T. Typical underachiever based on talent in the Vols program. 174- Dominique Robinson, DE Miami Ohio This pick was dead on. I would get him on about half my mocks in the early 5th the Bears had before trade down. I thought there's no way he'd even make it to 148. Potential steal like Gipson was. 186- Cade Mays, OG Tennessee I was a big fan of his for a couple years. He's not super athletic like the guys the Bears drafted, but Chiefs got a steal with his teammate Trey Smith last year (who I also loved) and I think he'd fit in the offense. Former 5 star who started at Georgia. 203- Bo Melton, WR Rutgers I'm not a huge Melton guy, but too good to pass up right here. Kind of similar to Velus in that he has good speed and the ability to do damage underneath and get RAC. 207- Isaih Pacheco, RB Rutgers Double up at Rutgers. Just watched him recently, great speed that he didn't get to show off much in a bad offense. But I was really impressed with his pass blocking and receiving honestly. 226- Chris Oladokun, QB South Dakota St Don't know much about him, but the Bears brought him in for a visit. Looks like a good athlete with an electric arm. I'd love a camp body with some upside for the practice squad 254- Dohnovan West, C, Arizona St Again probably not as athletic as the guys Poles actually drafted, but fits as an undersized zone blocking OL. A lot of Bears fans liked him more than I did. I think he's just too small, but at one of the last 10 picks in the draft, worth a shot. 255- Kevin Austin Jr, WR, Notre Dame Another potential X WR that the Bears met with. They brought in like 5 UDFA WRs, so drafting 3 wouldn't have been a stretch. This he's more talented that any UDFA they brought in, by far.

I said in the Bears thread (I think it was that one and not this one) that I used to listen to that original podcast (Chicago Audible). I was completely turned off by Olin joining the crew. Not a big fan of Hoge either, but I preferred the fan perspective over "I'm an ex player and I know everything". And I knew out of respect they would basically defer to Olin, who probably also insisted they do. I didn't think he'd go this far with it, but I knew this wouldn't end well. Haven't watched the show since the debut week on CHGO because he was already smirking at the guys for only playing HS ball and being WRs or something.

I will say this. On paper, this team has a chance to 2019 Bills or 2019 Ravens their way into a surprise playoff berth. Also, the team I compared the Bears to, the 2016 Titans, went 9-7 but didn't make the playoffs. Eberflus has shown so far he can roll out of bed and turn a defense into a top 10 group. The Bears have a talent advantage over the 2018 Colts D he had 10th in points and 11 in yards allowed. That team didn't have a pass rusher as good as Quinn. They had Al-Quaddin Muhammad as a young player, not the polished pass rusher he is now. Darius Leonard was a rookie, compared to Roquan already playing at a high level. And the defensive backfield is much more talented. I think if this defense is a top 10 unit, the offense, like those 3 teams I named, just have to run the ball well, take advantage of turnovers, and avoid mistakes to put together a decent season against the 2nd easiest schedule on paper. I'm not predicting it to happen, but if Eberflus and Fields are the right guys, it's certainly possible.

I've given up on these types of moves a long time ago. At this point, I'd rather go with Borom, Jenkins and the dude they drafted with the first 5th rounder than add Fisher, who is on his very last legs. Tretter I like, but I feel like they value Patrick's knowledge of the O at center. But they still have 13Mil in cap space, that will go up after Goldman and Trevathan's money becomes available June 1. They gotta bring in somebody, I'd imagine.

Right or wrong he's treating it like a re-do of Fields rookie year. Sometime rookie QBs are built around because there is no certainty they will even be in a position to draft a rookie. But even in cases where it's obvious a rookie is being drafted, the big investment often comes in year 2. So Poles is basically the GM who knew he was gonna draft a QB first overall, but didnt go agressive in building around them for year 1. Basically everything is reset for Fields new "year 1" I still don't agree with that approach, but I think that's basically what's happening. Yeah, I'm not saying he lied at all. I think they completely believe in Fields. But this is the NFL there's no sure things. Like I believe Fields will be a star QB in this league, but I'm not willing to bet my house, life savings, and 401K on it. That's basically where Poles and crew are. While I agree, it doesn't make any sense to just throw him out there with nothing....I think the logic here is, "well I don't want to spend all this money and high draft picks on players and be locked into them for 4 years, if I find out in the next 2 years that the QB isn't good enough". It's one thing to see all these tools Fields has on tape. It's another to see how he does in person, everyday in OTAs, minicamp, training camp, preseason and during the season. It's seeing how he takes to the new coaching staff, and new offense. They used him to look at tape to help determine what guys to draft, so I don't think he necessarily lied. Like I said earlier, there's definitely a middle ground I would have taken. Having a good RG on a 3-4 year deal is still good even if you do have QB issues. Obviously, QB is the most important piece, but it's not all or nothing w/ a QB. You can actually add good players to the unit before you have the sure thing at QB. I'm guessing the logic here is that they don't want a bunch of talent masking how good Fields actually is. LOL. Guys like Mayfield, Jimmy G, maybe even Cousins are guys who got paid (only 5th year option in Baker's case) and are not quite good enough because the talented supporting cast carries them a bit. I guess that's what they want to avoid. Makes no sense to me, but I sorta get it.

I think there's a couple things at play here. I have said since the hire that new GMs just don't make big splashes. Because big splashes = expectations. Poles is at a place where he can claim this team was just so devoid of talent that he had to take a lot of time to fix it. To be fair, he didn't inherit a good team, but the team wasn't devoid of talent. They potentially have building blocks at QB, RB, WR, TE, both tackles, CB, LB and DE (Gipson) that Pace left Poles with. Honestly, even a modest attempt at helping the offense with a couple lesser known signings (a step up from Patrick and Pringle, his 2 biggest signings) or even just simply re-signing Daniels, could have meant this team was a threat to a wildcard berth. One sure thing on offense would go a long way. But I think the other issue is they aren't 100% sure on Fields. I know they are "sold" on Fields, but they aren't putting their futures in his hands, simply because it's not their pick. For all they know, Fields could be ruined from Nagy's horsefeathers show last year. So, I think they aren't throwing all their chips on the table for him. That doesn't mean they don't love him or don't think he's going to be a star. But they are hedging their bets. They are making sure Fields is the guy before they go all-in on him. I think there's a middle ground between "not going all-in yet" and the bare minimum roster filling they've done on offense. Because it's kind of weird to say, "OK Justin, prove you're good enough to build around" without giving him the tools to prove it. I don't know what they need to see from Fields to go that next step, and don't imagine they'll throw around money and draft picks like a combo of the Rams and Jags if Fields does show them what they need to see. But I wonder if the draft was about getting some defensive guys in place before going O heavy next year. Fields is good in 2022, now you draft your version of Jamarr Chase and sign a big time stud lineman. And if he's not good, they can continue to turnover the roster. Tag and trade Roquan, cut/trade Quinn, don't extend Mooney or whoever else. Add players in the 2023 draft, then 2024 draft your own guy.

I think this turned out to influence the Velus Jones pick. 4th best 40. I think they really wanted Tyquan Thornton, but the Patriots grabbed him at 50. Jones was the only other WR with top 5 speed, the others were all CBs, which they obviously took with Gordon. With a huge gap in picks, they didn't want to miss out on the last huge speed guy at WR, so they reached fit a guy that probably would have at least made them sweat, if he even made it there.

My top available (somewhat in order, needs not considered) Andrew Booth Jr Nakobe Dean George Pickens Perrion Winfrey Malik Willis Logan Hall Skyy Moore David Ojabo Jaquan Brisker Christian Watson Bernhard Raimann Dylan Parham Desmond Ridder Jalen Pitre Kyler Gordon Pickens obviously still my primary target, but if they could potentially wait to get him at 48, that opens up a whole lot at 39. Obviously, not interested in taking Willis, but if the Bears have to choose from a couple of Booth, Dean, Winfrey and Hall....that'd be nice, especially if you have Moore and Watson still on the board with Pickens. My nightmare is they love Raimann at LT (moving Jenkins or Borom to RG) and then take Alec Pierce at 48. Be a huge letdown for me, and I don't hate either guy, just don't like their fits.

This was my pre-free agency mock. Obviously, I thought the Bears would do more in free agency on the OL. Now, they pretty much have to take OL with one of the 1st 3 picks. I do still think a lot of these guys could be targets, though may need to be in different spots. 39- I honestly think George Pickens is the target here. Can't get Fields' old Ohio St teammates (Wilson, Olave, Williams). Pickens was his 7 on 7 teammate, and was one of the reason Pickens chose Georgia and considered changing his commit when Fields transferred before Pickens' freshman year. Bears didn't really visit with him, but could be a meeting that wasn't publicized or one they didn't have to do much research on due to Fields knowing him well. A guy that Mooney singled out by name, last week, as a potential add to the WR room. If he's gone: Winfrey, Logan Hall at DT are options (Winfrey measurements, met with Hall). They haven't really been connected to any other defensive position early, though I'd imagine if a top CB or S falls they'd be in on that. Other than that, I think it's watch who falls from the 1st. Treylon Burks, Tyler Linderbaum, Kenyon Green, Nakobe Dean have all been rumored fallers. 48- If not Pickens at 39, the Bears have shown interest in Christian Watson as well as Alec Pierce. Not a huge fan of either as THE big move at WR of the offseason. Both have a long way to go to be #1 types. But I think they have to go WR at one of these 2. Even moreso than OL, which is a bigger need with no capable starter at RG. WR, Hall, DB, or OL like Tyler Smith or Bernhard Raimann are options here if on the board. Prime trade down spot as well. 71- Obviously depends on the first 2 picks. I do think they'll take defense at least 1 time in the first 3 picks. This is a good spot for every defensive position, except DT.....which is why I have that position as 2nd round options. 39/48 both on O- this is still the sweet spot for LBs. Tindall, Brian Asamoah, Troy Andersen. 39/48 one on O, other on D- this has to be WR or OL, whichever they pass on earlier. Cole Strange, Jamaree Salyer, Dylan Parham, Zach Tom, several options here. 5th- again trade down from one of these picks to get more late picks is possible. But this is where I think you see the athletes. Guys who blew up the combine or pro day. High RAS scores, especially CBs, WRs, Front 4 players. 6th- they'll take someone that most haven't heard of, probably a UDFA type who they really like or maybe a RB if they get an extra pick here or later.

This is Zach's GOAT origin story. Jordan had Monopoly with his college roommate. Zach has Tic Tac Toe with DeRozan.

Think that's too much to ask. Bears are the ones trading up here. Hard to get an extra pick out of that scenario. If they wanted an extra pick at that point, they'd probably have to trade down from 71, though a 4th would be hard to come by unless it's a trade down probably to the 90s.

I will keep pounding the table that the only trade up idea that makes sense is to use 39+48 to get into the late first and stay still in the late 2nd. Depending on exact trade value chart, 30+62 for 39+48 is a good framework to start from. Just really want them to not dip back below 6 total pucks, so gotta stay pick nuetral at least. I'd probably be OK with this type of move. Ironically, there may be some ability to pull this exact move off as Ryan Poles' old team, has both of those picks. They also have pick 29 from the Tyreke Hill trade. That also could provide incentive for the Bears to move up, as 1) the Chiefs could potentially take WR5 or WR6 off the board and 2) would get the Bears ahead of the Lions at 32 and 34 who may take a WR at either pick. And in a time where WR money is become a huge issue around the league, the Bears could really see the upside to getting a 5th year option on a WR, which could delay big money issues for an additional year. And if the Bears are hellbent on getting WR and OL help, this may be a good idea as the WR(s) they like most could be gone by 39. And unless a 1st round talented OL falls, the difference between the options at 39-48 (Tyler Smith, maybe Bernhard Raimann) aren't that much better than the guys that could be on the board at 60 (Cole Strange, Dylan Parham, Ed Ingram) and the guys in the latter group were college guards unless Smith or Raimann who would either change to a position they haven't played or move someone else (Borom/Jenkins) to guard.

He for sure does. One of the only issues, which isn’t really one but a rule, is that you have to trade contracts for contracts within a certain % based on your cap spot. Like you can’t trade a $30 mil contract for a $5 mil contract. So he’d have to be traded for someone already making good money. And those guys are always out there with some stuff added either way, who that is idk currently. But there certainly will be some new disgruntled star this summer who wants out that Derozan + some picks would net. Dream scenario, IMO, some version of those moves I laid out yesterday. Keep DeRozan for 22-23. When it inevitably doesn't result in a championship, then you have an expiring contract on a player, who's still decent. Then LeBron tries to atone for his mistake of taking Russ over DeRozan and the Bulls trade DeRozan where LeBron decides to play in 23-24 and get whatever for him.

I still think that it would be roster that lacks quality shooters and depth, but it would certainly play better. I have no idea how much Zach's knee injury affected his play in the 2nd half of the season, but clearly his performance dipped. Ball would help in 3 major areas - shooting, playmaking and defense so while he's not as good individually as a Kris Middleton, his impact on the Bulls performance may be greater. Without him the Bulls have stopped pushing the ball as much, DeRozan especially walks it up the court even if they have numbers. The Bulls offense has also devolved into iso heavy, partially because DeRozan is so iso dominant but also because how else will they score with the current roster? It would still be iso heavy but a guy like Ball gets people involved. Another shooter would greatly aid in that too. Now teams can double DeRozan and dare others to beat them, and they don't. If DeRozan cant get his shots off or has a bad shooting day the Bulls are cooked. Finally in terms of depth - the Bulls bench is dead last in just about every offensive category amongst the 16 playoff teams. They have some decent defenders but they can't score worth a damn, especially when Coby's shot is off like it is frequently. They need a microwave type scorer and probably another shooter that's not Matt Thomas. Yeah for sure. But it's pretty remarkable they even did as well as they did. Everything went wrong and they still led the conference toward the end of the season. Not that this team 100% healthy is going to win a title, but damn they've been snakebitten

I wonder how well the same exact Bulls team, but with just normal injury/health luck would do next season. - Everyone on the team has gone into Covid protocols at least once - Ball missed 47 games + playoffs - Caruso missed 41 games + potential 1 1/2 playoff games - White missed first month of season (20 games) - Williams missed 65 games - LaVine only missed 15 games, but played at least 60 games less than 100% w/ a damage thumb, when that healed got Covid, when that got better had back and knee injuries. Miss final playoff game. - Jones Jr. missed 25 games

I doubt he's going anywhere. He showed up at minicamp or whatever, and supposedly didn't have teams willing to give up enough for him. I heard Day 3 picks for a guy that was just picked 20 last year. The Bears would have the inside advantage with Tyke Tolbert being the Giants WR coach last year. If he thinks he can deal with and get the best out of Toney, I think they'd certainly be in the talks. Price tag is 3 years/$6M for him with his signing bonus already paid.

Yeah, he's definitely on the table. The issue I have with trading PWill is that it will be hard to get good value and a good fit for him. Like Jerami Grant was talked about as a trade target, but he's probably not a guy that would settle for being 3rd/4th fiddle. So, you'd be essentially looking for a PF who is a taller, better rebounding, more aggressive version of PWill, while also being OK with being a role player for a player in PWill who does have some star potential. Seems like it would be easier to get Williams more comfortable in his role and to take that next step.

I don't have any particulars in mind, but here's basically what I would try to do if I'm AK. - Trade Vucevic- he has some value as an expiring deal and as a guy that can be a primary scorer. He looked much better as a 1-2 option instead of a 3rd option this year. - Trade Coby- obviously, he has some value as a scorer if someone can afford to play him off the ball with a strong PG. - Max deal LaVine- no-brainer to me. DeRozan isn't going anywhere in 2022-23, but he also isn't a spring chicken, this is Zach's team. Hopefully at full health next season he can get back to the early season version of himself. Between Vuc, Coby and the 18th pick, I'd hope to get 2 bigs and a wing. A true C to start, who is a defensive guy who protects the rim on D and dives to the rim on offense, don't have to run plays for him (Andre Drummond type). A big forward/small ball C, who can come off the bench and present a matchup problem with his ability to knock down open 3s (Maxi Kleber, Christian Wood type). A veteran G/F who can shoot, prioritize a guy that can run point if possible, but most importantly, a guy that can knock down 3s at a very high clip (Patty Mills or Malik Monk type). PG- Ball SG- LaVine SF- DeRozan PF- Williams [highlight=yellow]C- Drummond[/highlight] Bench- G- Caruso G- Dosunmu [highlight=yellow]G- Mills[/highlight] F- Green [highlight=yellow]F/C- Kleber[/highlight] Maybe not Drummond specifically, but I can't think of any other names off top of my head.