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Maybe AJ Epenesa?

2 years younger than Kmet... The Bears did a ton of homework on Garrett and the draft prospects. This position is so important that it takes a lot of vetting. I feel good about both our centers.

and free agency will be a thing of the past. They may sign one bigger contract per season, but they will have to make it work via trade and the draft.

That is true. Just like in previous years, I am leery about older prospects (thanks Velus) because it is hard to gauge their actual performance considering they are playing against a lot of 18 and 19 yr olds at 23 and 24.

You are right, its more complex than getting one good draft pick. They need to add to the roster with cheap rookie contracts from players than contribute. A move up would have cost them two draft picks ( Elliott and Muhammad) in this case. Those are both potential starters if not next year , the next. I think every draftee plus 3 or 4 UDFA stick and are on the 53 man next year. These last two drafts are very important to sustain winning once Caleb gets 55 mil a year. We have 22 players on the roster from last year. Many are secondary(not guaranteed a spot) but could be future backups. As much as we have concerns about our pass rush, we will be getting injured players back that will contribute and an offense that will take the next step with Caleb and BJ. If we are in the top 3 offenses in the league , we only need a average D to compete. The strong Ds are in the AFC, Denver, Houston and NE. Seattle is the best but otherwise who else scares you? Every year is different but the best teams with defense are Seahawks-NE-Eagles-and Vikings if you consider them a threat.

The second round was the spot they still had the chance to grab a few edge players. When the run started at 35 they would had to move up 15 spots that would have cost them their 89 and something else. There was Zion Young, Derrick Moore and then later Jacas. Someone asked Poles and he said Zion Young was to expensive to move up. I think they thought they could still take Jacas when NF moved of which was to late to do anything. Took Jones, someone they valued and get two picks out of the 60 trade, Sam Roush and Zavion Thomas. They looked to take volume players to the edge. Some fans are complaining that they traded for Bradbury and then took Jones. They didnt know they could get Jones so they doubled down. In a few years we will see a pro bowl Center and a high powered offense that includes Roush and Thomas. I understand their choices.

I dont mind an older center prospect because of the value he gives to Caleb. With the NIL money, we are going to continue to see older players drafted. He has 4 years of starting experience and was there for 2 years with Linderbaum. Jones was a DT and Tyler recommended Logan to the coach.

I think they could add an edge rusher but not one that has a big cap charge. 6-8 mil? Who could they get for that on a one year deal?

Not that it would impact the Bears, but free agents signed now won't impact comp pick formula.

Logan Jones will be 25 in October, he is at least a year older than Loveland, Turner, Burden, Walker, Sewell, Odunze, Newman, Monangai, and Booker. Jones is only 3 years younger than Dalman.

The Bears won't be able to afford Edge, LT, DT, or CB in free agency once Caleb's contract extension hits. So the best way to offset that is to have as many players at the highest cap positions on rookie deals in 2029. So any player drafted this year after the 1st round would have one year before they would have to be resigned. I have to think that was considered. Basically every player in a high cap positional value position would be unlikely to get a 2nd contract unless they were a stud. However, lesser position guys like S, C, and TE could be resigned, because their average cap hit for that position is less. So it would make sense for the Bears to invest fully in Edge, DT, CB, and OT in the top 3 rounds of 2027, 2028, and 2029 to offset Caleb's incoming deal.

All concerns are valid, but truly think you are missing a valuable point with DJ. We obviously needed the cap relief. After that, we have three ultra talented weapons that are still NFL babies. The babies need fed. I can see all of them getting 30 extra targets apiece this year. Add in Walker developing as well. BJ wants to play 12 and 13 personnel more often, so getting the best blocking TE, who is a physical freak, is a bonus who can also be deployed as a weapon. Depth in the right place is also a great thing to have. Different folks see DJ in a different way. I liked the guy, but am somewhat relieved he's gone. I'm still concerned about the DL, more than DJ being gone. Our success and failure will be there, not offense...

if that WERE the case then what you do is bundle picks to move UP in the draft for a quality player at another position.

SOLD!! my problem is this: a first/second day pick, as in this case a third rounder, has to project as a starter or rotational front line player within a year or two. the first three rounds you should be getting premium players that will individually make your team better. these are NOT the rounds you want to draft long shots (as we have done since finks left) or positional players like kickers, punters, special team aces or third string players of ANY kind. fourth round and below is where you draft for those needs. remember trace armstrong? we traded a 10 sack DE for a 2nd round pick and proceeded to draft a F'ng punter in todd saurkraut. this is similar to what we did this off season with DJ Moore. all that said.... third string tight ends are not at a premium now or at any time in my memory of the NFL. to say this guy is going to be worth that pick is ridiculous. there are probably 10 TE's that could fill that role after june 1st. all this especially when we have a need for other position starters or at the very LEAST a 2nd string quality player. instead of moving down we should have been moving up. if there was no DT or DE there then we should have targeted a LB. if we had stayed where we were slotted, a quality RB would have been a better pick to fill out our number two spot and strive for our #1 starting position. if this is all on poles listening to our HC then someone needs to put a leash on johnson.

Poles mentioned trading up in the second for a DE and mentioned Zion Young that was going to cost to much . I think targeting specific edge rushers that fit what you want to do is difficult so they stick to their board and grab someone that can help in another area. I think they would have drafted Jacas but NE moved up. They read the board right because he would have been there. They didnt get him and took Jones which I think would have been the pick at 60. People complain to move up at any cost to get a need but then you dont fill other needs. Players like Howell, Thomas and Josephs didnt fit which thy wanted. Fans and pundits say draft anyways. Every pick had its purpose. The biggest complaint was taking Roush and Zavion Thomas. Those were BJ wants. I think maybe with other teams they might have been a luxury pick but with BJ they are weapons . I trust BJ. This is just another opinion but he overwhelming liked the draft.

Another point that BJ brought up on a press conference was that the new coaches needed to acclimate themselves to what BJ and DA wanted to do. That in the second year they will be able to execute the offense and defense better. Not any different from a player learning the system. Here is a podcast, I watch a lot of them , that explains the consensus and team boards. If you dont want to watch the whole podcast, the post by Bucky Brooks is at 5:00 minutes. He makes some good points.

Oddly our new OC was a high school sprinter. Easily replaces Dalman

If he Keeps Caleb upright and the offense scores more points than last year I’ll buy your swamp. 🙂

Im not sure Ben Johnson will let Poles trade top draftcapital for one. He could have had Jermaine Johnson for a 2nd round pick but Ben preferred to hold that pick and instead they sent a 6th for Tryon Shoyinka. Good thing since we now have a potential probowl center in a couple years. I think we will have to find one in FA or the draft.

Dude was limping and still outran everyone.

Im not really even sure if DDS is going to be any good. Im not even sure if the DE we needed wasnt gone before pick 25. I cant really complain about the specific picks, it's more like "somewhere in the process, we need an Edge Rusher" Maybe a trade, maybe in free agency, I dunno. But the plan seems to have left one out.

We can watch Dani Dennis-Suttons career vs Zavion Thomas and the Bears defense especially pass rush to see if they screwed up. I know the guy I wanted was DDS. Thats one problem giving the head coach the weight to sway who to pick. He gave DA the first pick, took the next 3 for O, and the rest to D. DAs 4 picks to BJs 3.

Im not anti Dennis Allen at all. I'm just saying if we cant bring a pass rush, his chair gets hot. And maybe thats not fair, but it's probably true. And I have read similar, ASHKUM, I know you're right. His scheme isn't necessarily the normal one. And yes he likes bigger Ends etc. Im just saying if our defense lacks a pass rush like it did last year, it's gonna be a problem. We'll see I guess. Not even saying that Booker and Turner cant ascend, it's just a heck of a bet.

To be fair, Dennis Allen hasn't received much help with injuries and now 2 drafts with minimal input. He went most of the season without his top two CBs, LBs, DEs, and Jarett missed time and Brisker tip toeing his way through the season. Historically, he never had that top DE, but creates a rush through blitzes. If they come in healthy, they will be more prepared to start off knowing the scheme instead of preparing guys they had to pick up to field a team. There should be an uptick in sacks that I see spread out and if one guy hits 12 thats good.

Yeah the players we did pick were all strong selections. Definitely building a roster thats fast, has production, character, committment and a nasty streak. That can only help us. But we do need a pass rush LOL