Bearstalk

Pace did what he said he was going to do. Picked up option on Floyd. Its a lot of money but I dont think they had a choice. He played well last year and didnt get completely heathy into later in the season. I think the lack of sacks was due to his broken hand although he played all his games. I think he is the breakout player this year with an uptick in sacks. Last year he had 4.5 sacks and I think this year he doubles that. Pagano is more aggressive than Fangio was. He will have many more opportunities with blitzes.

Bears sign 22 UDFA's. I don't believe the Bears are the only team that does that at that great a number. Maybe it's time to create a UDFA league that is a non contact touch type league just to weed out the players. 99.9 percent of these players are never going to make an NFL roster. But there might be some who should but they just can't beat the number game. Then again maybe not.

TE Burton-Shaheen-Ben B- Raymond I think Shaheen takes a step forward this season and Raymond ends up being our 3rd TE out the blocks. WR Robinson-Gabriel-Miller-Wims-Patterson-Ridley-Hall also we have on the roster Gentry- M.Hall-Williams-Lambert that may not last long. Ridley -route runner-Hall speed. RB-Cohen-Davis-Nall-Mizzell-Montgomery-Whyte-Patterson Now I hope Mizzell is finally gone for good. Whyte has big speed. Speed we now have. Cohen-Whyte-Gabreil-M Hall-E Hall-Patterson MT is going to have fun this year.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-bears-brad-childress-hiring-20190501-story.html I guess it can't hurt to have a guy with that much experience in the building.

Fast player. Possible Nickel. I think we picked him up for kick coverage.

So far, looking good: UDFA's Offense: 1. Sam Mustipher, OL, Notre Dame (Hiestand connection) 2. Alex Bars, OG, Notre Dame (Hiestand connection) 3. Blake Blackmar, OL, Baylor 4. Marquez Tucker, OL, Southern Utah 5. Joe Lowery, OL, Ohio University 6. Emanuel Hall, WR, Missouri (Highest rater player not drafted per NFL.com - 4th round projection) 7. Thomas Ives, WR, Colgate 8. Dax Raymond, TE, Utah State (#1 UDFA TE available) 9. Ian Bunting, TE, Cal 10. Ellis Richardson, TE, Georgia Southern Defense: 11. Mathieu Betts, Edge, Laval (Montreal, Canada) 12. Chuck Harris, Edge, Buffalo 13. Jonathan Harris, DL, Lindenwood 14. Lawrence …

We have picks 126 (4th), 205 (6th), 222 (7th), 238 (7th). I think Pace is going to make a trade to get either one more pick or to get back into the 5th Rd from 205. To get that done he'll either drop back from 126 or he'll use one of next years' picks to move up.

27 days until the draft. Let's get started on some serious draft talk. What positions and players do you think we need? This year has us limited on picks, but we can find some gems. As George Thorogood said, "Who do you love":

The reviews and instant grades are coming in. For me this was an excellent weekend. For a draft that started late 3rd Rd we still picked up two players with 2nd Rd grades. Montgomery is a starter week 1. Ridley is a future WR2 starter. Shelley looks like at least a solid backup NB but has the potential to become a starter. Whyte has enough ability to develop into a 3rd RB after a year on the practice squad but may only find a niche as a special teams player. Denmark is just an athletic freak. I'm really curious to see how he handles the jump to the NFL but Pace saw enough not to take a chance on grabbing him as a UDFA. Then in UDFAs we added OG Bars…

Have to say this makes me feel great. 1st: Khalil Mack OLB 2nd: Anthony Miller WR 3rd: David Montgomery RBIowa State 4th: Riley Ridley WR Georgia 6th: Duke Shelley. CB Kansas State 7th: Kerrith Whyte Jr. RB FAU 7th: Stephen Denmark CB Valdosta St.

Interesting pick and this is likely a by-product of all the time they put into Devin Singletary. You can't watch an FAU game without wondering who the other guy in their backfield was. If you liked the idea of taking Tony Pollard late in the draft you will like Whyte. Similar style players and I'd say he has a shot at replacing Davis in the backfield in a year or two. In the meantime he offers some KR return ability so that might be his best chance to get on the field this year. This year I see him ending up on the practice squad. Edit: If he reaches his potential I can see him helping free up $8mil in cap space by filling the roles of both Davis and Patterso…

This guy is very athletic and especially so when you consider he's 6'3". He's also very raw and has one year of experience at CB. He's clearly a practice squad candidate this year. He's going against inferior competition in his highlight tape but his burst to close stands out on several plays, so does his aggression. You all know I love defense and I like football players who have an aggressive edge in their game. Denmark is knocking players to ground all over the field including those who are trying to block him. If he has the work ethic at a minimum I can see him becoming a special teams coverage ace and replacing McManis next year. Maybe that happens this year…

Detroit - Pick 8 - TJ Hockenson, TE - A good player (1 of 2 TE's drafted in the first round from Iowa), but not a top 10 pick. Lol Detroit, another TE, why didn't they just keep Ebron? Green Bay - Pick 12 - Rashan Gary, DE - A good player, but didn't they sign a couple of Edge guys? Seems like an odd pick considering their free agency and with Rodgers' age. Then they draft up to pick Darnell Savage at S. Another good player, but not someone worthy of the 21st pick or moving up to get. You would think that a team with 2 picks in the first 21 would get two impactful players, yet I don't see that here. Gary may only be a rotational guy and Savage is undersized for a …

Who are your surprises so far? Does it change your wish list?

Since we actually do not need a starter anywhere, what depth spot is the biggest priority? If we lose MT, Chase can cover a few games, last year we had this scenario and we finished 12-4. If MT is out for the year we are screwed anyway. If we lose a WR, we have M. Hall, Patterson, and Wims as backups. position is good If we lose Davis we still have Cohen, Nall and Patterson, that would work out. If we lose Burton- a problem, Sheehan would have to step up and fins some help. If we lose a OL we have Coward, Sowell, Larsen, Beavers, and Allen to backup, position will be okay If we lose a CB we have Tolliver, MacManis, Joseph, Franklin III, and …

It's an unusual year without a pick in the first two rounds. I have to believe an extensive amount of work goes into grading players in the top 75. This year without the worry of sorting out all those players in great detail I expect they're spending more time focused on the players in the second half of the draft and in particular the potential UDFAs. Pace has often excelled in this part of the draft. With that in mind here's a plan to add 4 players in the top 150. Pace will wait to see who falls to him but if he doesn't find a target who falls to him (perhaps Hooker, Henderson, Sanders) I could see him trading back to the late 3rd Rd. Based on the trade …

The question is valid. Opposite of Hicks is a void with minimal production and average promise. I think 3-4DE is more of a need than OLB. Nobody even really knows who the starter is there for 2019. I’d love to see Jerry Tillery slip because of off-field concerns. He could be great in the role.

Since Pace is going to go with the BPA, here is my list of players I would be happy with with draft value around that spot in the draft. Henderson/RB Sanders/RB Sternberger/TE Oliver/TE Howard/OT McGovern/OG Jordan/OG Miller/edge/Ala Walker/edge/Georgia Savage/S Hooker/S Johnson/CB/Ken Long/CB Obviously there are some higher ranked players that would be good, but I doubt if any of the top 50 would drop that far.

Would have been nice, but time to look for younger and cheaper...