BearFan PHX

It's good to have a team play together for multiple years too. thats a talent multiplier. I think Poles has a very clear plan for how to do things and I think hes done a great job at that, he just sucks at picking coaches and players LOL but with support from the staff it should all work out well.

totally agree. and the narratives that come out of the combine are all distorted

assuming we are building around Swift, which Im not convinced of, but we can disagree.

agree with all of this adam, and ASHKUM. We either take OT, DL or HB with pick 10 I think. If we take OT, then it's Kalen Johnson and a defensive player DL or S in the 2nd unless a dream WR or TE falls If we take HB, then it's Ersery in the 2nd and a defensive player DL or S in the 2nd unless a dream WR or TE falls If we take DL, TE or WR in the first, then it's Ersery and Kaleb Johnson in the 2nd. So if we take TE or WR with the first pick, then theres no defensive help until round 3, which seems bad for Allen, so i think that kind of rules out TE or WR at 10 In the 3rd, you can look at DL, S, WR and TE But 2 of the first three picks have to go to OT and HB I think. And then you try to get some defensive line help or possibly a safety.

This is excellent news. We really are going to be a team for several years. Edwards has been playing very well. I wonder how long Edmunds will stick around, we are paying him a fortune. He's got all the measurables, but his production has been lacking. Maybe the new scheme and coaches will unlock him, otherwise, his days could be numbered - probably after this year. It gets very cheap to cut him next year.

for real. how can anyone have Henderson at 10?

for sure, but KJ is more than just power, I'm just saying he has more power than Hampton. Hampton has the body, but doesnt seem to really know how to use it.

its funny, we are all so educated now on this draft. this board is excellent. we debate, argue, but in the end I think this community is more educated on the draft players and scenarios than most Bears talk shows, no less other boards.

I also want to add, that these rankings and projections are just based on these players right now. None of them can anticipate what might happen to a player when they get good coaching. When I say I dont like a player, I am saying that i wouldn't bet on them to be good in the NFL. But do I know, for example, What Grant from W&M would be like after Roushar gets him? Of course not. Or what Campbell could become if he got better at hand fighting? Of course I dont. These are always just guesses based on college tape. Some players will surprise us in the NFL. It's not the same at all as seeing NFL tape over several years like Fields and Eberflus. We now know they will never be great. Thats a fact. The rookies? Those are projections, bets, guesses. Theyre mostly probably right, but they wont always be right. Some will surprise us. But who?

This is the math for sure. Where ytou project Ersery to go is a BIG part of what you can do at 10. If you think you can get him at 39, then that makes it easier to go BPA at 10 for sure. But if it's someone like Grant there at 39, and you think you need a LT, then I think you gotta go Banks. Id be Ok with this in general, but who is the Free Agent LT that's still available? Of course i cant know what they think of Amagadje. Maybe he is equivalent to Ersery in their minds, and will be a ready starter for this year? I dont see it from the film, but he is raw. Who knows what they think?

A-MEN!

This is from NFLDraftBuzz, I think we have both approved of their evaluations before? Anyway, it's just another opinion, doesn't prove anything, but people are saying it. "Banks projects as a high-ceiling prospect who could excel at either tackle or guard, with the versatility to be a day-one impact starter at either spot." and "Banks has the tools to develop into a Pro Bowl-caliber player at either spot" then they do go on to say that he might make a better OG, which is fine, but they just said All Pro at either spot. They also say, which might be just as important... "His floor appears to be that of a quality starting tackle, with All-Pro potential if kicked inside. " That doesn't mean he isnt All pro material at OT, it means at WORST he is a quality starting tackle and at WORST he would have all pro potential at OG. None of this means we should include his potential at OG if we take him. We would take him purely as an OT. So again, not proof of anything other than that people ARE saying it of him as an OT. But if you turn off the noise, and watch him, he's pretty damned good. He's raw and young, but already effective, and I can imagine Roushar will turn him into a monster.

I dunno, I see KJ as a better power back even than Hampton. I dont see a lot of contact balance in Hampton, he goes down on the first hit too often. Ill give him that he falls forward when he does, but KJ is a real HB, and Hampton is just a big guy that can run a 4.4 40, but doesnt cut and you dont see it on the field. I havent watched a lot of henderson, so i was including him as a courtesy to all ive read about him. I probably shouldnt do that. For me, I want Jeanty, KJ or Skatebo, the rest are not necessarily better than Swift IMO. And any draft that includes: Banks or Ersery ***AND*** Jeanty, KJ or Skatebo is already a success, with at least one more big name coming from the first two rounds!

To me Hampton isn't in my top 4. Hes physically imposing, accelerates hard to the hole, is always falling forward, and they leaned on him to carry the offense, so he is durable too. those are the plusses everyone sees. But to me he has poor instincts as a HB. I don't like his vision at all, he makes bad choices all the time, his cuts are really sloppy, often taking extra choppy steps, and rounding off what should be tighter corners. He goes down too easily, and has like zero wiggle to elude tackles. He runs like a fullback to me. His size is imposing, but it goes along with all the big man problems in terms of agility, elusiveness. He doesnt even punish tacklers with stiff arms and the like. Hes a big athlete, but maybe not a natural HB. My top backs are (in order) Jeanty, Kaleb Johnson, TreVayon Henderson, Bo Skatebo and THEN Hampton is below them with some others. I just dont see a running back talent in Hampton. Tons of physical talent, like good 40 time, 6' etc, but he doesnt really play the position, and I think he will be exposed in the NFL.

well if that is the eval on the OTs, then I would totally agree with you. But most mocks have 3 OTs going in the top 10, and to my eye Kelvin Banks looks the part. You wouldnt take Banks unless you think he is the day 1 starter, and I think that he is for sure.

While we disagree with how we each answer this question, I totally agree that IS the question!

if youre just trying to maximize draft value, then I get this. Or if you had to draft a whole team in one year, for example, then this kind of thinking makes a lot of sense. But as youve said, our roster is pretty deep now, we could go to war with just what we have and do better than we have in many years prior. So rather than thinking that you could get Brashard Smith with a lower pick, you have to remember that it isnt just what you paid for them that matters, but how good they are on the field. For example, getting Braxton Jones with a 5th round pick was incredible value. He has definitely outperformed his draft position. But is he as good as the other players on the OL now? And isnt that the real question when it comes to playing games? To me there are 3 or 4 backs I would like to see on the Bears in this years draft: Ashton Jeanty, Kaleb Johnson, TreVeyon Henderson and Bo Sketebo Im not a fan of Hampton, and while the other may represent draft value, I dont think they are better than Swift and Roschon Johnson. And I think thats the real question?

I see Banks going in a lot of mock drafts at 11, 13 and 16. With Banks being the 3rd OT off the board, and the last of the 1st round graded OTs. So this is possibly why the Bears are talking up Warren, and to some extent Jeanty (although they may really like him) so that teams at 11, 13 and 16 don't trade up above us to snag Banks. In the real world, everyone knows we redid our OL, and that we still have a need at OT, so I figure teams know we might be looking there no matter what is in the papers. Its hard to fool NFL teams. They arent all as stupid as we have been in the recent past LOL If we dont take an OT in the first round, I suspect we will look at Arionte Ersery. He will be there int he 2nd round, and possibly in the 3rd. Would we risk it to take two impact players in the 2nd? If we held out and got something like: R1 Jeanty R2 DL R2 HB R3 Ersery that would be amazing. But it would take some balls because if Ersery isnt there, its Jones and Amagadje. Being fearful of a hole at the position myself. Im looking at Banks at 10, passing by some really great names that i wish we could take that could help us at DL, WR, HB, TE and if Banks isnt there, or we cant resist the temptation to take one of those other players, then I am reaching a bit int he 2nd round to grab Ersery so we are sure we have him. Im not thrilled with going into the season adding a player like Grant from W&M - is he really any better than Amagadje anyway?

yes i agree. I put safety in the WR/TE/S mix but otherwise I am exactly with you.

Pathetic. "Smartest guy in the room" behavior by our former staffs. Sometimes it's not that hard. Sometimes you just let a guy play his position.

For me, it's (in order) Banks Jeanty Graham Nolen Williams I know that's five, if you need three, then just take the first three But I'd be happy with those five. If you factor in Abdul Carter Travis Hunter Cam Ward then you gotta hope 2 more players go before us (Sanders? Campbell? Membou? Warren?) to get one from that first list. I don't want to be stuck holding the bag on Tyler Warren or Membou. I think this is why we see all the articles about us wanting Warren, to shine him and our interest in him up for a possible trade down.

I think the first three picks will be (in no particular order) HB, DL/S, OT Either: R1 Banks R2 Kaleb Johnson R2 DE, DT or S OR R1 Jeanty R2 Ersery R2 DE, DT or S OR R1 DE or DT R2 Ersery R2 Kaleb Johnson

sure does! Also sadly, a WR prospect killed himself the other day. Kyren Lacy. I was looking at him too. Man crazy shit happens.

For sure. He's done a great job being disciplined and using that wasted year to a long term sustainable outcome, rather than blowing it all early. I think the staff is gonna help a lot with player evaluations, and Poles can be the cap / money / future guy. Perfect.

The Eagles rode Saquon Barkley pretty hard, but even they split carries. I think all teams do, even with feature backs. Saquon got 345 carries Hurts ran it 150 times Other HBs ran it 108 times So even just among HBs, Barkley carried it 76% of the time. 1 out of 4 it wasnt him, not even counting the Hurts carries, WR end arounds etc. So I think you can have a feature back, and still rotate guys in and out to keep them fresh, or "have weapons" Gibbs 250 Carries Montgomery 185 carries Between Gibbs and Monty, Gibbs carried it 57% of the time. If you take Jeanty, you're still gonna give it to other guys. If you take Kaleb Johnson, you're definitely going with a rotation.