dawhizz

They always do that on day three. Day two is usually former players for the teams and day one is just the commissioner with occasional guests.

Good pick. Needed competition at outside CB tour pressure on Tyrique. Not a ton of turnovers but competed as well as anyone against Jeremiah Smith.

No problem with this pick at all. I’ve been screaming for competition at #2 CB and this guy can do it.

I will say that Thomas is more well built than most slot speed guys. Guys like Zachariah Branch, Brendan Thompson, Eric Rivers, and Deion Burks tend to be closer to 5’8” 170, whereas Thomas is a little over 5’10” 190. That might help him hold up better in the NFL and be better equipped for any blocking duties he might have.

Worth watching if you haven’t. Some takeaways: The Bears, right or wrong, are much more comfortable with D line than we are. I’m not even sure they went into the draft with it as a priority, though I expect they’ll see the need to add there today to shut people up if nothing else. They also pretty clearly were not really enamored with this DL class, which is probably why they signed so many DTs in FA (as I had been theorizing). Don’t expect there to be a big competition at C unless Jones really blows them away. The plan is clearly to start Bradberry. They see Shemar as DE, not DT. He was mentioned in the group of edges with Montez, Dayo, and Booker. I don’t necessarily agree but that how they see it. The offensive guys are Ben guys. He wants them and has a plan. And while I have my reservations, it’s notable that every single offensive draft pick they made last year played well when called on. They are going to use Thomas very similar to how they used Velus Jones at first and he might see more carries than catches his first year. Poles noted how the system is particularly tough for WRs to pick up. You can also watch the post draft media conferences with the players on YouTube or the Bears app which give some insight into the players. We’ve talked about 30 visits and it sounds to me based on what I heard that Logan Jones did have a 30 visit with them but Thomas and Roush did not.

Plus you traded a 5th round pick for Bradberry only to draft a 25 year old you hope replaces him sooner than later in the 2nd, and move a 6th back to a 7th for that DE that hardly played.

Yep. Almost no point in making mocks or predictions because their board might not remotely resemble anyone else’s.

We all have our weaknesses - Poles’ is apparently the third round, where he has yet to make a good pick (Velus Jones, Zacch Pickens, Kiran Amegadjie) and his most successful draft (last year) was one where he didn’t have a third round pick. Maybe we should just trade all our third round picks until someone pans out. Maybe it will be one of these guys, but I kind of doubt it (I don’t love that it seems neither the nor Thomas is all that good at catching the ball). I did find one guy that liked the pick and can kind of see the vision . . .

Pretty disappointed with Day 2 on paper. You had two 2nd round picks and a third and might not have gotten a starter this year. I like Jones but this was a deep C draft and feel like you could have gotten him or a comparable player later. He better become a solid starter sooner than later. Like most Roush wasn’t on my radar. You take a 3rd TE when you don’t have a consistent pass rush or a dependable #2 CB? You can get a decent Y TE off the scrap heap. I probably shouldn’t doubt this scouting group on a TE after last year, but it’s hard not to. Thomas better be more Tyreek Hill than Velus Jones. And you better hope Burden and Odunze sat healthy because if one of them goes down, Thomas doesn’t seem like the kind of WR you can plug in outside. I’m sure Ben has a plan for him. But there’s plenty of other speedy receivers with better production than this guy and plenty of guys with inside/outside versatility available. I’m sure there will be some picks tomorrow I end up liking more and it’s clear this team has their own way of evaluating players that doesn’t mesh with a lot of other people’s. That’s great if it works and you stay on top. Poles is drafting like a team that thinks it has starters everywhere. I hope that’s true. Because if we get into the season and suddenly the DL isn’t getting it done and a CB goes down and depth is shaky, he had opportunities this draft to address that and so far he hasn’t. I guess it’s the same thing I’ve often found myself saying after a Bears draft - “I hope they know what they’re doing.”

IMO we've got enough interchangeable parts - time to get a guy you think can compete for #2 CB (if possible).

Cam Lewis has a lot of versatility as well. Can really mix up deep v. in the box v. slot coverage and all those guys can blitz effectively.

Trade up if necessary to get whoever is left in the middle of the round from Parker/Jacas/Moore/Young with your two 2s trying to get a 3 back. Use your two 3s on a C and maybe a CB, unless there's a DT or WR you love. We're going to learn a lot about the types of players the Bears want today.

If we get to the middle of round 2 and Young/Parker/Jacas are still n the board, I could see a trade to like Indy, TB, Atlanta range where we package our two 2nds to move up in the second but also get a 3rd back. That gets you the pass rusher you need and still puts you in a great position to address C, CB, or whatever with two third round picks.

Poles press conference from tonight. He mentions how they are looking for scheme and traits fits and those that don’t have that are “off our board”. Will be interesting to see how that manifests over the next few days. Says they had a couple players available where they were picking they were interested in and gauged a small trade down but couldn’t swing it.

Will interested to hear how much contact he had with the Bears in the pre draft process. No visit was ever announced but maybe they didn’t think he’d be there (or managed to keep it quiet).

Weakest spot on the roster was safety opposite Bryant. Pretty good safety draft but this was the guy to get that you know you can immediately plug in. Very happy with it.

Got to take Thieneman.

Thieneman a possibility?

Pretty sure he's 21. There's some disagreement on the internet as to whether was born in 2004 or 2005, but sounds like 2004 is most likely. Was born in September so will be closer to 22 when the season starts FWIW.

All I've read on him does not scream the "violence and aggression" that seems to be the offseason mantra. If that's your focus, Proctor and maybe Iheanachor seem like the better fits. But, again, I don't know how to evaluate "violence and aggression" from an OT other than you kind of know it when you see it. Wright was definitely that way.

Would be fine with this if we swapped one of the DTs out for a CB. Mine, which I posted elsewhere, with one change swapping out Logan Jones for Sam Hecht after seeing him say just a day or two ago that he did a visit with Chicago, which I don't think was reported elsewhere and was maybe one of those visits they didn't want to publicize and he was maybe not supposed to share(?). 1) TJ Parker, DE, Clemson 2) D'Angelo Ponds, CB, Indiana *Trade #60 for a high 3rd and high 5th 3a) Bud Clark, S, TCU 3b) Sam Hecht, C, Kansas State 4) Ja'Kobi Lane, WR, USC 5) Eli Heidenreich, WR/RB, Navy 7a) Aaron Graves, DT, Iowa 7b) Cole Wisniewski, S, Texas Tech

My only question with Lomu is that I see a lot of evaluations saying he's going to be good but might not be good right away. I'm not remotely qualified to opine on that, so I really have no idea how true that is, but I would think given the position that the Bears are in, if they want a LT in the first round, they want someone who they think can start right away. Or maybe even Lomu starting right away is better than your in house options. I don't know. I guess we'll know in 12 hours or so . . .

Maybe Thieneman?

Last full prediction from me: 1) TJ Parker, DE, Clemson - Had Mesidor in the last one (and would still love him), but then realized Parker had the year Mesidor had at age 24 in 2024 at age 20, which pushes him over the edge (no pun intended). 2) D'Angelo Ponds, CB, Indiana - Yeah, he doesn't fit the DA size preference at CB, but he checks literally every other box the Bears have been preaching in the Ben Johnson era - fast, tough, competitive, smart, comes up with big plays. Poles feels like the kind of guy who would take a shot at him *Trade #60 for a high 3rd and high 5th 3a) Bud Clark, S, TCU - Just a guy who makes plays at safety and has the experience to step right in and start. 3b) Logan Jones, C, Iowa - Mover at C to take over for Bradberry and maybe even push him this year. 4) Ja'Kobi Lane, WR, USC - Caleb knows him from USC and if he's still there when day three, maybe he puts in a good word for him with Poles & Ben. His highlights are as impressive as anyone's, IMO. 5) Eli Heidenreich, WR/RB, Navy - Swiss army knife that Ben can find a use for. 7a) Aaron Graves, DT, Iowa - Same as 7th round pick as my last mock. Fits the DA 3T type and is flying under the radar. 7b) Cole Wisniewski, S, Texas Tech - A box safety/LB hybrid for depth.

Guy I want the most who won't be there - Dillion Thieneman, S, Oregon Guy I want the most who might be there - Akheem Mesidor, DE, Miami Guy I don't want I'm worried they might take - Peter Woods, DT, Clemson Dark horse pick I can't quite commit to predicting (but I want to look like a genius if he's the pick) - Colton Hood, CB, Tennessee Actual Prediction - TJ Parker, DE, Clemson