dawhizz

He signed with someone. Redskins maybe?

Weird on a number of levels. They signed Fleener and Hooohoomanuwi (or whatever). Plus, I didn't think they had any cap room, but I thought I saw that they signed Fairley along with matching Hill.

Bears also did a workout with Corey Coleman, another first round WR. Not sure what to make of it, other than to say that I don't think teams pay as much attention to who other teams bring in for workouts as anyone seems to think, so it's hard for me to see their interest in 1st round WRs as entirely a smokescreen.

Trade #11 & #206 to Bills for #19, #80 (3rd), #117 (4th), and a 3rd next year. Bills, who got two comp picks, move up to draft Shaq Lawson and fill a desperate need for a pass-rushing DE. I don’t love the value for the Bears at #11. I don’t think Stanley or Buckner falls. I want a CB, but Hargreaves and Alexander don’t fit the Fangio DB model. Robinson makes sense, but in a deep DL draft you can get similar value in the 2nd, I think, and the other good pass-rushers seem more like 4-3 DEs. I’m warming to the idea of Elliott, but I think he goes before this. I’d consider QB, but I’m personally not enamored with this class at the top. So I trade down and get some extra picks. 1) Eli Apple, CB, Ohio State – Even going back to #19, I think Apple, William Jackson, or Artie Burns will be there, all CBs who have the size, speed, and physicality that fits Fangio’s scheme. 2) Vernon Butler, DE, Louisiana Tech – I’ve seen him projected all over the board, but I’ll be optimistic and say he slides here, which would be an ideal turn of events for the Bears. He could start right away at DE and give the Bears a really physically imposing front. 3) Jerald Hawkins, OT, LSU – The Bears need depth at OT. Hawkins is raw, but can serve as a swing tackle this year while still putting pressure on Leno at LT. 3) Pharoh Cooper, WR, South Carolina – Immediate difference maker in the return game and can contribute as a playmaker as a sub-package receiver/wildcat QB/all around awesome guy. 4) Sean Davis, S, Maryland – Davis was shaky last year a CB, but earned some good man coverage experience that will serve him well in a return to safety, where he played previously. One of the bigger hitters in the secondary in the draft and another big, fast, physical body for the secondary. 4) Eric Striker, LB, Oklahoma – Beyond the great name, he played the Von Miller role for Oklahoma last year lining up all over the field. He’s a likely mid-round pick because he’s short and was slow in his 40, but Fangio has never seemed to place a premium on those qualities at LB (see: Chris Borland). 4) Dak Prescott, QB, Mississippi State – Time to start developing a young QB behind Cutler who can step in and not be a disaster. 5) Conner McGovern, G, Missouri – Bears don’t have much depth at guard and McGovern is a really strong guy who can step in anywhere on the line in a pinch. 6) DeAndre Washington, RB, Texas Tech – My favorite under the radar RB prospect – all he did was average 5.9 and 6.4 ypc the last two years, catch the ball well, and pass block like a pro in a major conference on a pass-first team. 7) Antuan Woods, DT, USC – A big body to backup Goldman.

Unfortunately, this is another one of the hits you get when you search "Omar Bolden" in youtube:

Nice potential. Suggests to me they don't really like the draft crop. If we add him at $2 million/year, and still have Lee which you traded a pick for and Housler who you just resigned, wonder if they would still consider TE in the draft.

Would make sense. Only 25. Comes from the Saints, so Pace is familiar with him. Pretty productive with limited snaps. He's an RFA, but at the lowest level so Bears would not owe compensation. Would say something about how the Bears feel about the draft at TE.

My only problem with that is that I think part of our o-line problems last year was all the shuffling. I thought Montgomery was fine when he was in there, so a dedicated veteran back up C, especially with a second year player starting, is more desirable to me than having Slauson move and having someone else move into Slauson's spot.

Beyond Will Montgomery (who makes sense as a back-up for Grasu), there's no one else I really see as a "must add" right now. I know we have a bunch of cap space, but if we keep it, does that give us more flexibility to add guys who get cut in preseason/after the draft? If so, I would be fine sitting back for the most part and seeing who gets cut loose. I would agree that Tony Jefferson makes sense, but I also think the team likes Harold Jones-Quartay.

My thought is that our roster is already full of "catch first" TEs (Miller, Housler, Lee, Sinclair). If Miller manages to stay healthy, we're not going to get much production from a second pass-catching TE. If he doesn't, it's hard for me to see a big difference between the production, say, Nick Vannett would have and the production those other guys would have with the same number of snaps. And if what we need is a blocking TE, you don't need to use a pick in the first four rounds for that.

I know Henry in the 3rd is good value, but I think the secondary is the weak area for this team, and nothing here really helps that. I obviously don't know what DBs were available in the third for you, but I would tend to go that way (within reason) instead of Henry. OtherwiseI'd be good with it.

I don't want either Henry in the 2nd.

Good questions and ones I have been thinking about recently as well. My thoughts: 1) Do you think the Bears will draft a TE? Yes. 2) Do you think they will draft him in the first four rounds? No. This is a bad TE draft, by all accounts. My read is that some guys like Jerrell Adams and Nick Vannett who might be 5th or 6th round picks in another draft are getting 2nd/3rd/4th round consideration. But as I look down the list, I don't see any real difference between those guys and someone you would get in the 5th/6th, and while we only have one draft to go on, Pace doesn't seem like one who would reach to satisfy a perceived need if comparable talent could be had a round or two earlier. I'm going to say the Bears draft a TE with one of their 6th round picks. 3) What stats do you think Zach Miller, assuming he stays injury free, will have at the end of the year? If he was actually healthy the whole year, I'll say 70 catches, 700 yard, 7 TDs, which would put him in the top ten, but less than Bennett had in 2014. I'm also assuming a healthy Kevin White and Eddie Royal taking catches away from TE.

Looking at those names and some recent Bears drafts (2012 with Brandon Hardin & Evan Rodriguez and 2011 with Chris Conte), one thing I appreciate looking back at Pace's first draft is that we didn't have any reaches or picks that looked like an attempt to outthink the room - pretty much everyone was drafted at or around when you thought they would go before the draft. One year is too soon to call it a trend, but I hope to see that continue in this draft.

Now watch he be an all-pro (although that didn't work too well for Bostic in NE . . .)

I've heard exactly zero on this front, but what about Russell Okung? Just 27, which fits the Pace offseason strategy. Injury history is bad, but if healthy he gives you a top 5 LT and incredible O-line and shifts Leno to swing tackle.

Agree. Like Byron Marshall, Demarcus Ayers, and Jaydon Mickens as possible late round WR/return men.

I would go Pharoh Cooper instead of Sharpe in the 3rd so we could get a legit return man, but otherwise I'd be fine with it.

Came across this cap analysis: http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2016/03/15/dur...y-cap-update-2/

Posted in wrong thread.

I like the trade and generally like the approach (though the numbering of picks instead of with their round number makes this a tough read). I would probably make some minor adjustments: - If we are going to draft a guy for safety, I would just as soon draft someone like Karl Joseph instead of projecting Redmond to S. - If we are going to draft a WR, I'd like someone with some return ability. My dream is Pharoh Cooper. - Got to go DL at some point, whether it's a back-up for Goldman or depth at DE. I don't think Schobert or Nicholas can play there. Using most of your original picks and approach, I would go more like: 1) Artie Burns, CB, Miami - Jackson might have more upside, but I like Burns a little more. 2) Shon Coleman, OT, Auburn 3) Karl Joseph, S, West Virginia 3) Pharoh Cooper, WR, South Carolina 4) Matt Ionaidis, DE, Temple 5) Willie Beavers, OT/G, Central Michigan - Can probably provide OG depth for now. 6) Dak Prescott, QB, Miss. St. 6) David Morgan, TE, Texas San Antonio 6) Joe Schobert, LB, Wisconsin 7) Antwaun Woods, NT, USC - Backup for Goldman.

I'm mostly OK with it, and my main concerns may be debatable: 1) I think if we draft a S, it should be more of a FS than a SS like Cash. I supposed it depends on where you see Amos fitting best, but coming off a year when he had 0 ints and 1 PD, I would think they would want a better coverage/takeaway guy. 2) Isn't Kaufusi more of a 4-3 DE? I'm willing to be proven wrong on this, but he doesn't seem big enough for 3-4 end.

Honestly, I'm not a fan of the new one and I don't see any problem with the original one we did. I would probably just replace Cravens with a DE (maybe Bullard?), Kafudi with an edge OLB (Joe Schobert maybe?) and Mouton with maybe a RB, I'd be good with it.

I heard we had about $25 million in cap room after adding Hicks, and that about $10 million of that would be reserved for the draft. So we have about $12 million left after Miller, though that might go up to $17 million if we move Bennett. Could still add some decent pieces in the secondary, I would think.

I've always thought Dodd and Calhoun were better suited to 4-3 DE, and that Lawson could kind of go either way, with Floyd as probably the best fit at OLB in a 3-4. I would agree that there's not a Von Miller in this draft, but Floyd is the closest thing after Bosa.