dawhizz

Bears sent their DB coach to the UConn pro day. Byron Jones really fits the Fangio CB mold - 6'1" 199 lbs, reportedly ran a 4.36 40 today (he didn't run at the combine). Someone to keep an eye on, maybe as early as round 2.

I agree that this off-season is a bit better, but I think they are more similar than you think: - We signed one player right out of the gate to a big contract (Houston/McPhee). - We signed one older player for a mid-level contract at a position of need (Mundy/Rolle). - We signed one player in his prime with moderate production to a reasonable deal (Young/Royal). - We signed a bunch of players to 1-year contracts that projects as lower-end starters or bench depth (Hixon, Jennings, McCray/McDonald, Jenkins, Ducasse). Gafford isn't really an indication of anything besides the fact that we don't have a long snapper. Foster is probably the biggest difference, as he figures to be an average/above-average starter that we got on a one year deal, but other than that, these seem like similar strategies.

I would not be pleased. That doesn't seem like a draft likely to make us much better next year. Beasley would be the biggest potential impact, but even he's going to likely be a part-time pass rusher his rookie year. Coates is one of the most talented, but least pro-ready, WRs in the draft we certainly can't pencil him in as an immediate starter with Jeffery. I'm also getting increasingly less inclined to draft a safety this year unless we go with Cooper. t's a bad safety class, but next year's is potentially much better. I would just as soon give Vereen the starting reps at safety next year so we can really see what we have. I personally don't see any safety we would get outside of the first round or maybe two being a better option that Vereen.

Coates is the only one I have a real problem with. I watch his highlights and even in those, he's a body catcher. I know he has a ton of physical talent, but I don't see him as ready to contribute as a WR this year much if at all and get a major Stephen Hill vibe from him. My dream is that Jaelen Strong lasts to the 2nd, but I'm not sure that happens. If we take a WR in the 2nd, I'd rather it be Devin Smith or even Nelson Agholar.

I like how this roster is starting to shape up, but let's not forget that we were saying very similar things about Emery's off-season this time last year. He was plugging holes in the roster, a lot of which were one-year deals, and leading us to believe it would give us the roster flexibility to be a BPA kind of draft, and we all saw where that got us. Let's just hope these guys work out. As much as Emery's draft failed to make a big impact last year, I do have to give him some credit that everyone he drafted remains on the roster (for now) and all played and didn't look like they were completely lost. Ferguson, Vereen, and Sutton weren't dynamic, but they made some plays and looked like the belonged. Carey did well with limited work. O'Donnell was a starter all year. Fuller wore down a bit with injuries and having to match up with the other team's #1 WR every week as a rookie. Even Leno saw some action and seems like a keeper as a potential swing tackle. Look at other teams' drafts from last year and you see a lot of high picks who never played, mid or late-round picks who got cut, or guys whose years were lost to injuries. Some of that is luck, but if you judge it against the Bears' past drafts, it seems better than most, which isn't saying much, but still.

I'm not a big fan of this safety class, but Landon Collins is one of the few that I think would be an immediate and significant upgrade (because I'm not a big fan of our existing safeties either), so here's another way we could go Trade down ten sports or so in the first, pick up a 2nd and 5th: 1) Landon Collins, S, Alabama 2) PJ Williams, CB, Florida State 2) Cedric Ogbuehi, OT, Texas A&M 3) Nelson Algholar, WR, USC 4) Marcus Hardison, DE, Arizona State 5) Andy Gallik, C, Boston College 5) Jake Ryan, LB, Michigan 6) Marcus Murphy, RB, Missouri

29 years old and has started in the past. Fits the Fangio CB type - 6'2".

While it really shouldn't matter, I can't but help think that with the draft in Chicago , the Bears might opt toward a more recognizable/dynamic playmaker in the first. It's hard for me to envision them going with an O-lineman or even Collins. Someone like Cooper, Mariota, or even one of the stud pass rushers would get a positive reaction from the crowd, I would think.

Per Jen Leda on Twitter (and a congratulatory tweet from Jarvis Jenkins).

Are there any Bears workouts/camps between now and the draft? I keep on reading about how John Fox says the Bears still have a lot of needs (and how he doesn't even know who the leaders on this team might be), and Ryan Pace talking about where they believe the current players on the roster fit into the new defensive scheme, then we keep talking about where we see certain players fitting and how that will impact the draft, etc. What I keep wondering is, without any workout between now and the draft, how is the new staff supposed to figure out where people will fit. I guess this is a problem all new regimes deal with, but it seems to me that in particular when you are fundamentally changing how the players line up and what they do, it's like doing into a draft without having any idea how 1/4 of your roster fits into what you want to do, not to mention you don't know how guys who aren't going to change positions take to your scheme. The current staff really doesn't have anything to go on besides tape to determine, for instance, if they see Marques Wilson as a starter, or whether a short CB like Tim Jennings can work in Fangio's system, or if Ratliff can still be a 3-4 NT. I do not envy their job (well, I do, but you know what I mean).

I would argue that Collins at 7 comes with questions. Questions such as "Are we sure he's that good?" and "We didn't really take him at 7, did we?" He seems like the best of a bad class of safeties. My sense, and I could certainly be wrong, is that he's behind the grades that guys like Clinton-Dix and Pryor had coming out. Would you trade the #7 pick for one of those guys? If your answer is yes, why not just sign Tashaun Gipson, who has a second-round tender?

I just hope we don't have any reactions like this on draft day:

I agree with your strategy. I think the lack of FA activity speaks to a desire to trade down and get younger, and I could see us trying to get multiple late round picks thrown into early round trade down to help fill out the roster with guys that fit what Fox/Fangio/Gase/Pace like (which is why I threw in an extra 6th & 7th below). I personally would go: 1) Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan State - Fits the Fangio mold of big fast CBs. I'm not sure Jennings is long for this team (the 49ers didn't have A CB shorter than 5'10" during Fangio's tenure), and I think Waynes will be there in the middle rounds, like Dennard was last year. 2) Eric Kendricks, LB, UCLA - 49ers had Willis and Bowman. Time for the Bears to get impact players there too. 2) Cameron Erving, C, Florida State - Versatility to step in wherever we are weakest on the line right away, though he might not last this long. 2) Nelson Agholar, WR, USC - Can make an impact inside or outside and return kicks. I really wonder how the new regime feels about Marques Wilson. That might go a long way in figuring out how early WR is addressed. 3) Marcus Hardison, DL, Arizona State - The versatile D-lineman you mentioned. Big enough to play NT in Fangio's scheme, but perfect fit as a 5-technique. 4) Garrett Grayson, QB, Colorado State - I think Jay will be on a short leash this year and the new regime will want someone to develop. 5) Damarious Randall, S, Arizona State - Sub 4.5 speed and great tackling numbers for a safety. 6) Kyle Emanuel, LB, North Dakota St. - Pass-rush terror vs. lower completion, but worth working with and throwing into the OLB mix. 6) Chucky Hunter, DT, TCU - Could be a perfect fit in Fangio's system as a NT. 7) Marcus Murphy, RB, Missouri - Brings speed to RB position and some return/receiver versatility.

Obviously there's no way to know exactly how much say Fangio had in the drafts when he was in SF, but he had to have some say, right? So I figured I'd take a look at the defensive players they drafted. One big difference in looking at this is the fact that SF was already running a 3-4 when he got there and they already had Patrick Willis, Navarro Bowman and Justin Smith (to name just a few). 2011 1 - Aldon Smith, DE, Missouri - 6'4" 263, 4.78 3 - Chris Culliver, CB, South Carolina - 6'1" 201. 4.40 6 - Colin Jones, S, TCU - 5'11" 200, 4.34 7 - Curtis Holcomb, CB, Florida A&M - 5'10" 184, 4.47 2012 5 - Darius Fleming, LB, Notre Dame - 6'2" 245, 4.77 5 - Trenton Robinson, S, Michigan State - 5'10" 195, 4.52 7 - Cam Johnson, DE, Virgina - 6'3" 268, 4.81 2013 1 - Eric Reid, S, LSU - 6'1" 213, 4.53 2 - Tank Carradine, DE, Florida State - 6'4" 276, 4.76 40 at pro day (torn ACL at end of season) 3 - Corey Lemonier, LB, Auburn - 6'3" 255, 4.60 5 - Quinton Dial, DL, Alabama - 6'5" 318, DNR 6 - Nick Moody, LB, Florida State - 6'1" 236 4.71 7 - Marcus Cooper, CB, Rutgers - 6'2" 192, 4.45 2014 1 - Jimmie Ward, S, Northern Illinois - 5'11" 193, 4.47 3 - Chris Borland, LB, Wisconsin - 5'11" 248, 4.83 4 - Dontae Johnson, CB, NC State - 6'2" 200, 4.45 5 - Aaron Lynch, LB, South Florida - 6'5" 249, 4.65 5 - Keith Reaser, CB, Florida Atlantic - 5'10" 189, torn ACL at end of year, but reported 4.32 pre-injury 6 - Kenneth Acker, CB, SMU - 6'0" 190, 4.50 7 - Kaleb Ramsey, DE, Boston College - 6'3" 293, NR My takeaways: - Speed is valued in the secondary overall - they never drafted a DB with a 40 time lower than 4.53, and that was Eric Reid. - Height is valued at CB. Of the six CBs drafted, four were 6'0" or above. - Speed is not a deal-breaker at LB, particularly if you have production. Borland and Smith were both relatively high picks despite fairly pedestrian 40 times. - Size is not needed (and maybe not even desired) at NT. Fangio inherited Isaac Sopoaga (who weighs 330), but he was let go after his contract ran out. Since then, he's used Ian Williams (305), Glenn Dorsey (297), Rickey-Jean Francois (297), and Quinton Dial (318) at NT. - There's more draft picks from major college programs than I would have thought. I count only three draft picks I would call "small schoolers". - I see a willingness to draft injured players who are devalued based on injury, although truthfully if you have a defense like SF's, you can afford that more than the Bears can this year. Some thoughts on the 2015 draft based on what I see: - At DT, this seems to suggest against the big Shelton, Phillips, Goldman types. Based on type, I would think Ego Ferguson would actually be a great fit at NT. If we draft one, I would expect it to be in the middle/late rounds and someone closer to 300 lbs with some run-stuff ability. Guys I think might qualify include Kaleb Eulls, Joey Mbu, David Parry, and Chucky Hunter. - Big CBs who ran 4.5 or lower 40s outside of the premium guys would include Josh Shaw, Eric Rowe, and Damian Swann. - The selection of Chris Borland makes me wonder if maybe the productive LBs who didn't run great like Paul Dawson and Denzel Perryman might be targets in the 2nd round.

Do you not want Shelton at all, or just not at #7?

I'll try to make it somewhat realistic: 1) Landon Collins, S, Alabama - Not worth the pick in a down year for safeties and I don't think he's anything special. 2) Brett Hundley, QB, UCLA - Looks like Josh Freeman to me without the early success. Has no feel for the pocket. 3) Devin Funchess, WR, Michigan - Don't but him as a WR and I don't think we need another TE this early. 4) Ellis McCarthy, DT, UCLA - Big guy, but inconsistent effort, bad stats, and a history of knee injuries. 5) Trent Brown, OT, Florida - Raw blocker who won't help any time soon. 6) Cody Riggs, CB, Notre Dame - Small and thin CB prospect and we need help at the position sooner.

I see lots of Bears on there - Zach Minter, Nate Collins, Michael Bush, Harvey Unga, Jordan Miller . . . Adam Carriker never lived up to expectations of being a first round draft pick and he's 30, but he might be worth a shot as a 3-4 DE if he's healthy. Jewel Hampton is nothing real special, but showed some promise with the 49ers. He's probably better than Perry, but he's had knee problems in the past. Osusu-Ansah came out of a small college and was seen as a developmental CB/S. He has good size for both, but has never stuck anywhere. Given the Bears' thin secondary, I'd give him a shot. Has return experience as well and I think someone even tried him at WR. Brian Rolle is new Bear Antrel Rolle's cousin and started for the Eagles a couple years ago.

If someone posted this before, I didn't see it - Greg Gabriel talking about where Bears might fit in the 3-4. Interesting that he notes that the Fangio DTs in SF were not the big Shelton/Knighton size, although he seems to just be coming off of last year's roster/ I seem to recall them using Isaac Sopoaga at NT for awhile and he was like 330, so who knows? http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2015/03/06/gab...fensive-scheme/

Oh I agree (see my post questioning whether OLB is really a need), but at the same time, it's hard for me to believe that the exact same players in a new scheme is enough to turn this defense around.

It seems to me Ratliff is more of a 3-4 DE at this point in his career than a NT. He can still get after the QB a bit, but he's big enough to stop the run. Plus, he's on the last year of his contract and is 34 or so, so he's not a part of the Bears long-term solution. Same for Ferguson. As I've said before, I think this draft hinges on where the new coaches see these guys playing (which I still have almost no handle on), but I've seen people touting Carl Davis as a potential 3-4 DE for the Bears and Ego is the same size.

I don't mind the positions, but I'm not a big fan of the players. I keep reading how McKinney struggles and coverage and may be a 2-down LB, which is not what I'm looking for from the 2nd pick. I'm pretty down on this safety class in general and I'd just as soon see what Vereen can do with another year than grab one in a down year just because of need. Maybe it's time to fire up a mock draft thread, but here's what I'm thinking: **Trade down a couple spots in the first (maybe to Giants) and pick up a 4th and 7th.** 1) Danny Shelton, DT, Washington - Just seems to make sense and I'm convinced he helps our whole defensive scheme come together: the other DTs can concentrate on fitting in at DE, the previous DEs can concentrate on OLB or 3-4 DE. 2) Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona State - Looks like Alshon 2.0 to me and count me among those concerned about our WRs. I love the idea of Strong and Jeffery on the outside and Royal and Wilson in the slot. 3) D'Joun Smith, CB, Florida Atlantic - Big cover corner to help a really shallow unit. 4a) Garrett Grayson, QB, Colorado State - QBs always fall on draft day. I like him more than Bryce Petty. 4b) BJ Finney, C, Kansas State - Centers always fall on draft day too. I'd like to see some more size on the line and Finney could challenge Garza right away. 5) Antwan Goodley, WR, Baylor - I should probably go somewhere else here, but I think he's one of the most underrated WRs in the draft, plus he can help in the return game and maybe even at RB. 6) Jeff Luc, LB, Cincinnati - He's probably not much more than a potential two-down, run-stuffing LB, but that's kind of what the Bears need and he hits hard. Potential FB as well. 7) Cam Thomas, DB, Western Kentucky - Developmental CB/S who had a nose for the ball against lower competition.

I'd prefer someone a bit bigger than Grasu. I guess it depends whether we are a zone-blocking team or not (anyone know?), but I have my eye on BJ Finney, who we might be able to get a round or two later.

Why are you so against a WR in the first? I know our defense was bad last year, but we're an injury to Jeffery away from starting Eddie Royal and Marques Wilson at WR.

Considering we were starting Ryan Groy by the end of last year, it's hard to criticize this signing.

I would be fine with it as well. It seems to me that if Cooper is there at #7, and we are focusing on a BPA strategy, he almost has to be the pick, right? The biggest question mark for me as far as projecting the draft (besides not having any frame of reference to Pace's drafting approach/philosophy) is their evaluation of the defensive linemen on the roster. I just don't know what they think they have and where they potentially fit (see, my recent post on the need at OLB). I've generally operated under the assumption that there is no true NT on the roster, so I've been lately leaning towards Danny Shelton in the first. But Ratliff has played the nose before and I can see Ego also handling it OK (and I think I remember Pace talking about Ratliff being a "building block" for the new defense when he was hired), in which case our needs on the line would shift toward DE and guys like Carl Davis make more sense. It would be nice if that were the case, because it seems like there are more quality 3-4 DEs in rounds 2-5 than 3-4 NTs.