dawhizz

I don't know why you think I'm "muddying the waters" with my criticism of Grasu in the 3rd and Mason in 5th. Our weakest position on the line, I assume we would all agree, is RT, and probably next is LT. So if we want to upgrade THIS YEAR, we either need to add a T who can start, or add a guard that can start and move Long to T, which doesn't seem like that difficult a task (your subsequent mock with Laken Tomlinson achieves this, for instance). But adding a center in the 3rd and guard in the 5th probably doesn't do that unless you think Shaq Mason can start right away, which I don't, or start Grasu at G, but everything I've read said he's a natural center. I didn't mean to cause a kerfuffle. Just giving my opinion.

I would be OK with this.

It does if I think Donovan Smith can beat out Jordan Mills, which I do.

I don't think we're going to find a consensus. I'm not a big fan of a 1st round pick with 30% body fat and a second round pick that might be the next Josh Gordon. With the trade down, noting the various opinions, this would be my proposal: 1 - Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona State 2 - Carl Davis, DT, Iowa 2 - Damarious Randall, S, Arizona State 3 - Donovan Smith, OT, Penn State 4 - Jake Ryan, LB, Michigan 5 - Javorious Allen, RB, USC 6 - Max Garcia, C/G, Florida

Also, Breshad Perriman visited the Bears today. Bears are certainly doing their homework on the top WRs. Interesting that they've had visits with what is probably the consensus top 4 WRs (Cooper, White, Parker, Perriman) and not one after that, except Tony Lippett, who may be a CB.

Interesting tidbit that I have some tangential involvement in - Patrick Finley tweeted a comment by NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah saying that Danny Shelton was "made to play the nose tackle" in the Bears' new 3-4 defense, and I tweeted (yep that's me down there) something I had noticed and posted about here, that Fangio didn't use big NTs in SF. Jeremiah, who as a scout and assistant in Baltimore from 2003 to 2006 (the last year of which would have been when Fangio was special assistant to the head coach and LB coach in Baltimore), replied and mentioned that there was size at NT in Baltimore when Fangio was there. Now, I would argue the defense in SF is more indicative of the type of defense Fangio wants to run and the types he's interested, but I figured I would pass it along, since Jeremiah might have some insight into Fangio's preferences from their time in Baltimore. Exchange is below: Patrick Finley ‏@patrickfinley · 30m30 minutes ago NFL Net's @MoveTheSticks on who #Bears should take at No. 7: "Danny Shelton was made to play the nose tackle in that defense." Greg Flatt ‏@gcflatt · 23m23 minutes ago @patrickfinley @MoveTheSticks Maybe, but Fangio never used big NTs in SF except Sopoga, who he inherited and let go when his contract ran Daniel Jeremiah ‏@MoveTheSticks · 23m23 minutes ago @gcflatt @patrickfinley he was around in Baltimore when I was there...plenty of size at NT during that time

Pure class: http://chicago.suntimes.com/bears-football...go-newspaper-ad

My problem is that it doesn't really address any of our offensive holes this year, unless Grasu starts over Montgomery. It forces either Royal or Wilson to start at the outside receiver with Jeffery, something I don't think either are suited for, and makes Mills the starting RT by default, unless you envision Long to LT, Bushrod to RT and someone to G (Mills, Ola, Mason?). I'm also not much of a Mannion fan.

Was up with my crying daughter in the middle of the night, so this was how I passed the time and thought I would share. I think I'm getting to the point where I'm getting a pretty good idea of where I see value and how I'd like to see the draft progress, not that it ever actually goes that way . . . 1) Kevin White, WR, West Virginia - I remain a WR at #7 guy and would prefer White over Cooper by a hair, but I figure only one will be there any way. 2) Jake Fisher, OT, Oregon - An upgrade over Jordan Mills, who regressed last season, is sorely needed, and he can start at RT out of the gate and then move to LT whenever cutting Bushrod makes sense. **trade down in 3rd, pick up a 4th and a 7th** 3) Anthony Harris, S, Virginia - I have generally been against this safety class, but Harris is pretty versatile and can shift Vereen into a nickel safety/CB role that I think suits him better. 4a) Marcus Hardison, DE, Arizona State - Big fan of his and he can fit in anywhere in our line as a starter or rotational guy. 4b) Markus Golden, LB, Missouri - Despite all the additions, I think Pace still wants to add a pass rushing LB, and I'm counting on Golden's tweener profile to push him down here, where Fangio can move him around as a rush LB/DE. 5) Shaq Mason, G/C, Georgia Tech - I like pretty much all the mid-round C prospects, but Mason is a favorite because he can play guard and center and is probably one of the better pure run-blocking interior linemen in the draft. Give him a year then hopefully hand the C reigns off to him. 6) Mario Alford, WR, West Virginia - Double dip for WV receivers. Mariani was OK last year as a returner, but only in comparison to what we had and he adds nothing else and is injury prone. Alford has big-time return ability and can contribute readily as a speed/slot receiver. 7) DeVante Bausby, CB, Pittsburgh State - CB from the small school John Brown came out of last year with this size (6'2" 180) and athleticism (4.42 40, 37.5" vertical) that fits the Fangio scheme.

I would split up OL into two needs - C/G and OT, and downplay ILB. There's no one on the roster currently to step in if Will Montgomery gets hurt and Jordan Mills was bad last year at RT.

Although didn't the Bears' receiver coach actually work him out on his pro day? I think that happened. Edit : it did http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000047...-proday-workout Edit #2: He apparently told Sirius NFL on radio that he has a visit lined up with the Bears.

In case you haven't seen it, here 's Aaron Leming's compilation of prospects who have visited with the Bears: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18kV...=1&sle=true

In case you haven't seen it, here 's Aaron Leming's compilation of prospects who have visited with the Bears: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18kV...=1&sle=true

The more I look at the draft, the more I really like the depth of C prospects in the middle rounds. Considering we don't have a need for an immediate starter, I think between Grasu, Gallik, Mason, Finney, Dismukes, and Garcia, unless we have a guy we really love, we can wait for the market to come to us and get a good future starter in the 4th or even 5th round.

At this moment, I would reluctantly choose defense, only because it was the worse unit last year and because we can fix the problems with our offense more easily with the existing FA pool than with defense. The defense-only draft above theoretically gives us a new starting S, OLB, and ILB, a rotational NT, and bodies at CB for now and the future. While that would leave holes on offense (mostly glaringly RT and WR), we could sign Crabtree/Jennings at WR and Joseph Barksdale at RT and still upgrade.

I don't recall seeing these being posted, so I thought I'd pass them along. The first is from Aaron Leming, who has broken some of the Bears signings over the summer. The second is from Adam Hoge from WGN. I'm personally a MUCH bigger fan of the first than the second, but would be interested in hearing others' opinions. http://chi.scout.com/story/1534330-bears-s...ound-mock-draft http://wgnplus.com/2015/04/07/hoge-2015-be...mock-draft-3-0/

I keep hearing the rumblings about the Titans taking Mariota #2. If they do, I wonder what they would want for Mettenberger? I would prefer him to pretty much any QB left in the draft, and he's the kind of big, strong-armed, pocket passer I would think Fox/Gase would prefer (see Brock Osweiler). If we don't think Cutler is long for this team, I wonder if it would be worth trading a draft pick for Mettenberger as a Cutler contingency plan and QB of the future. He was a 6th rounder last year (5 spots in front of Fales), but you can't get him for that now. I guess this hinges on how the new regime feels about Fales, but it seems like something that would be worth a call to me if the Titans do go with Mariota.

Sadly, we are actually THREE weeks out - draft is April 30 - May 2. I'm just as sad about it as you are.

I think the people pushing it are vastly overestimating that love people in Tennessee have for Cutler. If this was a former Tennessee QB, that would be one thing. But its not like Vanderbilt has a rabid following that would translate to the Titans, and I don't see many tweets from Tennessee fans who love the potential addition of Cutler. Most often, it's the opposite.

Rutgers TE Tyler Kroft is visiting the Bears next week. Mid-round pick.

Here's another good article - update on Lamarr Houston. He's certainly saying the right things and interesting that he's planning to be lights and talks about a return to playing 3-4 OLB. He indicates he primarily played OLB in 2012 and 2013, so this is a return for him. http://chicago.suntimes.com/bears-football...ll-bring-animal

I do like Shaq Mason as the center of the future. The rest (beyond Amari) seem like reaches to me.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2421423...-mob-art-vid-16 Of course, in typical BR fashion, the video doesn't quite say that. What Jason Cole says is, that there are "some in the Bears organization" who "wonder" if Mariota would be a good option for the Bears IF they can get the Titans to take Cutler in a trade. Which fits into the "no duh" category for me. There's nothing saying the Bears are trying to trade Cutler or that the Titans are interested at all. It's just the kind of thing someone says when they have absolutely no real evidence to back it up, but wants to get clicks.

You take Williams. I don't think the scenario is all the much different than if you take Shelton at #7. If it's Williams, he plays end with some mix of Ratliff/Ferguson at the NT. If it's Shelton, you put Ferguson/Ratliff at end with the others (McDonald, Jenkins, Sutton). Williams might even be able to play NT in Fangio's system and even be a better fit than Shelton - he's really strong and is comparable to the size of Glenn Dorsey, Ian Williams, and Ricky-Jean Francois, who all played there in SF under Fangio. I would think there would be candidates for a trade down, but if we want to add difference makers on defense, we might not even be inclined to do so.

Bears bringing in OT TJ Clemmings for a visit. Seems like a contingency plan for a trade down- not worth #7 and probably won't be there in the 2nd round.