dawhizz

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.

SIGN SOMEBODY ALREADY! (I'm only kind of kidding)

Parker back to Chiefs. 5/$30 million. Seems high. Glad the Bears moved on.

I would hope that given our holes we could do better in the third round than go after competition for a backup RB who did a fine job last year.

I know we've all penciled in OLB as a need in the first two rounds, but the more I look at the roster, the more I'm questioning it: - McPhee will be a starter and while he'll probably move all over, but figures to spend most of his time at OLB. - Pace has said Young, Allen, and Houston will all start as potential OLBs. I personally see Houston and probably Allen as a better fit at DE, but I can see Young locking down the other OLB. - Even if he doesn't, I think most of us see Christian Jones as a starter, and his best position is probably OLB in a 3-4, though maybe ILB isn't out of the question. - I can actually see David Bass being very effective as a 3-4 OLB. - On top of that, while he could potentially play inside, McClellin was seen coming out of the draft as a best fit at 3-4 OLB. - The only real fit on the roster presently at ILB is Bostic. Maybe Khaseem Greene and Jones/McClellin can play there too, but that seems more uncertain. Hopefully they bring in Mason Foster or someone as well, and likely draft another ILB. So, we have seven players (McPhee, Allen, Young, Houston, Jones, Bass, and McClellin) on the roster right now who can challenge for a role at 3-4 OLB. Even if Houston and/or Allen end up at DE and someone like McClellin just washes out, that still leaves a full four players. I'll certainly defer to Fangio's evaluation of the fits, but don't these guys deserve a year to see if they fit before we spend a top pick on an OLB?

Had a better year than Marshall last year and is two years younger.

This is the last semi-legit thing I saw, from last night: Michael C. Wright ‏@mikecwright · 12h12 hours ago If anything gets done w/Ron Parker, expectation is it won't be soon. Told it could, emphasis on could, happen later tomorrow.

My read on Rolle and Royal is that people on Twitter jumped the gun on the signings and created a premature sense that they were going to be Bears. I think they both will sign, likely today. If all we heard was that Royal and Rolle were on their way to Chicago for a visit last night, we wouldn't even be asking what was up. It's just that some lesser known people on twitter are trying to join the arms race for NFL legitimacy and were willing to go on less than concrete information to be the "first to post." I mean, @ChiSportsUpdates reported the Royal signing at like 4:00 yesterday, then again at around 11:00, then whined on twitter about getting credit for the report, then Michael C. Wright said no deal yet half an hour later. We just need to wait and try to separate the legit sources from the wannabes.

Leming now saying deal for Royal done.