AZ54

I'm not a big fan of Ward in the first, and I do mean the first round not just the 8th pick. I don't even think he can cover the Bears best WR in practice. I know he has elite athletic traits but he doesn't have the size and strength needed to cover big WRs on the outside and it shows on his tape. In our D who is he going to successfully jam at the LOS? At 180lbs, how will he hold up physically tackling big RBs like Jordan Howard on the edge? If he were on the Packers would you want him covering Robinson in the red zone? He can run all day with Taylor Gabriel but that's not what I want from the 8th pick in the draft. I think he ends up being a very good NB, or a good #2 CB. While Ward might be a bit better athletically we already have a similar talent in Callahan. Rd 2 for Crosby seems a bit high but ok. Rd 4 Turay...love this pick. Excellent edge athlete with little production due to his injury history but when healthy he makes a difference on the field. In the Senior Bowl practices he was almost unblockable in 1on1 pass rush drills. In the 4th the risk/reward is in balance IMO. Rd 4 Orlando Brown. I don't want anything to do with this guy. Ok maybe later because a 5-7th Rd pick is just hope that something good will happen. In the 4th we can still find productive players with upside. Keep in mind, part of my opinion is based on the fact that Nagy wants fast athletic Olinemen and the slowest combine runner in history doesn't fit that mold. We already have one big slow guy on the right side, not sure why we'd need another one who is bigger and slower. Why not Alex Cappa, Brandon Parker, or Jamarco Jones here? In this spot, if he's there I'd take Shaquem Griffin. 145 Allen Lazard...hell yeah.

I think we still need an OC who can block somebody. I like James Daniels but Billy Price injured his pectoral muscle at the combine. That will make him drop a bit and be there for our 2nd Rd pick. He'd look good inside with Whitehair and Long. http://draftbreakdown.com/2017/12/03/billy-price-vs-michigan-2017/

With the NFL meetings come access to coaches and GMs. Rich Campbell put together some things to know about our new offense. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-bears-matt-nagy-bears-offense-20180327-story.html Some of the standout items: We'll be running 13 personnel quite often with 3 TEs on the field. This should answer the question as to why we kept Sims. Of course we'd all like to pay him less for what will be a more limited role. As is typical in KC, we'll be seeing lots of screens. Cadence... we may fail on offense but it will be done quickly. Some of those plays will be deep and maybe even on 4th down as it appears we'll be going for it more often. It's all very anti-Fox. Oline need to be athletic and he liked what he saw on film of last year's players. Of course that led to Sitton leaving too. We should probably take Orlando Brown off our draft board.

Test fire works just fine. I really appreciate the work you are doing.

Before I begin I'll preface this stating I don't know enough about Oline blocking and schemes... Regarding Nelson and this new offense, is he the right fit at OG? Everyone is focused on his power (and it is fun to watch) but he's not the most nimble and if we're going to be in a pure ZBS, he'll struggle to reach some of the outside blocks on DTs. Or will we run a similar blocking scheme to what we did last year? I bring that up because there was talk of moving the less mobile Sitton to RG and putting Long at LG where he can pull and block on the run. If we are staying with a similar scheme then it may make sense to put Nelson at RG and move Long to LG. It's not that Nelson can't pull and block, I just don't see quick feet as his forte. Regardless, the fastest and best path for him on the NFL field is likely to be keeping him at LG where he's already comfortable in his stance. In any case, he moves better than Sitton so that's an upgrade right there. Long term does he stay at LG?

We already have Amos in place. I see no need for a guy who is just a run down safety.

For this reason we can't sleep on Marcus Davenport. He may very well be the better edge rushing prospect vs. Edmunds.

I'm surprised nobody commented on how low Stafford was rated. Carson Wentz fit in around where I feel he should based on what I've seen in his play. And that fully guaranteed contract for Kirk Cousin's looks like a good deal from a Bears fan's perspective because having all that money tied up means they can't keep the entire defense together.

Google it...chicago suntimes to hell and back

Some interesting data regarding our young signal caller. "Did you know? Mitchell Trubisky threw 39 seam passes in 2017 and was accurate on 28 of them. Only Aaron Rodgers was more accurate on seam throws than he was." More at the link... http://presnapreads.com/2018/03/25/quarter...he-2017-season/

Lots of speculation but I haven't seen anything from any of the usual "insiders". I liked Hankins last year and wanted us to go after him. My only concern is can he keep his weight in check. If he does he's a beast on run downs and offers enough movement to get some pass rush. My guess is that Pace is waiting him out to see if his contract demands fall enough to fit into his budget. He was paid 3/30 by the Colts a year ago and they just cut him. According to OTC.com we have 28mil in cap space right now. Jerrell Freeman is still on the roster but will definitely be cut at some point adding $3.5mil more. DTs who can't rush the passer don't get the big bucks so if we could get him for a 2-3yr deal at 5-6mil/yr I'd take it. That gives RRH and Bullard more time to develop and in the meantime provide us with pass rush. There is still room for Pace to setup the rumored long term deals with Amos and Goldman and then add his usual group of veteran FAs on minimum salary deals. None of these are considered reliable sources. https://dawindycity.com/2018/03/24/chicago-...nathan-hankins/ http://sportsmockery.com/2018/03/bears-qui...defensive-line/

I don't see how he holds up setting the edge on run downs in this defense. I love his first step quickness but at this point I see him as a pass rush specialist in our scheme, albeit a productive one. I'd take him in Rd 2 but not at #8. If we trade back quite a bit in Rd 1 I'd have his name there on the board too.

I'd say drafting Edmunds will depend a lot on his interviews, and probably a personal workout with the team so they can see how coachable he is. What does he really understand about playing the position and what effort off the field does he put in to improving his game.

Gabriel stretches the defense vertically and Cohen takes them sideline to sideline. We'll have Burton floating about everywhere in between. Last year defenders would challenge Cohen quickly knowing the next level of defenders was right behind them. This year the help defenders won't be able to make that commitment without getting beat deep (Robinson, Gabriel, and even Meredith). The first defender can challenge Cohen early but if they miss it's a big gain of 15-20yds. Or they'll back off him a bit hoping to corral him into a shorter gain of 5-7yds.

Excellent article by Adam Jahns on the Bears coaching search. https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/to-hell...-guy-matt-nagy/

Excellent article by Adam Jahns on the Bears coaching search. https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/to-hell...-guy-matt-nagy/

Those Twitter comments from Gabriel are hilarious.

At first I thought the original round tender offer Pace put on Meredith was just him being cautious with somewhat unproven WR returning from injury. I now believe his intentions all along were to secure Meredith for a few years on a reasonable contract, perhaps around $5-7mil per year. Meaning he'd like him to sign an offer from another team so he can match it. If he does not, Pace can still offer that kind of a deal for Meredith, perhaps something in the 3 yr range that gets him back to FA when he's still young enough (he's 25 now) to really capitalize on it but also gives him enough now that he's financially secure for life. Cam offers versatility (x, y, and z) and will likely be our starting slot WR this year. Gabriel has primarily operated on the outside in his career but with these two on the field at the same time, and Robinson on the opposite side, defenses will not be able to focus on the defending the run.

Good summary. I like the offensive FAs we brought in as they should fit the scheme we're going to run very well. Now teams have to defend against both Cohen and Gabriel, often at the same time. Neither is a full-time player but each offers enough big play potential to turn a game around. TEs in Shaheen and Burton will also keep LBs and safeties busy. All orchestrated by a very mobile QB. Last year Trubisky was stuck playing chess with only pawns. This year he's got almost the full array of pieces to work with. One thing remains missing and that is a solid starting RB who can handle both running and pass receiving. Howard improved his receiving quite a bit last year but he's not Matt Forte. You may have read the quote from Pace where he said that Nagy was very adamant about how important having a good move TE (the U TE now) is to his offense, and Pace went hard after Trey Burton. Paid a bit more than I expected for him too, but after reading that later on I realize why Pace made the commitment. The question remains: Did Nagy say the same thing about having a RB who can function well as a receiver? I suspect he did and that a rookie RB is headed our way, maybe as high as the 2nd Rd. If not there, likely with one of our 4th Rd picks. I too was surprised we kept Sims around. I realize we already paid about $4mil but I won't be surprised if he's included in a draft day trade to help us move up. This is not a good draft for TEs and for a team needing an inline blocker like Sims he'll now be cheap for them. On the other hand, Nagy likes to throw deep about 7 times per game plus he is helpful to have as the blocker in the red zone while Shaheen handles the receiving duties. Sims won't be here next year. Arizona saw Glennon up close at the preseason game last year (so did I I was a proponent of keeping both Fuller and Amukamara so I can't complain. Fuller did get more than expected once the Packers got involved but finally having some continuity here will be nice for once. Amukamara got paid well too but as is typical Pace, we can get out of his deal after just one year if we choose. Was keeping both part of the deal when we kept Fangio? Cooper coming back was the biggest surprise for me. I like having several of our core special teams player back and that includes Bellamy, Acho, and the recently re-signed McManis. Until we see how the draft plays out, how the rookies and other young players look on special teams in the preseason, having these options on the roster is a very good thing. With Unrein gone I suspect there is some confidence in RRH and/or Bullard improving this year. My money is on RRH. I still think we'll add a vet FA DT to support the rotation up front. OLB remains the top need heading into the draft.

I agree and slowly Edmunds has risen into a top 10 player on many boards. I saw one mock proposal that had us taking Edmunds and then in Rd 2 Lorenzo Carter. 8 weeks ago Carter was listed as a 4th Rd prospect and he too has risen a lot lately. Carter doesn't have a lot of production but his athleticism is outstanding and fits the OLB role well. It is intriguing because adding that much athletic ability to our front 7 would make the D very tough although it will probably take a full season for both these players to settle into their roles. In the meantime we have Lynch to fill in the role McPhee sort of held for us the past few seasons. Pass rush can come from anywhere on the field as can pass coverage. Probably need to find a vet DE/DT to fill out the roster.

There's going to be someone coming in via FA to shore up the depth chart but I sense they like Morgan far more than we know. What else can it be? Kush is coming off a serious injury and while he's looking good working out I still like him best as a depth player. That's not to say Morgan is being penciled in as the starter but they might think he can compete with a tier 2 FA OG for the job. That's the market we're sitting in right now in FA. Best man wins and the other is a backup. https://twitter.com/EricKush64 I like Nelson but I'm still not as sold on him being the right pick for us at #8.

This year was like Christmas when you wake up and find everything you wanted under the tree.

Just glad to be back. I've been reading other boards but none are family like this one.

Just glad to be back. I've been reading other boards but none are family like this one.

That is true, Howard fit the run-run-pass offense very well.