AZ54

I hope you are correct but his history says he could just as easily fumble his way out of town. 30 fumbles in college is a lot and defenders only get bigger faster and smarter in the NFL. As Jay Gruden said if those fumbles were INTs people would be questioning it a lot more. There’s a lot of talk that he’s a finished product yet he has many things to improve up in the NFL. He’s not the tallest either so I’m expecting teams will try to keep him in the pocket and avoid those extended plays. His quick release will help him avoid batted passes. Not to mention all the crazy arm angles he throws from. It’ll be really hard for a DT to predict the release point.

Agreed, that makes for better TV.

A week or two ago I asked why Poles hasn't declared Caleb will be the first pick in the draft? This is now the worst kept secret in the NFL especialy after watching his pre-draft press conference when he was talking about Caleb in glowing terms. After reflecting on that a bit I now believe he's just doing this to give that moment to Caleb. Caleb has been very clear this has been one of his goals for a long time. IMO that's a class move by Poles not to steal the spotlight and that moment from him by making the announcement early.

I would say he’s keeping his options open. First see who is still on the board at 9 then compare against any offers you get.

Not entirely correct. Some of us had Darnell Wright as the target. All the glory goes to the dice that I rolled.

If there was tampering it affects the entire league not just the Vikings. Any other team, including Chicago, could have pursued Cousins, although there is a logical end to the list of suitors. So the Bears were potentially harmed, as were other teams. Awarding the ATL pick to Minn further harms the Bears and the other teams that could have pursued Cousins. If they do that they are idiots.

If you pick at 9 you should come away with a blue chip player at a premium position. These days with colleges running so many wide open offenses it’s not hard to find a good WR outside the top 15. If you really want a WR at 9 you should just trade down maybe way down to late first. Otherwise the drop off at the premium positions OT DE QB is rapid.

Never thought I’d say this but we just need Caleb to do what Geno did in Waldrons offense. In that light it sure doesn’t seem like a high bar.

This anti-Williams fan is finally seeing a different side of Williams, a more mature one that fits what I expect from a starting NFL QB. More importantly for me is that this is the actually the first time I've ever seen Caleb genuinely smile when talking about the Bears (when he mentions the good time he had on his 30 visit). Talent for me was never the biggest issue although I do still have concerns about some of his bad habits such as bad throws under pressure, and how loosely he carries the ball when scrambling. Plus he's not the most accurate deep passer but he's good enough. I was more worried about 1) would he even play in Chicago, and 2) would he have the work ethic and maturity to handle this job in the NFL. Kudos to Channing Crowder, Ryan Clark, and Fred Taylor for putting together a quality interview, really a deep dive into the person who is Caleb Williams. I remember after we drafted Trubisky I came across an article about Mahomes. In short, during college Mahomes was totally focused on getting to the NFL. He wasn't into the party scene, didn't drink, just focused on football. I had him as my 1b to Trubisky as 1a because I'd seen him have numerous multi INT games where he'd make risky throws all over the field. If I had known the character side of both players there's no way I'd have taken Trubisky over Mahomes. Looking back it's clear Trubisky doesn't really want to put in the effort to be a starting QB, not physical but the mental side with film study. After listening to him in this interview now I don't see that being a problem with Caleb. I also feel like he's gained some maturity or perspective on things as he's gone through the draft process. Without saying it directly, it seems to me he hints that there are some things he'll do differently and better in the future.

No too rich for me. Also the drop off to the 3rd or even 4th/5th best WRs isn't that great this year. We also have Bowers out there as a really good receiving option, and with the right supporting cast he might pose more of a problem to defenses than Harrison.

Depends on how you define "risk". If you simply look at it as a numbers game then yes there are more failures in later rounds. If you look at it in terms of investment, not just money but also opportunity cost then the miss on a top ten pick is really bad.

I don’t buy that argument. I’d buy the crappy GM drafted you argument better. Even teams with bad QBs always can find decent options to pair with a good roster. It might take a year or three to get that FA QB but in the meantime you’re building everywhere else on the roster. Derek Carr. Cousins. Just look at what Shanahan has done with cast off QBs. That includes Purdy because nobody wanted him. If a GM is doing their job right you should be on a competitive roster in year 3. Year 4 at the latest.

Because he was underrated coming into the draft process. I saw him in one game midsession. He was just stonewalling guys and making it look easy.

If the Bears have Barton rated that highly I wouldn’t argue the pick over JPJ.

True. They do say if we go pass catcher at 9. also true the only value at 9 would be Odunze or Bowers. really easy for a writer to throw that out there.

sorry I sent that before reading the whole thread which was blowing up quickly. I see your strategy but if it were me I’d rather take JPJ at 13. Glaring need. Blue chip talent and no position change adjustment needed. He’s good enough to slide out to G IMO so that pick covers depth at all the interior spots. I see Killer’s point about the value but we are talking about investing in protecting a #1 QB. Sometimes you can’t always get the value proposition right while the downside risk to the higher value position of QB means if he’s your guy you just take him.

I’m curious with your Oline background what you see in Fuaga. He seems a bit stiff not as fluid as I’d like for a LT. I think he’ll be fine at RT but we got one. I like Barton a lot.

I don't have many because without a big trade this is kind of a 2 pick draft with a cherry on top. I don't know a fast way to format this so I'm just pulling off a top 100 list. Likes are only going to be guys that standout to me so you'll see some surprises like Odunze not on my list because I think we can similar value later in the 1st. Likes: MHJ, Nabors (elite quickness), Bowers, Latu, Verse, Turner - we get better with any of these 3 Powers-Johnson Byron Murphy, backup option at 3-tech Orhorhoro (he's raw but if he's coachable...) McConkey. Graham Barton (can he play OC?) Nubin, Zach Frazier (not ideal for the scheme but more than good enough and he ain't going anywhere in pass pro), Polk . Dislikes: Alt (seems to get too high and power gets under him which reminds me of the current guy but yeah, I'm a minority on that. Part of my thinking is the value proposition - i.e. for that pick how much better are going to get versus say adding Turner or Verse? Legette- seems to win with muscle not finesse. At the NFL level that balances out. Fatanu - a little slow in movement and how can a big dude like that have such tiny hands. Newton - way too slow off the snap for me. He has 2nd/3rd step quickness once he's in motion but NFL OGs are going to have their hands on him early and can match his lateral quickness better. He doesn't have the levers to fight it off. I think he ends up more rotational player than starter. Chop - for all that athleticism he has to do something with it. What's the saying? All sizzle and no steak.

We need WRs with more wiggle than Brendan Rice so they can get open.

I was just giving up one of next years' 2nd. Not sure about your proposal, I'm really hesitant about giving up a 1st Rd pick.

Anyone else hearing the noise around MHJr wanting to play in Chicago? Sports journos with Big Ten connections were out yesterday saying as odd as this is the noise around it won't go away. If he fell to 5 they proposed a trade up with the Chargers giving up one of next years 2nd Rd picks. It leaves holes on the roster but I'd do that because who is going to cover our WR corps? Plus we don't have to extend Keenan Allen freeing up money next year to fix the holes. Mostly I think this is a pre-draft boredom and speculation but every year there are weird twists in the top 10.

I guess I was the only one who didn't like his relatively weak arm (by NFL standards). I just never saw NFL QB in him but draft wizards had me outgunned. I think regardless of circumstances his career arc will trend toward bridge QB. Good enough to be a sometimes starter. On the flip side I didn't understand all the criticism of Stroud but I only watched one or two of his games late in the season. I think they said he had more struggles early on. Regardless, with no dog in the fight, I was happy to take DJ Moore and a truckload of picks.

I see Williams doing a whole lot of hero ball. I see him survey the field but just as often ignore the easy wide open underneath route. Or often bypass the late opening read in the middle. I see him fast and loose with the ball when he scrambled. I see him throw up prayers when under pressure. He has a Gumby arm, quick release. Great pocket awareness. I see a whole lot of Kyler Murray. Taller but not as fast. The best defense is a great offense. Control the ball control the clock and keep your defense of the field. That’s what worries me because that’s not how he played the game and even your assessment agrees with that. He tried to put up 40 every game. Take the open short route and maybe you win with 25pts. Elite 2min left game winning drives don’t require as much talent as smarts. I would like to have seen him do more death by a thousand cut type drives mixed in with the big plays. The talent is all there but what I see on film leads to the part I’ll never know. Is he humble enough to know what he doesn’t know and work to improve? For such an obvious first overall pick Poles has put in a lot of effort to figure that out. On the other hand he’s seemingly done none of that with any other prospect. Why? Why make it blatantly obvious to the world you are only courting one QB yet refuse to say he’s your choice at #1? From a career standpoint Poles might survive drafting Williams if he fails. Draft anyone else and that’s not likely unless it’s a home run.

Have you ever heard or seen Caleb saying he'd love to play for the Bears? All I've ever heard from him is that he'd love to be the #1 pick. For all the social media posts and interviews he does I'm still waiting for that.

Worthy will go in round one. It’s not just speed he has some nuances to his route running that make him effective. He doesn’t have the best hands or he’d be in the top 20 discussion. I’n other news I saw Steve Smith review Brian Thomas. I respect his opinions on WRs. He’s saying he’ll end up a #1 WR.