AZ54

Ben was publicly saying he wanted to add elite speed to the offense. He wants more home runs this year. DJ was fast but he wasn't fast enough to beat DBs with leverage on him. This guy is. For a guy who is not a "hands catcher" he reportedly has a drop rate of just 5%. If Jahdae Walker takes a step up into WR4 territory then Ben has an embarrassment of riches at his disposal. He can beat teams by spreading them out or going 13 personnel.

He is not DJ Moore as a receiver but he definitely replaces some of what DJ did for us around the LOS, WR screens, jet sweeps, and by lining up as a RB on occasion. He doesn't bring as much power but more explosiveness and agility. He's an upgrade over OZ and his ceiling is likely WR3. If he stays WR4 and proves to be a good returner then I'm ok with this pick.

Also I was happy to see the Bears pick announced by a Spanish fan. Brings the wife closer to being a Bears fan, although I still have work to do on that. . 🇪🇸

There will be no more s%# show in coverage. Pass rush?

We paid millions to Matt Eberflus and Phil Emery too.

And our TE is the grandson of Merlín Olsen’s brother who also played in the NFL Big football family.

That title isn’t meant to be snarky. While we’re all thinking, or at least I was thinking, we need to build a balanced roster. You know as in Caleb is good enough to overcome some deficiencies among the offense. Nope. Today made it clear Ben is determined to build an unstoppable offense with a full suite of weapons around Caleb. So it’s not going to be good offense and good defense. It’ll be great offense and good-enough defense. That’s the way the Colts ran all those years with Peyton Manning. KC did the same with Andy Reed for a few years and then just added in Mahomes. Never having seen a great offense in Chicago I don’t know how to feel about the effort to do this. I do like the three offensive players we drafted although the WR seemed like we could have drafted in the 4th. Being a Bears fan my focus has always been defense.

Several things appear to be true after watching us draft three offensive players in a row. First it seems like they feel Shemar Turner will fill the glaring void for a third DE. That would make sense for a guy who is a tweener recovering from a knee injury. He’d struggle to add all the DT weight Second by trading back that 5th Rd pick gives Poles enough to trade up to around the 10th pick in the 4th Rd. There are several good DTs still on the board, many who have been highlighted on our board. Talent varies from run stuffer NT like Capehart to 3 tech Gracen Halton. I like what Zxavian Harris can do on the field. Don’t like the off the field stuff so based on what Poles said about narrowing the list down to love of the game players I’ll guess he’s just not on our board at all.

I expected he'd try to trade back from one of the two 2nd Rd picks. Everytime I did that in a mock draft I always liked the picks I ended up with. We'll see how it goes. When I watched some of the hidden gems videos on da'tube, one thing about this draft is there are some lesser known names that are pretty good athletes at our need positions. I'm curious to see how this shakes out.

I expected he'd be a target for us but not that early. He seems to fit everything Ben likes in a center.

Yet so many of us wanted Thieneman. Coincidence? I think not.

Why draft a safety in the first round? Positional versatility. That’s why I’m really happy with this pick. DA will be able to bring pressure from anywhere and still have players to cover the gaps. QBs won’t be able to decipher coverage as well pre snap. Then there is just the sideline to sideline speed to close gaps quickly. In short, everything is on the menu.

Wow! Never thought he'd be there for us. That's a massive upgrade in the defensive backfield. I liked Byard but he was too slow in coverage to get to the sideline or to run with someone crossing his face. Brisker was a shell of what he used to be. Now we have Bryant and Thieneman. This is going to feel a lot different in coverage. CB gets beat deep on the sideline? No worries help can now arrive on time to breakup the pass. Dennis Allen can mix and match these two any which way he wants to keep QBs guessing. A+

I’d prefer Parker over Faulk. Faulk reminds me of Dexter with his lack of creativity in pass rush. He’s a slower version of Dayo. I’m no expert but I think he’s a better fit in 3-4 system as a DE if he adds a little weight.

I’ve warmed up to the possibility of Kayden Proctor at 25 as well. He moves better than I expected but still has trouble adjusting that big body to dynamic athletes. He can’t change direction very well on run blocks when he pulls. But that power is enticing. He and Lomu are opposites.

There is a video out there of Lomu vs Romelo Height Lomu looses often against the speed. I don’t know when that game was. Last year? This year? Early in the season or late? Don’t know if Lomu was fighting thru any injury. Regardless it gives me reason to think he might not be the right pick IF we’re counting on him for this season.

I said CB in another thread and I’m staying with that if we stay at 25. Colton Hood seems like the one to be best available Like everyone else I’d love a good trade down just a few spots to late first or early second.

The downward spiral has been interesting. We go from he’ll be long gone before we pick. To he might drop close to us. He will likely be taken around 25. Nah he's a second rounder. Just being a casual observer it’s been hard for me to figure it out when there is no obvious red flag I think Clay Harbor hit the nail on the head yesterday What is he? 3 tech? Pass rush production hasn’t been there Ok we’ve all known that but maybe it was scheme related and what he was asked to do Then he said he can’t anchor against double teams The light went on for me

I like it. Wonder what took them so long to do this. The NFL accountants are now thinking they can get a sponsor for each pick. Dunkin donuts for pick 12?

I’m predicting we stay put at 25 and draft a CB. That is the most common BPA and need marriage I find in my mocks. Colton Hood seems like a good fit. I don’t think there is any trust in Stevenson, nor Smiths recovery, nor Frazier. I expect we’ll trade back a bit from one of our 2nd RD picks to try to add an early day 3 selection.

And nobody else even offered a first round pick. Pro Football RumorsNo Other Team Offered Giants First-Rounder For Dexter Law...The Giants did not receive another offer including a first-round pick for Dexter Lawrence

NIL money is changing the NFL draft and roster building. I don't think that has been fully comprehended yet in mocks and player rankings. As we've all seen, this year there are many older players. It seems that is going to be a trend going forward as players are content to be paid to improve their skills in college versus being a Day 3 draft pick with a less certain future. Some of these older players arrived at this point due to injury but even then in years past we'd see guys make a jump to the NFL quicker to try to get going on earning money. In the past draft profiles largely focused on athletic talent and teams would draft guys based on projections of what they could become. Now we have a growing number of players where that is less of an issue. Guys like Mesidor are largely a finished product. Teams know what they are getting and in his case he was already coached by Jason Taylor. That's not a bad thing because in essence his floor is now much higher than it was a year ago, or even 2 years ago when he was 23. In the past GMs wanted a younger player and there was always talk about coaches helping them earn that second contract. With FA being wild and crazy on salaries will GMs start to change their perspective. Drafting a guy like Mesidor, who is a good pass rusher but maybe not best DE, I can lock in his contract for 5 years (if 1st Rd) and let him walk away when he's 30. Does this flip the back half of the first round where we start seeing the athletic upside guys pushed into the 2nd rd where teams prefer the higher floor older players for a longer contract.

He better be able to run because Ben wants a center that can get to every block on the field.

Too rich for me. Glad we stayed put.