AZ54

Right now.

With all this talk about Banks, Adam Mason brought up a great point that he is going to be very good trade bait for a trade down. There are several teams behind us that really need a LT. He is the best LT prospect in this draft especially if you need someone in Week 1. Jeanty could be the other trade bait...with my dream trade back to Dallas at 12 and yes that would come at a heavy price for Dallas. Maybe if we do that deal to 12 and then SF doesn't take Banks we could trade back again to SEA at 18. Those two trade backs could see us end up with three 3rd Rd picks. Six picks in the top 82 out of this draft could fill in some very good depth on our roster.

The reason I look for different opinions is precisely because nobody is always right. No GM is always right. With regard to Warren/Loveland....I didn't think Colestan Loveland was all that good as a route runner. Not that I thought he was bad, it's just something I now feel I need to go back and look at a bit closer. That's not for 10, that's in case we trade back or he's there for us in the 2nd. Also it was interesting to hear Miller say that he had Rome as his #1 WR last year. Definitely not a consensus opinion but one that matched Ryan Poles. ----------- By the way, I keep seeing on Youtube that Dan Roushar had a press conference, or maybe he had an interview, but I can't find it anywhere. Does anyone know about that, or have a link?

I’m just saying the fact we gave him $10mil per year means to me that Dennis Allen will be using him to his strength. IMO that is playing downhill around the LOS. TJ understands route concepts and is very good getting to his landmarks in zone coverage and taking away the quick passes. He’s not going to cover anyone for an extended time zone or man. What does that mean for what they intend to do in scheme and in the draft? Some of what Allen wants to do is coming to light with yesterdays press conference where he talked about moving Kyler Gordon to safety on some plays. Really just finding ways to keep him on the field more often. More importantly he was clear that pass rusa comes from the IDL. DE are there to contain and squeeze the pocket (my inference). Definitely changes my thoughts on DT draft targets and might put players like Norman Lott on our radar in Rd 2 or 3. He was also clear about Dayo moving inside to pass rush in some situations. We’re going to need a good third DE for those situations. Is that player on the roster?

First off nobody wants a LT worse than Jones. That’s the minimum expectation. This decision is not just Banks vs Jones. If we think Banks floor is to be as good as Jones then we also don’t have to extend Jones’ contract. The choice then is Banks + $5-7 mil. That’s enough to get a decent starting safety. Where it gets tricky is what the team thinks of Kiran. Can he get to that same floor this year or next? Can he get to his ceiling which is higher than Banks? Toss in the injury recovery and how that affects the first four games. At risk is giving up drafting a potential Pro Bowl player at another position. We could go the insurance route with the thought to move Banks inside down the road. You don’t always know how that will work. I say that having just listened to Matt Miller talk about how upright Banks plays and the issues that will cause him if he moves to guard. Miller had some interesting things to say about Warren vs Loveland too so I’ll link it here in case anyone else wants to hear it.

I don't take PHX comments to mean Warren isn't a good player just that he's not an elite talent. Plus you can get similar talent later in the draft. I don't see the All Pro skillset either. He might get there if he's on that right team that can get him the numbers (ala KC) but he's not Kelce either. Kelce was a unicorn as a runner at his size. If you watch Warren's highlights closely you'll see often how quickly he gets run down. It might be a big gain because he was wide open. I disagree a bit with PHX in that I think Warren is good at many things he's just not great at any. He'd make our roster better just not as good as other picks we can get at 10. Those other picks (i.e. Banks, Nolen) don't have to be All Pro either to make the team better than it would be with Warren, at least that's how I see it if the trenches are solid.

Nothing to add to that. I don’t like it either. I’m ok with Ersery in the 2nd and Reed in the 5th.

I absolutely think Skattebo will be on the board for us in the 3rd Rd when we pick... because he lacks speed and that is the darling of many GMs and coaches. FWIW I think his 5yd burst is elite and pairs very nicely with his very good contact balance. That's why so many 2nd and 3rd defenders looking to join the gang tackle just grab air. Then he gets run down from behind 10yds later. Jeanty is very similar in how he plays off the contact but he has long speed. Scanning NFL.com team needs I see 11 teams listed as needing a RB. Like the Bears all of them have 5 top needs listed. There is zero chance all 11 draft a RB in the first 2 rounds but let's say 5 or even 6 teams do (one could be us but that doesn't change the question of if Cam is on the board at 72). Who gets drafted in those rounds: Jeanty, Hampton, Henderson, Kalen Johnson.... seems clear those are the top 4 in many places. After that it's a mish-mash of names on the rankings lists depending on where you look. Judkins is often listed as 5 but in reality 5-10 likely have very similar grades so it becomes a preference of running style/scheme fit/need (i.e. chain mover or big gain RB). I'm pretty sure all of those players are faster than Skattebo's 4.65 forty, who is going to be a chain mover. If all you want is a chain mover there are good options for that who are faster than Skattebo such as Damien Martinez. Certainly we could see 2 or 3 RBs go right before us in Rd 3 but I still think Cam isn't one of them. As usual all of the top 10 drafting teams suck. If you are rebuilding and don't draft Jeanty then there is far better value players at more important positions to help your rebuild in Rd 1 and 2. With this much depth at a devalued position it wouldn't surprise me if only 2 RBs are off the board for either of our 2nd Rd picks. That early 2nd range might be where the number of trades increases as playoff teams trade up for a key talent in the top 40 or 50 where there are still starting caliber players on the board. Depending how far they move up a playoff team is giving up a late 3rd or 4th Rd pick.

Exactly. The Bears Oline was so bad the opportunity for a 5th Rd pick to start in week 1 was wide open. To Braxton's credit he came in and earned it. The issue is we haven't gotten the growth expected in years 2 and 3.

So many to choose from just within the 3rd Rd grades.

Which in my post I alluded to the fact this contract makes that something I expect Dennis Allen to do with TJ.

Correct and the pundits will still criticize the “reach”.

For sure we disagree. I see him chasing from behind when routes go downfield. Love him within 10 yards of the LOS. If our pass rush is good enough we don’t have to worry about double moves on routes from RBs then he’s good. Staying in phase with RBs downfield was something Roquan was good at.

Saw one video last night where one draftnik said he had nearly the same grades on players from 8 to 40. At that point BPA just becomes team need.

I think ideally we get someone who can do it all including pass pro so the whole playbook is open when they are on the field. Overlooked by most is the fact Johnson liked David Montgomery who had no elite traits. While he was a cast off from the Bears Johnson managed to put up 30 plus points per game with him. Who in this draft in draft has similar traits? Jeanty for sure with more speed but there are others.

I’m very confident we’re not building around Swift which is exactly why we don’t need two of that type of RB.

Wow...never thought he'd get that much money.... 2yr $20mil. https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2025/4/16/24410177/chicago-bears-roster-tj-edwards-extension-2026-nfl-free-agency Estimating a $10mil cap hit/yr puts us at $44mil in cap space for 2026 with 30 players on the roster according to OTC. Cutting Edmunds gets us back to $59mil in cap space. I expect Thuney gets a big chunk but we can still have some fun next offseason. The question is does LT also get a big chunk?

If we draft Banks I'm betting we trade Braxton. I don't think we'd get anything in this years draft because of his injury. It likely wouldn't even be a trade until he's healthy in camp and showing it in preseason. Kiran has too much potential and should be good enough this year to be our swing OT. Braxton would not look good at all at RT. Maybe the team that drafts Will Campbell finds out in camp they need a LT?

Have you seen the contract details? I'm surprised by this. Edwards is too slow to cover on the boundary so this makes me wonder if the plan is to move him inside...that's if Allen doesn't care about a MLB who can cover the deep middle. I can't say I know anything about his scheme other than what's said here I just find this a curious move for an aging but still decent LB. He's not going to get faster after he turns 30. The plan here would be to cut Edmunds and draft his replacement, or sign a value FA. Veterans want to play for us now.

That’s an easy decision. Banks

Why I'd be comfortable taking Mykel Williams at 10: We need a solid 3rd DE who can support the rotation and be good on run defense. Booker ain't that, neither is anybody else on our roster. Williams is young and lean but he's already strong at the point of attack. Georgia often used him inside and while he doesn't really belong there he still held his ground. He has the athleticism to offer a lot of upside on pass rush. His pass rushing skills aren't there yet and at times he looks like a 2yr old flailing his hands about. He played through injury too in a year where he was headed to the draft which demonstrates a love for the game. His burst and agility make him a great asset on stunts. Dennis Allen will know how to use him along with Sweat and Dayo on 3rd and long. This is from before the college season:

I don't like him either, at least not as a 1st Rd RB. IHe has better contact balance and power than Kaleb Johnson but Johnson has a better feel for the blocking IMO. Jeanty is top RB for sure but after that I can be happy with any of 4 or 5 guys but Treveyon Henderson is not one of them. He's too similar to Swift.

I’ve only got two for 10 Walter Nolen Mykel Williams.

I haven’t seen the full list of 29 players but what I saw two days ago didn’t have a single safety on the list. I still think we’re drafting one on day 2.

Isn’t Williams still really young?