AZ54

Zabel would be great to have but using a first round pick who will not have a starting spot for at least 3 years is not a good investment for our near term Superbowl window.

I wasn't expecting this. I'm definitely expecting this with Thuney. Now it gets interesting to see how much cap space we can free up for this year. https://www.si.com/nfl/bears/news/chicago-bears-act-quickly-to-reward-key-offensive-lineman-with-a-contract-extension

Yeah that kids got some quickness and is an easy-hands catcher. He sits at 57 on Draft Network's board. He might make it to early 3rd Rd.

He's competition for Scott. Might be better than Scott on route running/in out of his cuts. Not as fast in a straight line plus he's a basket catcher not a true hands catcher. Although Scott shares that trait on many catches as well. As 4th/5th WRs go this is ok but IMO we still need a valid #3 WR.

On Kenneth Grant I can find highlights and multiple breakdowns of his game. If you like the stats side of it Adam Mason does a good job of summarizing it. People will focus on value but he's easily a top 20 player and there are plenty of pundits thinking he's top 15. We have a glaring need for a player of his caliber on the defensive interior. I'm not going to worry about 5 spots of draft value. In this draft the top 10 aren't nearly as good as last year's top 10 players. In terms of draft grades on NFL Network Kelvin Banks 6.42, Grant 6.36. I'm not as high on Banks as others at LT. I'll have to watch more film on him again to clarify why he didn't stand out to me. Why Grant over Derrick Harmon who has a 6.38 grade? Agility and speed. Harmon is powerful but has tightness and more of a linear ahtlete, similar to Dexter. Good players for sure but we've got one of them already. Grant will be more effective on stunts IMO and can play multiple positions even some 3-tech. He'll also be better off chasing some of these fast young QBs because he can turn and run. For me the best justification: Bears fans deserve another Refrigerator.

Don’t ask me about a RB at 10 in the deepest RB draft in a decade.

If we’re stuck at 10 my options are Josh Simmons. Depends on health but watch the OSU pro day and if we grab a team visit later in the process. LT of the future. Armand Membou. Elite athlete. Less than ideal arm length but good enough with his feet. He needs coaching on technique. Kenneth Grant. Elite athlete. Stud for both run D and pass rush as NT. Fast enough to chase down RBs. I won’t complain one bit about having an elite Dline. https://www.totalprosports.com/ncaa/kenneth-grant-michigan-wolverines-340-pound-tackle-penn-state/ Mason Graham should he drop I don’t like the DE value at 10 I feel we can get a similar player at 39.

You have a lot more faith in Brisker staying healthy than I do. He’s not far off from a medical retirement if he gets another concussion.

Start looking at safeties. With our cap space rapidly moving into the trenches we aren’t likely to keep a big contract at safety next year. Plus I doubt the team will feel confident giving Brisker a big second contract with his concussion history. LB is the other 2026 cost cutting we’ll see but age and health issues are less of a concern right now than safety.

That’s where I’m at. Send everyone to his pro day.

Every time I go through the exercise of “would I rather” have Jeanty or Simmons at LT? Or Kenneth Grant paired up with Dexter? Or even Zabel as our OC long term? Jeanty never rises to the top.

The elite defenses have interior pass rush. You can survive with strong and long dudes who can snag the QB when he comes their way. Or who can squeeze the pocket.

Add Kenneth Grant or Deone Walker

Very surprised by this. I always liked his game just don’t know what he looked like last year and what we can expect. Are we going to cut Billings? Or will he and Grady be the NT rotation? Add 3 tech in the draft? I can think of several 2nd Rd DT who would look good in this rotation.

I think he’s about to get a new deal.

In terms of adding good depth future starter there are a lot of good options in this draft.

Poles has been remarkably restrained with the salary cap spends. It’s almost as if he was waiting to get “his coach”.

I tend to think by year 3 or 4 you pretty much know what you've got in a player.

It's difficult for us to know but his football intelligence will be a factor. We can see the physical talent but the mental side of the game, aside from obvious mistakes is harder to diagnose as fans. Johnson likes to run a variety of schemes.

Sweat has never seemed to be more than average as a DE. If someone is going to pay him $20mil/yr I hope its not us. I'd take Mack on a 2yr deal over that especially with the talent in this draft. Or maybe just go after the DE from Indy who won't cost as much and seems to be similar in production. Even paying Mack $20mil a season makes me nervous. There's a lot of DEs on the market and a guy like Sweat would make us better if we can wait out the initial scramble and grab one for a lower contract. I don't really see a need to be first in here as compared to fixing OC.

We have to see how FA plays out but I would like find a good 3rd WR in the draft. Jaylen Noel would fit in well as a nice compliment with DJ and Rome. He has a little bit of DJ Moore's style to his game and can work all levels of the field with speed and good ball tracking skills. Since I watched quite a few games during the season, he has occasional drops usually because he's trying run before completing the catch. He's likely a 3rd Rd pick. https://www.nfl.com/prospects/jaylin-noel/32004e4f-4537-8255-74e9-bfa22151ef3a https://thedraftnetwork.com/2024/06/27/jaylin-noel-scouting-report-nfl-draft

At the 45min mark Mark Schlereth discusses his thoughts on Dalman. If you want the short version...Zimmerman thinks he's just good/average and not worth. the money....Schlereth says he's a whole lot better than just average and details why. https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2025/3/8/24380288/mark-schlereth-joe-thuney-has-great-football-left-jonah-jackson-could-be-dominant-chicago-bears

Within Aaron Leming's offseason projection is a simple restructuring of DJ Moore's contract that could free up another $10mil in cap space this year. That's with minimal impact in the following years. We've had two big trades so far but if Poles elects to use that extra $10mil there could be two more big signings. https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2025/3/7/24379041/aaron-lemings-2025-chicago-bears-mock-offseason-extravaganza-drew-dalman-dayo-odeyingbo-joe-thuney

Skynet smiles. There’s a ton of Dline talent in the draft too which further drives down the market.

First video was Jaden Daniels 2023. Second was 2024 QB highlights. I agree not all of the misses were entirely arm length issues but if he had the longer arms it would help him redirect the rusher. It would also help him to engage with a first strike a bit quicker to upset the pass rushers plan of attack.