Alaskan Grizzly

Unfortunately now that Graham is on the roster TE isn’t as much a need. Not at the risk of surrendering a draft pick for. If you were to ask me whether Howard would be a better option right now versus Graham AND Burton right now, I would say ‘yes’. I’m surprised that Brady doesn’t insist he stay.

Still think the ILB needs some depth. Losing KPL and Kwitkowski is going to be noticeable this next season.

Yes...(unless you’re being sarcastic). This is a great deal for our team. He’s the definition of a needed utility / special team player. He also did well in spot duty at CB. I love McManis on the team.

Color me interested. Been keeping tabs on Higgins as he’s one of those big body receivers I think Chicago needs. Sounds like he did well at Clemson even tying both Sammy Watkins and Deondre Hopkins with his number of total TDs. But a knock on him that I saw in one article was his limited route tree (although he can play any receiver spot). And that he lacks “unimaginative” separation techniques. The article below explains some of this a bit more to include his ‘lack of physicality’ . They predict he’ll fall more likely to the second round due to a few other higher tier WRs ahead of him and that most teams value Olinemen over WRs. If he shows up where the Bears pick in the 2nd it sure would be hard to pass up. https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/news/nfl-draft-2020-buyer-beware-on-jordan-love-tee-higgins-and-these-other-top-prospects/

Oooohhhh.... Terrell Lewis would be a great add!!! Dudes a monster! Got hurt in ‘18 but came back with a vengeance last year. Also like Fulton. Had a great championship game. And is notorious in that he’s a legit shutdown corner. QBs avoided throwing his way most times.

Ah yes I’ve heard of him. Comes from Wentz’ alma mater. Looks good on paper, did well at the combine (1st overall for DLmen on the three cone drill). Highlight films look good too. Might be another nice sleeper add where you have him.

I like some of it; Winfield (I think), Wonogho and Moss. Moss being my personal ‘sleeper favorite’. Not sure why he’s being projected so low in mock drafts as he seems to possess some of his dads talent. What is a ‘DI’? Other than drill instructor?

Look at us agreeing again! Agree the first or second pick the Bears need will be at Safety. And not just any safety will do; we need to see a true ‘in the box’ short field cover safety. I’m partial to SEC / prominent school safeties especially from Alabama. I think we all agree that McKinney won’t be available any longer when then Bears go to pick. I’m thinking Delpit might. He’s got the pedigree we’re needing although he has a tendency to be a deep cover safety but has shown some nice short field ability. One other top-5 prospect is Davis from Cal. He seems to do well ‘in the box’ but comes from the PAC-12 where they have a lot of passing. So again he’s more a cover guy (IMHO). I submit two other names for consideration perhaps in the later rounds; Shyheim Carter from Bama and Tanner Muse from Clemson. Carter played second fiddle with McKinney and watching film on him makes me think he’s more what we need to compliment Jackson. He’s also been called the ‘jack of all trades’ in the defensive backfield for Bama due to his being able to play any position to include NB. Although Muse is listed as a safety he measures at 6’2” 227# and runs about a 4.40 / 40. Some think he could convert to LB (ala Urlacher) and might be a good late round pickup in that role. And ‘just because’ he’s from Georgia (due to our getting a lot of players from there recently and Roquan says good things about him) Safety JR Reed. Bottom line the Safety talent this year is deep and the Bears could be in a decent position to get a pretty good one.

I like both of those suggestions even better than drafting a new guy this year or next. And ‘yes’ to the building of the D. They should be able to impose their will and expect the offense to at least not go three and out immediately or turn the ball over .

AZ you gave me a lot to chew on. Really all you had to do was say you don’t like Gordon just like you say you don’t like DeShaun Watson because you’re sure Hopkins and Fuller bail him out. Or you don’t like Mahomes because of all the playmakers around him; again not believing what he’s been able to do despite what ‘quantifying stats’ may say about either of them. Sure we can apply science to all these guys and predict what may come of them but coming out of college Mahomes was a ‘risky gunslinger’ like Winston but it’s pretty clear their careers are on different trajectories. And Watson, although not really an eye popping performer statistically, somehow manages to get the best out of his team and himself; both in college and the pros. What happens IF (like last year) Foles gets injured and we’re back to *gulp* waiting to see how well Trubiksy can do for the rest of the year? Many here are sure Bray won’t ever advance above where he has so far (although personally I wouldn’t mind seeing him play more). Wouldn’t it be good to have a QB in development for the following year? Hell it doesn’t even have to be Gordon. It’s just his stats looked good to me and his highlights show some pretty good accuracy and moxie. Is this Gordon kid the next Tom Brady? Probably not (Brady actually only threw for ~4,600 and 30 TDs - IN HIS LAST TWO SEASONS combined at Michigan). But he’s done better than our current “Franchise QB” who is currently fighting for his job against a journeyman QB.

Another decent draft. Like Eason too although his stats seem low (north of 3100 yards) for all the huge passes he’s known for.

Well I’m not suggesting we trade up to get him 2nd overall...that would be just silly. His stats are comparable to Mahomes his senior year at Texas Tech. Which by the way is another ‘Air Raid’ style offense. The Bears still need to look at a QB somewhere in the later rounds. Didn’t Pace say he was going to draft QBs every year anyhow?

The more I learn about this Gordon kid the more I like. Threw for over 5,500 yards with 48 TDs last year (second only to Joe Burrow). And watching this highlight reel shows not only patience but some exceptional ball placement. Would be an absolute steal in round 4 on down.

I personally like it. Was just saying in another post that a speedy WR is not a need of the first few rounds. I like that Hodgins kid you have at 226. He’s a ‘big frame’ kid that would be better in contested throws but would need some more meat on his bones. Not sure what to think of your RB pick and would’ve preferred seeing a TE earlier. The QB is also a great add and based on the ranking, looks to be high value at that spot.

Yeah unless you’re looking at a big body receiver in the mould of Calvin Johnson like Seattle’s new receiver JK Metcalf, you’re wasting an earlier round pick. Javon Wims might be that guy already but with Trubiksys inability yo stretch the field and throw with consistent accuracy we don’t know. Nor do we know the true ability of Ridley or for that matter Miller (although he still hasn’t proven his 2nd round worth himself). I think more position of need than another speedy WR are SS, OL, TE ILB and even QB.

If only there was a Mike Brown Jr (Nebraska) then it would be perfect. Yes I like what you propose. I especially like the Moss and Runyan picks. I have a feeling they’re going to do well at this level. Isn’t there some kid from USC that has a deep rooted family affiliation to the NFL too?

This from Chicago Bears.com regarding Roquan Smith before he was drafted: “The Bears were impressed with Smith's leadership on the field and his demeanor off it. They interviewed him at the Combine and brought him to Halas Hall for a pre-draft visit. The night before the visit, he dined with Pace, coach Matt Nagy and director of player personnel Josh Lucas.” So at least twice. And I want to say we learned that the Bears met with Mitchell at least once (under assumed names and a bit of Tom-foolery) before drafting him.

Yeah. Hicks’ injury last year was his elbow getting dislocated (so was Trevathan for that matter). But someone mentioned a while back that Hicks always looks like he’s about to blow out his knee when he plays. I agree. We probably have about 1 maybe two years left of him being able to significantly contribute. Need to find the ‘next man up’.

Not for nothing but I’d also like to see them add another stud player like Hicks in the middle. We saw how much the defense lagged with him out so maybe there is a comparable player in the draft they could get; in the later rounds. I think Goldman could be that guy or maybe even Nicols or RRH but so far we haven’t seen in. Nothing consistent anyhow.

The answer used to be pull one of the interior LBs. They could do as you suggest and keep one interior LB too. GB did that the last few years apparently with Pettine. Former Packer MLB (now Giants) Blake Martinez was actually talking about how he was told to play behind certain players through the season, as sort of a back up role. He was supposed to let star players, mostly across the front line do their thing then be there as part of the ‘clean up crew’. He didn’t seem all that pleased about it. Said he had no gap responsibility. With your staring ILBs Trevathan and Smith I could see them trying that more. Especially with Trevathan being older and coming back from an injury. Smith would be more relied on in pass coverage sideline to sideline (zone if you will) which we know he’s capable of. The thing with Pagano is though he’s more a pressure defense guy. He like to blitz more than Fangio does or did. He also likes his DBs to pay more man to man or aggressive press coverage. Somewhere I read that since he was last a DC (in Baltimore 2011) Nickel and Dime coverages have become more prevelant than they were so it’s probably still a little foreign to him. We did see several plays with Skrine in the nickel last year but in December CBS Sports reported 2019 ‘was the lowest statistical year for Skrine since his rookie season.’ My guess going forward, Pagano will have a blend of 2 MLBs and occasional Nickel (minus one ILB) but favor more of the 2 ILB set up. If Pagano stays true to form he’ll rely more on his pressure defense with the front seven attacking the line and not allowing as many deep passes. Meaning he’ll be using more a hybrid four DL man front.

Where does DHC figure in all this? He was just resigned to a one year deal so all indications are that he’s more as ST player than anything. But then you still have five Safeties on the roster with Bush, Jackson, Lucas, Brice and DHC. With all that I still see the team drafting higher caliber SS. Aside from Jackson and Bush most of the rest appear to be scrubs. Speaking of middle of the field play; another position that is key for TE or RB coverage in the mid field is the NB. Last year Skrine did an ok job but he’s certainly no Bryce Callahan. Does Skrine stay or is there someone on the roster to displace him?

Saw in today’s news that both Nagy and Pace are allowing Foles and Trubisky to compete for the starting QB role. So much for Trubisky being our guy. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/bears/2020/04/03/chicago-bears-nick-foles-mitchell-trubisky-quarterback-competition/2939869001/

I see them getting a QB this draft too. Just not sure when. You think One of the top 3-5 will be avail in the later rounds?

Disclaimer: I’ve had Rum and coke again do God knows how this’ll go... It looks like I’m in agreement to a few here that the first two picks for me are Oline and SS. Delpit, McKinney (because he’s Bama) or any of the top five SSs would be ok with me. I’m of the mindset that if we build the D to epic proportions it won’t matter what kind of crap we have playing QB ... or calling the plays. I’ll say this now...if the season follows the same track as last year...Nagys out and Pagano becomes HC winning all the games he coaches in that capacity.