jason

I appreciate the optimistic Bears' fans, because it's difficult to have that demeanor with the history. That's definitely not me, but a glimpse of it shines through every year during the draft when I think, "Maybe this is the year the front office does what makes the most conventional sense instead of trying to prove they're the smartest guy in the NFL."

WOW! He looks good! Great home run speed!

No way in hell I'd pick this guy at 9. Arrest - Poor decision making Overweight - Poor self-control Didn't do all the drills - Poor accountability Smells like Alonzo Spellman to me. Hard pass.

Call me crazy, but I like Deuce Vaughn from Kansas State. Ignore all the conventional "he has to be whatever-feet tall"-nonsense. His height is an advantage if anything considering how he runs. Dismiss the "he doesn't work in goal line"-BS. Deuce is an absolute monster and a three-down back. As long as the coaches aren't morons and don't try to slam him through the A-Gap three times in a row (**cough** memories of Garrett Wolfe mismanagement **cough**), then he's fine in GL situations because nobody hits him cleanly. What's more - I know this is blasphemous before I write it - he gives me Barry Sanders vibes. He's a 2-3 inches shorter, 20lbs lighter, but every bit as elusive. Some of the cuts are absolutely ridiculous. Makes elite defenders miss in a phone booth. And his perceived lack of home run speed never seems to cost him when he's running away from defenders who think they have the angle. I'd target him with our first pick in the 4th round.

Why is TE listed? Kmet is under contract.

Isolating Sanborn as Sam (Samborn?) means he will be asked to cover the TE. That could be an issue.

We sure about that? Now that they’ve apparently signed Edmunds as well, who is another ILB, that means Sanborn is nothing but depth.

I like DTR as a Fields clone, although I've heard to his initials from some as: Decide To Run Doesn't Time Reads

I don't get this signing. Sure, he was a killer for Philly last year - at a third of Roquan's price and equal Roquan's production - but Sanborn was incredible as a rookie UDFA. Why spend $20M for Sanborn's stats at the same position? Roquan in 2022: 169 TOT, 103 SOLO, 66 AST, 11 TFL TJ in 2022: 159 TOT, 99 SOLO, 60 AST, 10 TFL Sanborn in 2022 64 TOT, 50 SOLO, 14 AST, 5 TFL (6 starts) 160 TOT, 125 SOLO, 35 AST, 12.5 TFL (Extrapolated X2.5)

Horrible contract.

Orlando Brown, LT - Braxton Jones & Larry Borom can sit the bench and learn. Daron Payne, DT - Obviously fills the biggest need on defense. Dalvin Tomlinson, DT - Get two Bama boys together and their production skyrockets. Let the franchise transformation begin.

I love this scenario.

Notice I never said his players didn't love him. They did. I think Lovie is likely a great man, in terms of fellowship, and he's able to get players to buy into his program. But it's a helluva lot easier to do when you walk into a ready-made defense with Urlacher, Briggs, Tillman and several other solid players.

I see what you're saying, but I think FOMO kicks in at that point. Teams who want Player X would be worried that another team has that same QB as #1 above all others, and terrified a rival would attempt to trade in front of them to steal their guy.

BINGO!!!!!!!!!!!???? That's such a horrible contract. If you compare what he did/does to Sanborn or a dozen other lower round draft pick LBs, there is a difference, but not a difference that makes such a contract remotely acceptable.

Any properly functioning franchise has the GM and HC tied at the hip. They should have very similar philosophical approaches to team building. If a GM provides the picks and the HC chooses to play clock-control-offense, then the HC isn't doing his job.

He wasn't the scapegoat. He was the source of most problems. He was horrible at game management, horrible at clock management, ignored offense, ignored offensive line even more, subpar at drafting (we all know he was involved), thought he was smarter defensively compared to his DC, made nearly no game time adjustments, and only succeeded because he walked into a defensive roster that had a perfect-fit-once-a-generation-talent HOF'er (Urlacher) playing alongside another defensive stud who is a fringe HOF candidates (Briggs) and a uniquely skilled DB (Tillman) perfectly suited for the bend-don't-break-emphasize-turnover philosophy. And if it weren't for the fluky 2006 season (Devin Hester selection & 5 return TDs, the "crown their ass"-game, etc.) then Lovie likely would have been fired even earlier.

If that happens, someone call my wife and tell her to take me to cardiology.

? Likewise. It finally happened. Although, that's only part of my dream: Tankathon GM trades down and stockpiles picks like the '90s Cowboys GM drafts 99% from dominant programs in major conferences (i.e. no Trubisky types) GM focuses draft/FA strategy on OL/DL. The cornerstone of the team. It's time to pick/acquire these positions until there are zero holes. GM deprioritizes LB & RB in draft. Those dudes can be found later way more often. **Cough** Kwiatkowski **Cough** Sanborn GM tells HC to join the 21st Century and prioritize passing & pass blocking. I love watching Fields take off, but I'd rather see him around for 15 years throwing for 4K a year.

I like him a lot, but all the whispers about being better suited for OG (i.e. short arms) worry me. I'd honestly rather pass on him, get more picks, and get Paris Johnson.

I hate the idea of giving up on yet another TE. And, yes, I'm including Shaheen; that cat never even got a real chance...just thrown into a messy mix. Kmet is doing very well. Drafting another TE to actually compete would be counter-productive in several ways. It's not remotely a need. This roster is barren, and y'all want to draft a TE because Kmet is not producing like Gronk, even though the Bears have the worst passing offense in the NFL? Kmet is not underperforming; he just lacks targets. Kmet got about 80 targets each of the last two years, and Kelce averaged about 140 targets each of the last six years. Bump Kmet's targets and stomp into top 5 TE in the league territory. Kmet is better than you think. Of the top ten TEs by targets, he is third in catch percentage (.724) behind Engram (.744) and Njoku (.725). It would take reps away from Kmet who is building familiarity and cohesion with the franchise QB. It would insert a rookie into the mix to "figure things out" (see Shaheen's entire career) It creates a multi-headed TE scenario which almost never works other than Gronk and Hernandez (see the last ten years of Chicago Bears football trying out multiple headed monster TE scenarios. Y'all remember Evan Rodriguez?) It wastes draft capital on a team in desperate need of just about every other position. Just say no to drafting another TE.

Love the trades, but don’t love the draft. That’s 100% the strategy that should be used.

And then trade back again and stay mid first round. If this hand is played correctly, it could be franchise changing.

That was the best thing Lovie Smith has ever done for the Chicago Bears! ????????

I don't like any mock that ignores OT and/or OG. There absolutely, positively has to be more OL focus if the Bears are going to protect their franchise player.