DABEARSDABOMB

They are tagging him and hopefully can find a middle ground.

He definitely left them - but last year - it seemed pretty clear they were all-in on Justin and consistently talked about having to be blown away. It came up a ton - this year - it came up at the end of season press conference, but we really haven't heard much since. It also seems like Field(s) isn't in the building and hasn't had a ton of dialogue. I really expect he'll be traded by the league new year and realistically more like by the end of next week. I think Poles wants to move quick and not let this drag out. Bird in hand and don't find out the market moves against you. Additionally - acquiring team(s) with new head coaches can get to work with Fields beginning in April - so I would think they'd want to have stuff done fast, but more than that, I feel like Poles is a players GM and he recognizes how good Field(s) has been from a lockeroom / character perspective and wants to do the right thing and get him somewhere fast so he can get playbooks and get to work and be as successful as possible. Heck - look at how quickly he was to move Ejax and Whitehair - two guys who were quality veterans for this club for a long time. Easy moves - but a lot of franchises will let them drag on.

So it did hit me - I presume Caleb, Maye and Daniels go in top 8 picks. That would leave JJ, Penix and Nix as the next 3. Penix and Nix are older so my guess is they fall out of round 1 or end up going later in round 1 (say qb needy team trades up to snag and ensure they have 5th year option - 2nd rounders don’t get that). So that leaves McCarthy as the one guy who could go top 15. After the Bears pick - you have the Jets (need a qb but shocked if they took one) followed by Vikings, Raiders, and Broncos. Three teams who are very likely to take a qb. If you are Raiders or Broncos - if you are worried you are calling Bears or Jets to move up. If Bears were open for business this wouldn’t be terrible - especially if it was one of Raiders or Broncos that moved up. I don’t suspect Jets or Vikings are taking a wideout that early - so means you have a decent shot at moving down and still getting one of top wideouts or top dline (I will guess oline is gone as Jets take one).

Let me check

Let me check - that shouldn’t happen. Let me see if some setting god changed by google.

I think we end up with an early 2nd and 3rd for Fields so once that is done I suspect we feel better about the number of picks we have.

I think I could see moving down from 9 but only as low as your grade of blue chip talent is. If you have 15 blue chippers and a bunch in same spot and positional flexibility than go ahead and move down 4-5 spots. With that said - what do bears get if they moved from 9 to 15? How far down do they have to move where you are getting a big enough pick back. Like I’m not moving down 4 spots to get a 4th rounder.

Do any of the teams interested in Fields have a young center who could maybe be part of a deal? I do agree that JPJ is who I would want - I just don’t see how Bears could do it given current draft capital.

This is who I would want.

This fits fact I think we take an ot at 9. Book end your top qb with first round ots, Jenkins, Davis and a free agent center (plus try to hit some more oline men in draft).

I think center in free agency. I don’t love drafting a rookie center and expecting him to start but I am good with drafting one in 3rd or 4th round and trying to develop.

Stroud was on the laughing stock of a football team. Mahomes / Love is an argument I can buy as KC and Packers were stable franchises and solid teams. But Stroud went to a horrific franchise who was being made fun of and had zero building blocks and turned themselves around literally the second they drafted Stroud.

I am starting to waver on my initial mock - which was Williams & Rome and am pivoting to. Williams LT or Top Dlinemen Field(s) pick(s) - wideouts (I am assuming we get a late 1st or a 2nd and 3rd and than am proposing we use those to draft wideouts plus sign Samuel).

I suspect it will be Bagent but they will have a competition for the spot and bring in some veteran back-up to compete with Bagent for 2nd string spot (and be able to stay around as the 3rd stringer if he loses the battle to Bagent). Drew Lock is one of the options - given his familiarity with Waldron's system. As far as Caleb - I suspect he will start from day 1 barring injury. I say that because he is going #1 overall and he has 3+ years starting experience in college, so feels like the type of guy who you throw into the fire vs. having them wait. I also don't think waiting works unless you really plan on sitting the player for the full season. Now if I drafted JJ McCarthy, who was less experience - than I think a team taking him should plan on sitting him for 1-2 years. To me that is the only QB you take where I would keep Field(s) around. I love McCarthy - but I think only way he ends up good is if he sits for a while. Note: Nagy was right about Field(s) too. He should have sat that entire year and had a real off-season before getting thrown into the fire. Bears and Pace were pressured to force the situation and I truly believe it had a negative impact on Fields (who was too inexperienced to get thrown into the NFL like that).

If it were anyone other than Field(s) - I would be mad that the Bears passed on a QB. But I will state - the Bears have never had a more likable individual play the QB position ever. His character traits are just off the charts special.

Excellent point there - really appreciate the deep dives you do.

I like how they did now with both of these guys to do them a solid.

One thing that has morphed in the last 5 years is wideouts seem to have gotten a new upper echelon in terms of how much they get paid. I know there were always a few that got paid -but than we got into the point where wideouts are now being paid more like top end DE's - which changes the structure and maybe increases the benefit of drafting a wideout early (and locking them into a rookie deal). With that said - I am curious if the wideout bust rate is higher or materially different than other positions. If it turns out - wideouts in top 10 bust 20% more than dlinemen or OT's in top 10 - that would be an interesting data point as well. I will admit - I have long been on the - take a QB and get him help. Help likely meant WR - however, help also could very well be one of the top to LT's are sitting there and that is not a bad thing either. Jones becomes a swing tackle (I don't know if he can move to guard) and than you now need to sign a free agent center. Than invest in a wide receiver or two later in the draft (probably using the pick(s) you get from Fields to get it) and add a vet wideout as well.

This was really interesting - I do think it goes back - Bears GM and front office and players are all genuine. Fields is a great lockeroom guy and a great leader. I think everyone genuinely likes him and believes he will continue to get better. Just because all those things are true doesn't mean you stick with that individual and if nothing else - I think this continues to build up the value of Fields (and I don't think it does anything to hurt the value of #1 either).

I'll throw a new one out there. Fields for Kyle Pitts and their 2nd round pick. Pitts is still on rookie deal next year and than you'd have to use a 5th year option for him - so basically you have him locked in for 2 years plus get a 2nd rounder which you can use to target center. It also means Bears are sitting at 1 and 9 for QB and best wideout OR you could take the LT or top defensive player at 9 (or move down from 9).

And in the superbowl - Purdy led a drive in 4th quarter and OT that put his team up

This is my point - great players elevate their game. Don't give me all this nonsense of what he had around him. He played at his worse when the game was on the line.

Wasn’t he pretty lousy since going to San Fran? It seems like the reports were right - with that said if Bears thought they could get his switch to flip - it would be fantastic cause he can crush it.

In fairness Purdy was part of a drive to put San Fran up in 4th quarter and Overtime as well. So I don’t know that I buy the extreme negative on Shanny and definitely don’t on Purdy.

I do think a lot of Caleb stuff is smoke screens to try and create something not there for teams who maybe hope to have a shot at getting him.