If you could draft ANY player from this draft, who would it be? (Regardless of pick selection). I'll reveal mine later.

Rueben Bain DE would be my "dream" pick.

Dillion Thienemen S would be my realistic pick.

I dont think they go DT first and then the DEs should be strong to go rd2

1 hour ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

Rueben Bain DE would be my "dream" pick.

Dillion Thienemen S would be my realistic pick.

I dont think they go DT first and then the DEs should be strong to go rd2

I officially hate you. Those are my guys!

Sign me up for a Bain Banger and Dillion Doer. Third would be Avil Reese.

Id say Edge Reuben Bain or S Caleb Downs
And realistically, Edge Gabe Jacas or S Dillon Thienemen

I dont mean to copy you guys, but you did get it right.

Could be a surprise CB or LT too.

Arm length scares me for Bain. Everything else is off the charts, but the 3rd shortest arms for a DE in combine history? Yikes.

I like this guy. He explains the arm issue with Bain as well.

I saw a podcast where they were talking about edge with short arms. There are no hall of famers edge that has short arms. Not my stat and I never checked that statement.

I was trying to get more information on the arm length thing and saw where Matt Miller from ESPN sain no edge rusher drafted in the first round since 1999 had under 31" arms. The teams seemed to be united on arm length for edge players. Micah Parsons were 31 1/2" Bain is under 31".

3 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

I was trying to get more information on the arm length thing and saw where Matt Miller from ESPN sain no edge rusher drafted in the first round since 1999 had under 31" arms. The teams seemed to be united on arm length for edge players. Micah Parsons were 31 1/2" Bain is under 31".

Better not draft Micah Parsons, he has short arms. If a guy can play, and Bain can, I dont care of he has 20" arms lol🦖 If a small school prospect has short arms, pass.

Caleb Downs. He closes so fast on run plays he'd make Brisker look like he's waiting at a bus stop. Safeties that can line up 10-15 yards deep and still make the play around the LOS are game changers. We saw what Kyle Hamilton did against us last year. On top of that he's got the coverage ability for either man or zone.

I like Ruben Bain but arm length issue is real and one place it shows up is his 20% missed tackle rate. He's a hustle player who does not have elite athleticism. On pass rushes he's learned how to keep OT hands off him but that all gets more challenging in the NFL because the OTs are faster and longer. You have to match that with what he'll be able to do as a run defender and I'd gladly take Darnell Wright on him all day long. In the end I just don't see him as an elite 3-down edge defender. I think he'll have good sack production which fans focus on but defensive coordinators know the first order of business is to get the offense into 3rd and long.

10 hours ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

Better not draft Micah Parsons, he has short arms. If a guy can play, and Bain can, I dont care of he has 20" arms lol🦖 If a small school prospect has short arms, pass.

Same thing was said about Will Campbell last year.

25 minutes ago, AZ54 said:

Same thing was said about Will Campbell last year.

Campbell graded out well, superbowl wasnt great, but Patriots are not giving up on him yet as LT.

Bain won't be a Myles Garrett, but can be a Hendrickson, Freeney, Jared Allen... who all had 32" arms. He has a motor and played against top college competition and produced. He plays for the right defensive coach, he can be special.

1 hour ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

Campbell graded out well, superbowl wasnt great, but Patriots are not giving up on him yet as LT.

Bain won't be a Myles Garrett, but can be a Hendrickson, Freeney, Jared Allen... who all had 32" arms. He has a motor and played against top college competition and produced. He plays for the right defensive coach, he can be special.

It wasn’t only the superbowl where Campbell had issues. His problems were throughout the season. Just put him at LG where he belongs and let him succeed.

You could be right, Bain might be like Hendrickson and always struggle against the run. Will he hit that same ceiling on sacks? Part of Hendrickson success on sacks was playing behind a great offense which kept opponents passing and allowed him to focus on the rush.

For me in a top ten pick, which was the basis of this thread, I want a 3 down player. Same reason I preferred Maxx over Trey IF, and only if, we were going to make a big splash at DE.

32 minutes ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

Campbell graded out well, superbowl wasnt great, but Patriots are not giving up on him yet as LT.

Bain won't be a Myles Garrett, but can be a Hendrickson, Freeney, Jared Allen... who all had 32" arms. He has a motor and played against top college competition and produced. He plays for the right defensive coach, he can be special.

12 hours ago, AZ54 said:

It wasn’t only the superbowl where Campbell had issues. His problems were throughout the season. Just put him at LG where he belongs and let him succeed.

You could be right, Bain might be like Hendrickson and always struggle against the run. Will he hit that same ceiling on sacks? Part of Hendrickson success on sacks was playing behind a great offense which kept opponents passing and allowed him to focus on the rush.

For me in a top ten pick, which was the basis of this thread, I want a 3 down player. Same reason I preferred Maxx over Trey IF, and only if, we were going to make a big splash at DE.

Aaron Donald was a pressure guy, but teams knew you could scheme him bc of his size and run at him. Its hard to find the right guy. Zion Young has a build/size you want but doesnt have the "it" factor like Bain for pressure/sacks.

I would like the Bears to find a guy that teams need to scheme against since we have Dayo who has the size opposote of Sweat.

Not “my guy” yet, but if you are looking for this year’s Hyppolite pick that Poles might fall in love with, this might be the guy:

I thought we preferred guys who could jump out of pools?

27 minutes ago, AZ54 said:

I thought we preferred guys who could jump out of pools?

Remember when Angelo found SB studs and then Lovie got GM power and the drafts went to hell. At least I feel better about Ben directing Poles. I want to see him rocking in his chair rubbing his hands again this draft.

19 hours ago, dawhizz said:

Not “my guy” yet, but if you are looking for this year’s Hyppolite pick that Poles might fall in love with, this might be the guy:

Good Lord, that's chasing chickens with Von Miller quick.

I think our pick comes down to these players:

Kayden McDonald DT, Zion Young DE, Dillon Thieneman S, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren S.

Couple sleepers: Peter Wood DT, havent heard anything connecting him to Bears. Makai Lemin WR - bc why not make the offense scarier.

12 minutes ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

I think our pick comes down to these players:

Kayden McDonald DT, Zion Young DE, Dillon Thieneman S, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren S.

Couple sleepers: Peter Wood DT, havent heard anything connecting him to Bears. Makai Lemin WR - bc why not make the offense scarier.

Love all those picks except Zion Young, but I think you're thinking the right way about the picks.

If the board falls a certain way, it might be an OT or CB too.

1 hour ago, BearFan PHX said:

Love all those picks except Zion Young, but I think you're thinking the right way about the picks.

If the board falls a certain way, it might be an OT or CB too.

This is not who I would exactly draft but who i see the Bears drafting. McDonald and Young have top 30 visits. Young fits DAs defense, so i can see it. I think we see the DEs roles different from him. He dont want a guy losing his gap to pursue the QB all the time.

I would not be shocked to see Gennings Dunker round 2. If Trapilo can man the LT Dunker can.

24 minutes ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

This is not who I would exactly draft but who i see the Bears drafting. McDonald and Young have top 30 visits. Young fits DAs defense, so i can see it. I think we see the DEs roles different from him. He dont want a guy losing his gap to pursue the QB all the time.

I would not be shocked to see Gennings Dunker round 2. If Trapilo can man the LT Dunker can.

I've posted this multiple times but in one of his early press conferences with Bears media Dennis Allen said "pass rush does not come from the edge, it comes up the middle." That indicates we need one of the best pass rushing DTs in this draft and that he prefers pocket containment with his edges. The top 2 interior pass rushers are Peter Woods (going off reports of his 2024 tape where he played more 3-tech) and maybe the best upside interior rusher is Caleb Banks. Banks is getting no attention from Bears fans and media which is eerily similar to Loveland last year. Yet the team showed they were willing to be patient while Loveland rehabbed even early into the season because they wanted the upside. Perhaps we should be keeping that in mind. Banks reportedly will be ready around the Jun time frame so he'll miss some of the summer camp stuff (as did Loveland).

https://www.thedraftnetwork.com/2026/01/15/caleb-banks-scouting-report-nfl-draft

"Pass-Rush Upside: When scouting Banks, his first-step quickness and overall athleticism show clear upside as a pass rusher. He gets off the ball quickly and works upfield to beat offensive linemen to the quarterback. Even when he does not reach the quarterback, his length remains disruptive, as passers can feel and see his presence. With proper development, Banks can become an impactful interior pass rusher at the NFL level."

41 minutes ago, AZ54 said:

I've posted this multiple times but in one of his early press conferences with Bears media Dennis Allen said "pass rush does not come from the edge, it comes up the middle." That indicates we need one of the best pass rushing DTs in this draft and that he prefers pocket containment with his edges. The top 2 interior pass rushers are Peter Woods (going off reports of his 2024 tape where he played more 3-tech) and maybe the best upside interior rusher is Caleb Banks. Banks is getting no attention from Bears fans and media which is eerily similar to Loveland last year. Yet the team showed they were willing to be patient while Loveland rehabbed even early into the season because they wanted the upside. Perhaps we should be keeping that in mind. Banks reportedly will be ready around the Jun time frame so he'll miss some of the summer camp stuff (as did Loveland).

https://www.thedraftnetwork.com/2026/01/15/caleb-banks-scouting-report-nfl-draft

"Pass-Rush Upside: When scouting Banks, his first-step quickness and overall athleticism show clear upside as a pass rusher. He gets off the ball quickly and works upfield to beat offensive linemen to the quarterback. Even when he does not reach the quarterback, his length remains disruptive, as passers can feel and see his presence. With proper development, Banks can become an impactful interior pass rusher at the NFL level."

Im glad you see it and have shared previously. I've mentioned it a few times as well. The DEs are the big boys that contain while everyone else could possibly attack.