10 hours 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."

I just don’t think this is a good “smaller, pass-rushing DT” draft if that really is what we’re looking for. While Banks and Wood’s seem to have some of the tools, neither has really done it well at the collegiate level. The next wave are more NT run defense types (McDonald, Hunter, Miller). There are maybe a couple more middle round guys who fit the bill (Halton, Durant, maybe Proctor) but really think that’s why we saw the Bears get a bunch of guys who fit the mold they are looking for in free agency (Gallimore, Street, Lynch) and maybe they don’t even go DT in the draft, see what these guys do, and reassess next year.

I agree with all of that.

11 hours ago, AZ54 said:

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."

Fans know about Banks. This particular one shared a video of him with you, claiming he was a Chris Jones clone. If his pro day goes well, I believe he'll climb in the draft. If he's out of shape, he may fall to us.

3 minutes ago, Mongo3451 said:

  12 hours ago, AZ54 said:

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).

Fans know about Banks. This particular one shared a video of him with you, claiming he was a Chris Jones clone. If his pro day goes well, I believe he'll climb in the draft. If he's out of shape, he may fall to us.

1 hour ago, Mongo3451 said:

Fans know about Banks. This particular one shared a video of him with you, claiming he was a Chris Jones clone. If his pro day goes well, I believe he'll climb in the draft. If he's out of shape, he may fall to us.

I remember your post and share similar thoughts on that comparison but you fall under the singular "fan" and not the generic blogosphere and podcast world of "fans" I intended to refer to.

Stinger... Caleb Banks is not a clone of Dexter by any means. He has a very quick lateral step and can work to the edges of blocks or between blocks (i.e. double team) far better. On top of that he's incredibly strong. In all the years of watching draft analysis I can recall two players who can ragdoll Olinemen to the ground: Jalen Carter and Caleb Banks. I think the pad level issue is being over done and it's not an every down issue. Besides that every lineman that is 6'6" tall will have the same issue. For comparison this was the weakness of Chris Jones ten years ago:

"Weaknesses

Will lock­out his long legs on too many snaps. Upright play style limits his leverage and balance against down­ blocks. Motor will run out of gas if he's forced to chase after play for very long. Average ball instincts. Change of direction can be inconsistent due to pad level. Flashes pass rush talent, but too content to lay on blockers when early rush fizzles."

This analysis is using 2024 film.

When young players are so dominant, they don't have to work as hard on technique to win. Just like Jones and Carter, Banks should ascend after playing against real men.

There is a good chance he may still be available when we draft (unless Buffalo, who has a need for a DT, leapfrogs us to grab him)

I love the guy, hell of a player, but his recurrence of foot injuries is a major concern.

Banks is one of those guys that you see rare length with athletic ability. He would need a lot of work on his run stop ability and that is what the Bears need most, so it comes down if they feel he can develop in that area. Big boys with foot issues is also a concern. If the Bears believe he can overcome those two issues, he would be a monster for us in the middle. He would also have former gator Dexter take him under his wing. Dexter should have extra motivation going into a contract year.

The hard part is do the Bears go DT early after adding free agents. I feel they need to so they have long term talent, but they may have bought themselves a year to fill other positions

The Mock Draft Consensus has McNeil-Warren, McDonald, Woods, and Young as the highest probable.

On the Big Board, 25-29 have some good players (Woods -DL, McNeil-Warren-S, Parker-Edge, Miller-OT, McDonald-DT) with 3 of the top 5 listed as probable for the Bears.

I would not be too upset if they went Safety at 25, BUTTTTTTT, I would hate to put that much capital into the Safety position considering they just gave out their biggest FA contract to Bryant. DT needs some love.

1 hour ago, adam said:

The Mock Draft Consensus has McNeil-Warren, McDonald, Woods, and Young as the highest probable.

On the Big Board, 25-29 have some good players (Woods -DL, McNeil-Warren-S, Parker-Edge, Miller-OT, McDonald-DT) with 3 of the top 5 listed as probable for the Bears.

I would not be too upset if they went Safety at 25, BUTTTTTTT, I would hate to put that much capital into the Safety position considering they just gave out their biggest FA contract to Bryant. DT needs some love.

I guess it depends on the DT. Like I said above, I don't really think this draft is good for the type of DT that Dennis Allen seems to prefer - it wouldn't have to be Aaron Donald but even guys like Walter Nolen, Calijah Kancey, Byron Murphy, Bryan Bressee, or Jer'Zhan Newton would be great fits for what Dennis Allen wants and would be good theoretical end of first round targets. But the guys likely to be there and worthy of the pick are Banks (questionable 3T fit, not a lot of production, and several foot issues), Peter Woods (quesitonable 3T fit who seemed to get worse last year), and Kayden McDonald (pretty clearly more of a NT than 3T). Now, if the Bears wanted to pivot and take a bigger NT guy, I wouldn't actually have a problem with that - I think the Bears run defense last year was at least as much of an issue as their pass defense and getting a run stopper would make some sense, but that's not what the history of Dennis Allen defenses suggests they would do.

2 hours ago, dawhizz said:

I guess it depends on the DT. Like I said above, I don't really think this draft is good for the type of DT that Dennis Allen seems to prefer - it wouldn't have to be Aaron Donald but even guys like Walter Nolen, Calijah Kancey, Byron Murphy, Bryan Bressee, or Jer'Zhan Newton would be great fits for what Dennis Allen wants and would be good theoretical end of first round targets. But the guys likely to be there and worthy of the pick are Banks (questionable 3T fit, not a lot of production, and several foot issues), Peter Woods (quesitonable 3T fit who seemed to get worse last year), and Kayden McDonald (pretty clearly more of a NT than 3T). Now, if the Bears wanted to pivot and take a bigger NT guy, I wouldn't actually have a problem with that - I think the Bears run defense last year was at least as much of an issue as their pass defense and getting a run stopper would make some sense, but that's not what the history of Dennis Allen defenses suggests they would do.

The defense was way worse than most metrics. It was clearly a bottom-5 unit.

Bottom 5 in yards per play, both for the rush and pass, 5th most Passing TDs allowed, and bottom 5 in TFL.

2 hours ago, adam said:

The defense was way worse than most metrics. It was clearly a bottom-5 unit.

Bottom 5 in yards per play, both for the rush and pass, 5th most Passing TDs allowed, and bottom 5 in TFL.

If you look at our injuries you will see why we sunk to that level. As much as Wright had a lot of TOs, he wasn't a good coverage CB. Gardner Johnson made an impact as a free agent acquisition but wasn't good in coverage. Terrell Smith didn't make a game. Kyle Gordon had issues. You could easily predict a big problem from the start.

They made additions in DL but Jarrett wasn't healthy for most of the season, Turner got hurt and Dayo didn't complete the season. Billings play nose dived from the previous season and Dexter didn't progress. Booker missed half the season.

Our top 3 LBer were hurt during the season.

Safety position has to be addressed and we need more speed in the DL. If we stay healthy we are already a better team.

Caleb Banks has slowly dropped out of the first round for several reasons. He's the typical high risk - high reward candidate. Production has never been there for someone with his traits. The foot injuries 2 yrs in a row could be a problem. He could be what Jalen Carter was supposed to be or a high pick bust. Is that worth the 25 th pick? The bears will answer that question. In the second round they may seem him worth it.

When I look at tape on a player it's usually a few games and highlights films. I have opinions but I don't pretend to know more than scouts that watch every snap of a players career and then they get it wrong half the time. I just comment on a limited perspective. I trust the bears to do better.

In general the back 7 were slow, having been built for a zone scheme. And zone schemes require a pass rush, but we didnt have that either because Eberflus sucks.

We will continue to build on team speed, and that will help a lot. We also need a pass rush desperately.

But yeah, our defense was much worse than the stats showed last year.