The haul:

top 15 talent starting safety

Starting center

Best blocking TE in the draft and a talent who should be long term TE2

WR4 maybe future WR3 with elite speed

CB with the talent to fit this scheme and starting CB2 potential

LB who should be good depth with starting potential I think he ends up LB4 for us long term

Freak DT DT4 floor to DT1 potential

We had a good draft and filled a lot of needs with good players. Just not the draft I expected. This team got better.

This is easily the best and deepest offensive roster I’ve seen in a very long time. Might end up being the best Bears offense we’ve ever seen this year or next.

Defense is finally getting depth as well. DBs improved across the board. Both starting safeties are better than what we fielded last year. With CB starters returning to health being key but the depth behind them got much better. LBs improved a little bit. Dline will improve slightly but mostly just organically from player’s like Booker and Turner continued ascension. However depth player’s at DT are better than what we had last year.

I really like Van den Berg as DT depth. Questions remain at LT of course but I figure Taylor Decker is the emergency call if needed.

Overall I feel much better about the roster depth than I did at this time last year.

Great summary.

I hope last years defensive injuries was a fluke and they do perform mid-level with everyone back.

3 hours ago, AZ54 said:

The haul:

top 15 talent starting safety

Starting center

Best blocking TE in the draft and a talent who should be long term TE2

WR4 maybe future WR3 with elite speed

CB with the talent to fit this scheme and starting CB2 potential

LB who should be good depth with starting potential I think he ends up LB4 for us long term

Freak DT DT4 floor to DT1 potential

We had a good draft and filled a lot of needs with good players. Just not the draft I expected. This team got better.

This is easily the best and deepest offensive roster I’ve seen in a very long time. Might end up being the best Bears offense we’ve ever seen this year or next.

Defense is finally getting depth as well. DBs improved across the board. Both starting safeties are better than what we fielded last year. With CB starters returning to health being key but the depth behind them got much better. LBs improved a little bit. Dline will improve slightly but mostly just organically from player’s like Booker and Turner continued ascension. However depth player’s at DT are better than what we had last year.

I really like Van den Berg as DT depth. Questions remain at LT of course but I figure Taylor Decker is the emergency call if needed.

Overall I feel much better about the roster depth than I did at this time last year.

It can not be put any better. An odd draft but as being a winning team now, we specifically filled spots without major additions at the DL , a glaring need. Van Der Berg is going to be a big surprise. IMO

IDK, hope you're right. When they showed him jumping out of the pool, all I could think of was Gilbert and how much of a huge flop he was. I even had a rant on the forum a few days ago, saying one of the things I wanted Poles to avoid was anyone jumping out of a pool. LOL

59 minutes ago, Pixote said:

IDK, hope you're right. When they showed him jumping out of the pool, all I could think of was Gilbert and how much of a huge flop he was. I even had a rant on the forum a few days ago, saying one of the things I wanted Poles to avoid was anyone jumping out of a pool. LOL

Right? I don’t give a damn about pools or RAS or anything that shows extreme athleticism if the player was just average otherwise on the football field.

Fencik over Archuletta.

9 hours ago, AZ54 said:

The haul:

top 15 talent starting safety

Starting center -

Best blocking TE in the draft and a talent who should be long term TE2

WR4 maybe future WR3 with elite speed

CB with the talent to fit this scheme and starting CB2 potential

LB who should be good depth with starting potential I think he ends up LB4 for us long term

Freak DT DT4 floor to DT1 potential

I am honestly ok with the picks, but when you consider they came into the draft with 2x 2nd rounders, then traded back and lost value, then traded back up and lost more value. That sequence was not ideal.

The other teams got Hill Jr, at 60, Sam Hecht, C at 144, and Will Lee III, CB at 129 for Roush, TE, Muhammad, CB, and Elliott, LB.

51 minutes ago, jason said:

Right? I don’t give a damn about pools or RAS or anything that shows extreme athleticism if the player was just average otherwise on the football field.

Fencik over Archuletta.

Unfortunately this is Poles evaluation criteria. This is why Velus Jones was drafted, why Claypool was traded for. Not actual on the field production.

All the events are not even realistic without gear on. A 250 lbs dude can carry more weight with less impact than a 180 lbs dude. It's not like the equipment worn is lighter or smaller for the lighter guys.

2 hours ago, adam said:

It's not like the equipment worn is lighter or smaller for the lighter guys.

Uhh, it actually is...🤔🤌🤌🤌

1 hour ago, adam said:

I am honestly ok with the picks, but when you consider they came into the draft with 2x 2nd rounders, then traded back and lost value, then traded back up and lost more value. That sequence was not ideal.

The other teams got Hill Jr, at 60, Sam Hecht, C at 144, and Will Lee III, CB at 129 for Roush, TE, Muhammad, CB, and Elliott, LB.

The value charts always assume a linear value to players and picks. Poles said they had excluded a lot more players this year and were very focused on finding "football guys". That narrow focus means there are going to be some big cliffs and valleys in players on their board throughout the process.

Using OC as the example, the Bears led the workout for Sam Hecht. They said they were in on as many OC workouts via Roushar as they could be. They had a very good idea on which OCs fit their scheme best and that increases the grade and value of Logan Jones by a lot in their eyes. While the rest of the NFL draft world has him graded similarly to Hecht and maybe a couple others. They went and got their guy locked in early and that doesn't bother me as long as the evaluation is right.

At the point of the trade down I saw your points analysis and agreed it was clear Poles well selling low to get the additional pick. As of today we lost on the trade value charts but if Malik Muhammad turns into a good starting CB2 for us then I'd say we won the value battle finding that talent in the 4th. Plus adding a good depth LB with starting potential on a pick we never had.

Given the way the draft happened and this tight fit on evals makes me wonder why we avoided guys like Dani Dennis-Sutton. It's the late 3rd Rd pick on a WR where all this meshes into a WTF moment. Certainly if any of those Edge or DT prospects were one of Poles players we'd have grabbed them in the 3rd. Darrell Jackson Jr., Kaleb Proctor, Gracen Halton. In my mind, and in my mocks, several of those players were logical choices for us at that pick.

3 hours ago, jason said:

Right? I don’t give a damn about pools or RAS or anything that shows extreme athleticism if the player was just average otherwise on the football field.

Fencik over Archuletta.

IMO comparing this pool video to Gilbert years ago is taking it out of context. Gilbert literally had almost no highlights to his production at a small school. He was drafted purely on a traits projection. Here we're taking a 6yr old video of a high school kid who was already focused on improving his athletic ability. At 240lbs he was still growing and had no idea what he'd grow into as a player. Watching his press conference, and seeing his work out numbers, it's clear his work ethic is still there to this day. He played in the ACC against good programs last year: Clemson, Georgia, Duke, BC, NC State, Pitt, and BYU and had production in those games. That's a lot better level of competition than San Jose St. Given the level of competition having an average depth of tackle of -0.11 is pretty good.

I dont care where they got there players (pick value) as long as they are good players. Most people use the big boards pundits put out to judge player value. After the actual draft you can see a lot of evaluations were off. A good example is the safety EMW. Some had him in the first round or early second. Almost every team passed him up a couple of times before he was taken. Taking Logan Jones that high was not in any drafts so does that mean we went to high, or they were to low? Logan Jones is a Tyler Linderbaum clone and Tyler was picked by the Ravens at pick 25. If Logan is that good, late second is right where he should have been taken.

After years of complaining that the Bears weren’t addressing the O-line enough, now that they actually have a good one I’m not going to argue that they are going after O-line too aggressively.

10 hours ago, dawhizz said:

After years of complaining that the Bears weren’t addressing the O-line enough, now that they actually have a good one I’m not going to argue that they are going after O-line too aggressively.

Same. I haven’t said a word. Keep protecting Caleb at all costs.

They added speed and took the BPA according to their board. Although I am disappointed because they didnt get Jacas, they played the board right. NE moved up two spots in front of them to get Jacas or they would have drafted him at 57 and then took Jones at 60. It just didnt work out.

The big outlier here was when Dalman all of a sudden retired. They scrambled to get the best vet at a reasonable price and then took the best center in the draft. BJ values the center position to work with Caleb and that's how they addressed it.

We dont know how they valued the edge players left (Dennis-Sutton) went at 120 but they drafted Roush-Thomas. We will have to see how that works out. They clearly were targeting Van Der Berg later in the draft to pass up the DT position. They value Dayo and Turner more than the pundits and fans. They know medicals that we dont . Those two will be in the DE room that replaces any later round draft picks.

I think they hit on Mummamd/CB and Elliott/LB but time will tell. Van Der Berg may not contribute right away but looks like a high ceiling on being very good. 10.0 RAS score is insane. The best DT score since they started using that metric.

Reviewing Scouting Takes on Bears Picks

I'm going through some scouting reports, and I just wanted to share the theme about almost every single one of these players. I'm mostly looking at the intangibles. To my mind, right or wrong, Ben Johnson feels he understands what it takes for a player with non-traditional measurements to succeed - a "what would I do without football?" lifer, and someone who is tough and competitive. Does that toughness and intelligence push smaller guys like Thieneman, Thomas, and Muhammed, and short-armed players like Jones, Roush, and Van den Berg to excel?

We'll have to see, but to me, that's the clear theme here: smart guys who live and breathe football, are tough, and work their asses off. Agree with it or not, but my read on this is that Ben Johnson and Ryan Poles believe that: a) if a guy is a really good athlete, b) and he lives and breathes football, c) and he's smart and a leader, they will be able to coach that player into a good football player.

Dillon Thieneman, S, No. 25

• He's a scheme fit and a decent pick here

• Fast as hell

Logan Jones, C, No. 57

• Refits his hands quickly and efficiently for recoveries in pass pro

  • (will protect Caleb Williams)

• Finished career going 17 straight games without a penalty

  • (tell me Johnson wasn't pissed about the penalties last year)

• Rugged demeanor and hates coming off the field

  • (Johnson's type of player)

• High-intangibles kid (NFL scout: “Pushes himself to the max. … I wish all our guys loved the grind like he does.”)

  • (Bears' culture)

• Great athlete (won 100m dash in 6th and 7th grade in city track meets)

Sam Roush, TE, No. 69

• Strains in his blocking and plays with competitive edge

• Described as “down-to-earth, all-ball” player who willingly overachieves

• One of just six combine prospects (out of 319) who competed in every drill

• No stranger to special teams (529 career snaps)

Zavion Thomas, WR, No. 89

• Beloved in LSU program for his “positive energy” and “grinding attitude”

• Fast as hell

Malik Muhammed, CB, No. 124

• Hates to come off the field (Muhammad after missing one game in 2025: “I feel like I let my team down.”)

• Fast, great athlete

Keyshaun Elliot, LB, No. 166

• Extra coach on the field — communicates all calls to his teammates

• Described as an “A-plus kid” with “grown-man maturity” by coaching staff

• Sophomore team captain at New Mexico State; voted to the team’s Pat Tillman Leadership Council both of his seasons at Arizona State

• Already a professional in terms of his work ethic and study habits (NFL scout: “He wears out the coaches — in the best way possible.”)

• Fast, good athlete

Jordan van den Berg, DT, No. 213

His motor is relentless, and his coaches said he was one of the team’s best leaders because of the example he set. He also brings outstanding personal and football character (he used his NIL money to become a small-busine

Here is the players they brought in for the defense this offseason.

At DT: Gallimore/FA-Street/FA-Lynch/FA-Van Der Berg/draft/ Loving/UDFA

At DE: O

At LB: Bush/FA-Elliott/draft-Sanborn/FA-D Jackson/FA

At CB: Mahammad/draft-Jalyon Jones/FA-KC Eziomume/UDFA

At S: Bryant/FA-Cam Lewis/FA-Hicks/FA-Theineman/draft-Skyler Thomas/UDFA

The DE didnt get any bodies. I expect them to bring in a FA.

If Booker played the full season(8 games) he could have reached 10 sacks. He had 4.5 sacks but had two taken away for roughing penalties. I think 9 more games could have gotten him 3.5 sacks.

Dayo was injured and expect him to contribute . He is the perfect fit for DAs defense. We still need to see production but they wont be cutting him.

Turner was hurt and has an upside. They will expect him to take a step. He has a non stop motor, nasty attitude and traits. Not any different than what they might expect from a rookie.

Street has played DE besides DT.

If I remember correctly our defense played well against the Rams in the last game. With all the new bodies and players coming back they will get better. Throw in they now have scheme fit players at every spot for DA. That should improve the over all defense.

If the Bears get one more vet, like Cam Jordan or DaJuan Jones, I would be happy. Bosa would be a consolation prize, but I almost think run stopping is a bigger issue than the pass rush, but both are equally bad.

18 minutes ago, adam said:

If the Bears get one more vet, like Cam Jordan or DaJuan Jones, I would be happy. Bosa would be a consolation prize, but I almost think run stopping is a bigger issue than the pass rush, but both are equally bad.

Yeah, I can fault any of the picks or free agent moves we made, except that I think we need an Edge Rusher somewhere in there. Maybe a move is still coming.

13 minutes ago, BearFan PHX said:

Yeah, I can fault any of the picks or free agent moves we made, except that I think we need an Edge Rusher somewhere in there. Maybe a move is still coming.

If Poles is cooking something, then that makes the draft make more sense because you don't want to lock in a roster spot (due to draft pick status) if you need the spot available for a move like this.