18 minutes ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

We can watch Dani Dennis-Suttons career vs Zavion Thomas and the Bears defense especially pass rush to see if they screwed up. I know the guy I wanted was DDS.

Thats one problem giving the head coach the weight to sway who to pick. He gave DA the first pick, took the next 3 for O, and the rest to D. DAs 4 picks to BJs 3.

Im not really even sure if DDS is going to be any good. Im not even sure if the DE we needed wasnt gone before pick 25. I cant really complain about the specific picks, it's more like "somewhere in the process, we need an Edge Rusher" Maybe a trade, maybe in free agency, I dunno. But the plan seems to have left one out.

54 minutes ago, BearFan PHX said:

Im not really even sure if DDS is going to be any good. Im not even sure if the DE we needed wasnt gone before pick 25. I cant really complain about the specific picks, it's more like "somewhere in the process, we need an Edge Rusher" Maybe a trade, maybe in free agency, I dunno. But the plan seems to have left one

Im not sure Ben Johnson will let Poles trade top draftcapital for one. He could have had Jermaine Johnson for a 2nd round pick but Ben preferred to hold that pick and instead they sent a 6th for Tryon Shoyinka. Good thing since we now have a potential probowl center in a couple years.

I think we will have to find one in FA or the draft.

Another point that BJ brought up on a press conference was that the new coaches needed to acclimate themselves to what BJ and DA wanted to do. That in the second year they will be able to execute the offense and defense better. Not any different from a player learning the system.

Here is a podcast, I watch a lot of them , that explains the consensus and team boards. If you dont want to watch the whole podcast, the post by Bucky Brooks is at 5:00 minutes. He makes some good points.

7 hours ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

Im not sure Ben Johnson will let Poles trade top draftcapital for one. He could have had Jermaine Johnson for a 2nd round pick but Ben preferred to hold that pick and instead they sent a 6th for Tryon Shoyinka. Good thing since we now have a potential probowl center in a couple years.

I think we will have to find one in FA or the draft.

Poles mentioned trading up in the second for a DE and mentioned Zion Young that was going to cost to much . I think targeting specific edge rushers that fit what you want to do is difficult so they stick to their board and grab someone that can help in another area. I think they would have drafted Jacas but NE moved up. They read the board right because he would have been there. They didnt get him and took Jones which I think would have been the pick at 60. People complain to move up at any cost to get a need but then you dont fill other needs. Players like Howell, Thomas and Josephs didnt fit which thy wanted. Fans and pundits say draft anyways. Every pick had its purpose. The biggest complaint was taking Roush and Zavion Thomas. Those were BJ wants. I think maybe with other teams they might have been a luxury pick but with BJ they are weapons . I trust BJ.

This is just another opinion but he overwhelming liked the draft.

17 hours ago, adam said:

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.

if that WERE the case then what you do is bundle picks to move UP in the draft for a quality player at another position.

Logan Jones will be 25 in October, he is at least a year older than Loveland, Turner, Burden, Walker, Sewell, Odunze, Newman, Monangai, and Booker. Jones is only 3 years younger than Dalman.

I dont mind an older center prospect because of the value he gives to Caleb. With the NIL money, we are going to continue to see older players drafted. He has 4 years of starting experience and was there for 2 years with Linderbaum. Jones was a DT and Tyler recommended Logan to the coach.

1 hour ago, Stinger226 said:

I dont mind an older center prospect because of the value he gives to Caleb. With the NIL money, we are going to continue to see older players drafted. He has 4 years of starting experience and was there for 2 years with Linderbaum. Jones was a DT and Tyler recommended Logan to the coach.

That is true. Just like in previous years, I am leery about older prospects (thanks Velus) because it is hard to gauge their actual performance considering they are playing against a lot of 18 and 19 yr olds at 23 and 24.

3 hours ago, adam said:

Logan Jones will be 25 in October, he is at least a year older than Loveland, Turner, Burden, Walker, Sewell, Odunze, Newman, Monangai, and Booker. Jones is only 3 years younger than Dalman.

2 years younger than Kmet...

The Bears did a ton of homework on Garrett and the draft prospects. This position is so important that it takes a lot of vetting. I feel good about both our centers.

I feel good the team prioritized protecting Caleb and didn’t just let the draft play out according to the experts. See the guy you really want and go get him. They backed it up with an insurance plan in Bradbury.

Has Dalman not retired, this looks a lot different. Not only the second but they gave up a 5 th for Bradbury. So in sure with the value of a center with a young QB, they double downed at center. They had no idea who would be available but grabbed the best center that could be all pro. IMO. People keep saying they didn't address their most important need, I disagree. They needed a starting S, they had some assets at DE plus 2 starters. Whether it's enough, we'll find out.

1 hour ago, Stinger226 said:

Has Dalman not retired, this looks a lot different. Not only the second but they gave up a 5 th for Bradbury. So in sure with the value of a center with a young QB, they double downed at center. They had no idea who would be available but grabbed the best center that could be all pro. IMO. People keep saying they didn't address their most important need, I disagree. They needed a starting S, they had some assets at DE plus 2 starters. Whether it's enough, we'll find out.

Bradbury is what? 31? If he goes down, who would take his place? Protecting Caleb has to be our #1 priority. So if they panicked and drafted who they thought was the best option at Center a bit early to avoid another team from grabbing him, so be it. We needed an option who could start day one if Bradbury got injured in preseason.

How many players will contribute or start from this class this year?

I'd say 6 out of 7. Will they have the same impact as last years class, probably not as big but i see more players seeing action. This is what building your roster through the draft looks like. There are still some final pieces needed, but that list has shrank.

I do like that the Bears are finally getting with the program and understanding the college pipelines. They haven't been going with too many small school players. Zah Frazier was the only pick in the last few years from a "small" school. I would like a few more picks from top 5 schools but this is a solid group.

Oregon - 13-2 (4th)
Iowa - 9-4 (17th)
Stanford 4-8
LSU 7-6
Texas 10-3 (12th)
ASU 8-5
GT 9-4 (31st)

25 minutes ago, adam said:

I do like that the Bears are finally getting with the program and understanding the college pipelines. They haven't been going with too many small school players. Zah Frazier was the only pick in the last few years from a "small" school. I would like a few more picks from top 5 schools but this is a solid group.

Oregon - 13-2 (4th)
Iowa - 9-4 (17th)
Stanford 4-8
LSU 7-6
Texas 10-3 (12th)
ASU 8-5
GT 9-4 (31st)

Part of this is due to NIL. There were fewer small school players drafted overall because with NIL, small school players or even good players at schools that aren’t traditionally as good, get noticed and snatched up by bigger/better schools. Even among our picks, Thieneman started at Purdue, Thomas started at Mississippi State, Elliott started at New Mexico State, and Van Den Berg was at Penn State. I think I read where there were fewer small school, lower level, and non power conference players drafted this year overall.

This is last years rookie sack leaders.

Only James Pearce had an impact. Jalon Walker (DT) was second with 5.5. Pearce was drafted 26th, 4 others were 1st round picks. 5 second round and 5 3rd round.

Fans want to chase Dexter out of town and he had 6 sacks last year. How would everyone like if we drafted Faulk and he got us 3 sacks?

NAME	SCK	SEASON	TM	GP	TKL	AST	COMB	SCKY	INT	INT YDS	INT TD	FF	FR	FR TD
1		James Pearce Jr.	10.5	2025	ATL	17	17	9	26	94.5	0	0	0	1	1	0
2		Jalon Walker	5.5	2025	ATL	15	24	12	36	44	0	0	0	2	1	0
3		Nic Scourton	5.0	2025	CAR	17	20	27	47	31.5	0	0	0	1	0	0
4		Abdul Carter	4.0	2025	NYG	17	25	18	43	22.5	0	0	0	2	2	0
5		Tonka Hemingway	4.0	2025	LV	9	8	1	9	30	0	0	0	0	1	0
6		Elijah Ponder	4.0	2025	NE	15	14	10	24	16	0	0	0	0	2	0
7		Mike Green	3.5	2025	BAL	17	17	24	41	23	0	0	0	0	1	0
8		Darius Alexander	3.5	2025	NYG	16	9	11	20	26.5	0	0	0	0	0	0
9		Derrick Harmon	3.0	2025	PIT	12	11	16	27	9	0	0	0	0	1	0
10		Demetrius Knight Jr.	3.0	2025	CIN	17	58	48	106	14	2	39	0	1	0	0
11		Josaiah Stewart	3.0	2025	LAR	17	13	9	22	16	0	0	0	1	0	0
12		Carson Schwesinger	2.5	2025	CLE	16	67	89	156	25	2	16	0	0	0	0
13		Nick Emmanwori	2.5	2025	SEA	14	56	25	81	13	1	0	0	0	0	0
14		Kenneth Grant	2.0	2025	MIA	17	15	18	33	3	0	0	0	0	0	0
15		Walter Nolen III	2.0	2025	ARI	6	8	3	11	10	0	0	0	0	1	1
16		Donovan Ezeiruaku	2.0	2025	DAL	17	20	20	40	15	0	0	0	1	0	0
17		Jacob Parrish	2.0	2025	TB	17	50	26	76	18	2	3	0	0	1	0
18		Elijah Roberts	2.0	2025	TB	17	10	4	14	10	0	0	0	0	1	0
19		B.J. Green II	2.0	2025	JAX	14	6	9	15	15	0	0	0	0	1	0
20		Ashton Gillotte	1.5	2025	KC	17	14	24	38	2	1	14	0	0	0	0
21		Princely Umanmielen	1.5	2025	CAR	16	13	11	24	12.5	0	0	0

Player  Team Sacks Games Played Total Tackles James Pearce Jr. Atlanta Falcons 10.5 17 26 Jalon Walker Atlanta Falcons 5.5 15 36 Nic Scourton Carolina Panthers 5.0 17 47 Abdul Carter New York Giants 4.0 17 43 T. Hemingway Las Vegas Raiders 4.0 9 9 Elijah Ponder New England Patriots 4.0 15 24 Mike Green Baltimore Ravens 3.5 17 41 D. Alexander New York Giants 3.5 16 20 Player	Team	Sacks	Games Played	Total Tackles
James Pearce Jr.	Atlanta Falcons	10.5	17	26
Jalon Walker	Atlanta Falcons	5.5	15	36
Nic Scourton	Carolina Panthers	5.0	17	47
Abdul Carter	New York Giants	4.0	17	43
T. Hemingway	Las Vegas Raiders	4.0	9	9
Elijah Ponder	New England Patriots	4.0	15	24
Mike Green	Baltimore Ravens	3.5	17	41
D. Alexander	New York Giants	3.5	16	20

2 hours ago, dawhizz said:

Part of this is due to NIL. There were fewer small school players drafted overall because with NIL, small school players or even good players at schools that aren’t traditionally as good, get noticed and snatched up by bigger/better schools. Even among our picks, Thieneman started at Purdue, Thomas started at Mississippi State, Elliott started at New Mexico State, and Van Den Berg was at Penn State. I think I read where there were fewer small school, lower level, and non power conference players drafted this year overall.

Makes sense