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That's a very realistic draft and would love that Draft. I would prefer Junkins to Henderson but that's my brain interfering. I have seen several people say Grant is Akim Hicks, I would love that pick at 10

I totally get it, I think when I originally said he was around pick 15-25 that was accurate. If the bears think he is a future LT 10 is not to early. Rating him as 7 th pick in the draft is a stretch so says Draft Buzz. When you latch on to a player, your history is always putting favorable posts out there to support that player. There is also a lot of favorable content because lots of people share your belief. In this draft there is a general consensus who the best players are Hunter, Carter, Graham, Walker, Jeanty, Warren and some think Ward is. Banks is in the next tier with 25 other players. I don't think he is bad and would have no problem if we took him. I just don't think the bears are at 10, if we drop down and he is there at 20(?) grab him. I don't think they are taking a OL until the second round. I don't pretend to be any kind of draft guru, I would be happy with 10 different players at 10. I trust Poles to take the right person. I have liked every one he has taken in the first round since he got here. It's later picks he has botched. I think 2 players not mentioned a lot that could end up picked at 10. Matt Golden WR ( weapon) , Or Jacob Walker/ LB . Johnson and Allen love speed. I'm not routing for this but could be a surprise on draft Day.

I don't particularly like Keenum so for him to compete with Bagent for #2 is fine by me. We need people to throw the ball in camp this is a much better option than any UDFA.

They gave you a C+ on Tyler Booker?

This is interesting, Allen was going to draft Brisker at pick 49 when he was HC at NO.

I did one with no trades or anyone dropping to 10. I really like how it turned out.

FWIW, when I started the mock draft comparison I had no idea what the outcome would be. I didn't cherry pick the mocks, I just took the first ones on that site, in order. If research shows me i was off base, then I readjust, Im not just looking for data to prove Im right. THe reason i think Im right is that the data tells me that. Anyway, I dont care about mocks, I was just rebutting your statement that he was widely considered lower and less than he is, and then i looked and low and behold, his median draft was 13th. All I care about is film. I read and listen to people and their opinions, and then I go and see if those opinions are borne out on film. When I look at Banks, I see a smooth, athletic blocker with great technique, when I look at Campbell I see a stiff player who cant handfight, and plays too high. When I look at membou I see an undersized player who doesnt play to the whistle, and who's heart doesnt really seem to be in it. I didnt pick Banks at random and then look for info to prove myself right - this isnt an exercise in ego - it's just the result of wanting to find the best LT pick for the Bears, and I come out that that is Banks.

Im not sure about the "problem" of having 3 LTs in camp for several reasons. First off, unless you think Braxton Jones is going to ascend in some way he hasnt yet, theres not real reason to worry about his reps. He's had his time, and wont be healthy until later anyway. Secondly, if one of these players clearly beats the others, then your LT position is set, and thats a good thing no matter whether you hoped Amagadje would get more time to develop or whatever Third, all these players can play inside too, and we have no real depth, so there is a place for them on the roster. Fourth, Jones is nearing a new contract, and I doubt we will want to pay him market value. Fifth, every year there are injuries. A you say AZ54, it's lying season, so indicating that you dont want 3 LTs might be a tell that you do LOL

I hope Kiran is the guy they took in round 3 with high hopes. Even if they take someone at 10 like Banks, they will find a spot to play and carry the Bears for years. The Bears avoided the trenches for decades, I'd be fine going OL DL every year round 1. So give me Bank/Campbell or Pierce/Grant and I'll be satisfied.

Months of work doesn't mean months of work on 1 player. These are media talking heads once they get their notes put together their job is to go out and make money talking about it. That's why they are usually late to the party on adjusting draft boards and even then a lot of that is in response to rumors, as opposed to their own re-evaluation. Even though we all disagree to some extent I find all of our combined research here on this board to be more accurate on trends that will happen in April vs the media. That is players moving up/down on draft day versus where they were slated pre-combine. One of the reasons for that is because of the debate where we force ourselves to dig deeper (as seen above) to validate one side or the other. As far as Banks goes I agree he's the best of the LT options especially if we want that in Week 1 because of Braxton's injury. All of this depends on the mystery of what our staff think about Braxton and Kiran. I listened and watched the mannerisms of Poles and Johnson as they answered questions on them this past week. My suspicion is they are content to go forward with those 2. Most telling was Poles as he talked about how he'd have a logjam of 3 players at one position for camp and he didn't seem to like that idea. Then I reminded myself it's lying season.

They'd put up a statue of you in the new stadium if you pull that off.

I look at mock drafts and expert opinions like I do politics. I listen to what they say and, if interested, do individual research. The real draft experts that have the resources and inside info aren't saying anything they don't want us to hear, because they are working for a team. We all can see the guys that are going to be great, but the second tier can be hit and miss. Details like work ethic, football IQ, processing speed, scheme fit and love of the game are keys to determining value. Even college coaches lie their assess off in their praise of their prospects. For reputations sake, I can guarantee they are telling the truth behind closed doors, especially to their pro buddies. Relationships are everything. Enough my rambling. Believe nothing! 😜

can you post the full list , I want to see if the mock draft I did on the Barroom network( that you do drafts on the live show) is on there. I prefer to trust certain people that were former scouts or been doing this for years and get paid for it. 1000 on a list doesn't matter to me because anyone can pick a name and put on a show that 1100 people watch and pretend their credible because they say so. Here is reputable NFL people I pay attention to. Ourlads / former scouts that do draft reports that 26 teams pay to look at. Ourlads #12 the third T on the board. Daniel Jeremiah ( every one knows him) he has him ranked 31 and the third highest T. Dane Brugler ( the beast) #21 4 th T on the board. GBNDReport ranked 24th the 4th T on the board. Huddle report ( top 50 accuracy last year 86%) ranked 18th the 3rd T Draft Countdown ( former scouts run this site) 21 and 3rd rated OT. Draft Buzz, ( Like them too) #7 top T Matt Miller ranked 8th player top T Windy City Gridiron Jacob Infante ( I follow him on X and he puts in a lot of time analyzing players. ) ranked 18 3 rd rated OT I don't really pay attention to PFF or ESPN so I'm not going to bother looking them up. I guess the only thing anyone can say is there is no consensus on his ability. Being there is opinions all over the board tells me they're questions on how great he may be. No one said he's bad . Almost everyone said a competent NFL starter and a few I like said the best LT in the draft. Many project him a OG. You can continue to show me stuff that support your opinion and I can too but whether he is the best T in the draft or not , I still don't think the bears are drafting a T at #10.

No I showed you 21 mock drafts, and in 65% of them he went 13 or earlier. he only dropped past 13, 1/3 of the time. Thats a consensus that he is worth 13. The median (middle value) was 13. This isnt a case where you should take a mathematical mean average. That would be like if we asked 10 people how much money you owe me. 9 of them (including you) say you dont owe me anything, but I say you owe me a Million Dollars. Im full of crap of course, but if you do an average, then you owe me $100,000? No youd say the majority of people agree you owe nothing. Same math here. So Banks is widely considered to go around 13. So 10 is not too early for him at all. In fact it's a few outliers like.... wait for the drumroll... PFF that say he's worth 25 that brings the numbers down anyway. PFF is ruining everyone's draft valuations and expected draft outcomes with their terrible rankings and simulators.

So the LT is not clear cut in this draft and the other positions of need are deep (DT,RB,DE). We have 2 potential LTs on the roster but one has a contract expiring and the other needs time to develop. Two LT prospects, Banks and Campbell, are projected top 12 with projections to be good/great LT or great G. They are projected to be as good as Braxton/Kiran off the bat. If Banks or Campbell are there at 10, the Bears have to weigh their value against prospects in 2026 they could draft vs Kirans development or the slim chance Braxton excels and deserves a contract extension. If Kiran doesn't overcome Braxton this year, the Bears are looking at later tier prospects to draft for 2026 and beyond since they should improve. The conclusion is the Bears have to seriously consider LT this draft. This is why Banks is talked about. If Banks cannot take and hold down the LT position, he will take Thuneys position and we hope Kiran can.

They have a mini camp next week, so the coaches amd players can finally meet.

You show me 21 mock drafts and only 5 have him top 10, 11 have him 10-20 and 6 after 20. I'm not sure this is illustrating to me your argument is correct. My original statement that is generally ranked 15 to 25 seems more true than top 10. Everyone on X has mock drafts so not sure how much that changes my mind. I'll look up the people I trust and list them for you that actually puts months in analyzing players instead of ( my turn to mock draft). Matt Miller, Dane Brugler, Jeremiah, Ourlads and a few more.

Researching what football writers really do think about Banks. Went to https://www.nflmockdraftdatabase.com/ and took notes on the first 21 Mock Drafts they collected. I got a good cross section, and got bored after 21 of them, but this includes CBS, NBC, FOX, PFN, PFF, SI, Barstool - most of the big ones. Pushing the numbers around I found a few things. Some of them fly in the face of what the mock draft simulators have been telling us. 85% of them had Banks still available to us at pick 10, thats good news for me. 65% of them had Banks off the board by 13. And 13 was Banks' median draft position. So taking him at 10 is right in line with value in these peoples eyes. You cant count on him at 17 or 20 in the trade down scenarios. PFF and a few others have him dropping to 25th which is why the simulators are saying he'll be there, but 2/3 of these had him gone by 13. In some mocks he went as high as: 4 to NE (Fox Sports) 5 to Jacksonville (USA Today) 9 to New Orleans (NBC Sports) Draft Buzz has him ranked as the #7 player in the draft, and as the #1 OT in the draft says about him: Banks projects as a high-ceiling prospect who could excel at either tackle or guard, with the versatility to be a day-one impact starter at either spot. His advanced pass set technique and fluid movement skills translate beautifully to tackle in systems emphasizing quick-game concepts and RPOs, while his natural leverage and explosive power could make him an elite interior force. Though slightly shorter than ideal for tackle, his technical mastery and exceptional awareness more than compensate for any length limitations. His processing speed and technical foundation project particularly well to zone-based systems where his fluid movement skills and expertise in combination blocks can be maximized. While he's shown clear starter ability at tackle, his unique skill set could reach even greater heights at guard, where his natural leverage and explosive power could make him one of the league's premier interior linemen. His quick mental processing and natural feel for angles should allow him to dominate at either position. Banks has the tools to develop into a Pro Bowl-caliber player at either spot, with his ceiling potentially even higher at guard. His floor appears to be that of a quality starting tackle, with All-Pro potential if kicked inside. ---- I think the PFF grade we are all routinely assuming is correct about him is instead a big outlier among the rest of the Football Evaluation sites. This doesnt prove anything, except that Banks is not projected to be a mid round, non blue chipper. That's just PFF talk.

The key point here is we don't know what the new coaches think of the roster. All they have is tape right now and Kiran basically doesn't have any. Lots of questions going into the draft.

I will agree that Ersery is a true LT but doesn't get projected as a day 1 starter. If the Bears think Banks is the dude I'm all in with you taking him at 10. But that's where I don't think the circumstances change. I don't think Poles dumps 2 former picks to pick a top 15 OT. Braxton was rated 21 out of the NFL tackle room. He has bad tape and does have penalties. Watch every starting LT in the league and you will find maybe 10 that have consistent tape. LT is hard to fill and many high picks didn't turn into dudes at the position. They are not taking Banks at 10 unless they believe he's a top 10 OT. The overall opinion is this is a very average draft at LT. That's why a lot of marginal LTs are projected at other positions. This is what I think will happen. They trade back and if Banks is there ,may be the pick but more likely a 2nd round prospect to groom behind Braxton and Kiran because odds are Jones won't take a giant leap forward enough to get 20 mil a year. Kiran may jump Braxton on the depth chart. We just have no idea what they're doing. Grant or Hollis Pierce develops behind the Braxton and Kiran.

One bummer is the coaches haven’t really gotten to work with the players much. Do they get a mini camp before draft where they can at least put them through some agilities or is first time coaches get to really do anything right after draft when you have rookie mini camp and than some of the full mini camps / Otas leading up until training camp.

yeah, it's lying season for sure. never know how to take it. Johnson says Jones is great, Allen says Tyler Warren is great. etc. One thing that I like about Poles and now Johnson too, is they don't lie by mumbling and saying nothing like Belichick does, they lie by saying truly positive things, things that are true about players. When they say they like Jone's length they DO! But as to how that figures into a total grade and who they're riding with or dropping, there's no info there. They wont compare players for example. But they will analyze the positive qualities of anyone. And a big unknown is whether Roushar has already told Johnson that Jones or Amagadje is a perfect specimen for them and they think they can scheme and coach him into a dominant player. That they know exactly why they failed before, and know they can fix it. If Roushar said that about Amagadje for example, then we already have our blue chip starting LT on the roster. I would be surprised if this was true, but if it was, I wouldnt have any way of knowing that, so my draft predictions would be really skewed

Johnson was quoted this week on Jones. Overall pretty positive quotes - but mentioned they want him to add some muscle so he can set his anchor better - but raved about his athleticism at tackle. Could be smoke - but you could hear the energy when he talked about Jones length and athleticism. He also said pass blocking is number one out of an LT.

One more point: when I say I don't listen to writers and sites, I'm being too vague. I totally listen. I hear what they praise about a player, and I hear what they complain about about a player, and when I watch film, I'm testing those ideas to see if theyre true or not. By then I've probably even forgotten who said what. THeyre just ideas to test. The thing is, even if I wanted to "trust the experts" they often disagree with each other. So there isn't even a specific point of view. Then you're picking who you trust most among the pundits, and no one is always right, so I listen, but then I see if I see what they see.

now we are REALLY agreeing. This means most positions are deeper than OT. And if you think (like I do) that we need a starter quality OT, and find none likely available by our 2nd round picks, then you'd be on board with all my crazy plans, like taking Banks at 10, taking Ersery at 10, or trading down in the 1st but still in Ersery range? There are great HBs, S, WR, TE and some help on the DL too in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, but nothing for quality LTs.