BearFan PHX

I was confused at first - thinking Dexter was too slow off of the snap to be a 3T. Then we took Pickens, and I realized Dexter would be the nose - and that makes a lot of sense. he will rotate with and learn from free agent two gap DT Billings. Perfect. Stevenson has some great skills, very physical, and when he sees the play he gets in great position to make plays on the ball. But the knock is he blew a lot of coverages. He will need to get coached up. But Im loving Poles - a lot of teams have philosophies they talk about, but their player decisions dont always align with it. We are clearly picking up physical high motor HITS guys. Thats impressive. We are gonna be bullies.

Porter is just sitting there...

fair point. especially in the first round as we go down the list into later rounds, you get to players who have a lot of question marks, and I suppose different teams have different guesses on those questions, so if one team has some excellent insight that most teams lack, I guess that's a sleeper. Like Braxton Jones? I hope there are still players to find, and this is where the scouting department becomes so critical. Then again if we knew Jones was gonna be a starter at OLT, maybe we wouldnt have waited until the 5th to take him? Why not the 4th etc? So maybe we really didnt even know when we got him.

lol Kramer got one, I just pasted it here but the idea that Wright would be there at 15, and Mazi Smith in the second just shows how unreasonable the mock draft sites are. If you find sleepers, it's likely some GM found them too. BUT I am thrilled we got Wright, and here in the real world there are still players that can help us available. Im sure glad we have Poles. My trust in him is growing daily.

Id love to see Mauch today, but we NEED a 3T and pass rushers. I doubt we will get all our needs covered today, but Poles has been doing well. If we trade up early I think it has to be for a DL. And then if Mauch falls a bit and we can go up and grab him, that'd be great too. The thing to be careful of, and Poles has been good about this, is not paying too much to fill a hole and then being stuck with that guy when next year offers other better options. This is especially dangerous in free agency, since rookie contracts can easily be eaten. But you dont want to package too many picks to move up for a guy at 3T if you dont think he will be your best choice next year too. Thats what 1 year free agency deals are for this time of year. I trust Poles - hes shown he understands this, so Im just looking forward to what he does today. Maybe he will surprise us with Porter the CB. That'd be ok too.

sure, but i think seeing Skoronski go the very next pick tells you that Wright wasnt going to be there at 14. Players like Lukas Van Ness and Calijah Kancey were steals in the mock drafts in the second round, but in reality, they were climbing teams boards and all went in the first round. Im glad Poles was able to read the tea leaves and not get too cute, trading down and missing on the right guys. I think days 2 and 3 will see more flexibility to move around, as teams start to diverge more on the value they give different players.

its the competitive HITS spirit. A lot of GMs pay lip service to these things, and then reach on players who measure well but arent football players. It really seems like this GM, Coach and President are all aligned in creating a culture of hustle and accountability. I believe it will pay off, and we will have a team that contends regularly. Finally.

100% Yes Poles is stacking wins now. Love all of this.

and Wright is still young and learning. he's gonna be a nightmare in a couple years. lets go.

I'm thrilled with Wright - that was my OL all along. Think how nasty we are gonna be running the ball. Wow. Looks like the Bears might have wanted PJJ more, but at worst they had Wright 2nd. I'm so glad they didn't want a finesse style guy. The HITS identity is real for these guys, and not just a slogan - this bodes very well for the future. Poles is starting to stack up good moves. Now we gotta move up for DL.

Former Bears QB Eric Kramer joined the TTNL crew for a mock draft last night. They traded down in the first round, and then traded back up in the 2nd round. I think this would be an amazing draft.

RBs and Strong Safeties are 5' 11" and 220 pounds. If you assume that athletic ability is equally randomly distributed to all size of people, and you know that there are many more people who are 5' 11" and 220 than 6' 6" and 320 pounds, then you see that there are many more potential RBs in the world than OTs. Also, a RBs success depends so much on the OL. A lesser RB has more yards behind a good OL than a good RB does behind a poor one. And finally, RBs take so many hits, they dont usually play so long. Most arent homerun hitters. RBs are important, but you can see why the NFL devalues the position. That said, every now and again a player comes along at any position who can take over a game. Ed Reed, Gronk, even Deion Sanders can take over a game from a position that isnt usually where that influence comes from. Having Jim Brown, Walter Payton or Barry Sanders is always going to be a winning move, but shy of a superstar like that, while it is extremely important to have a good RB, you can see why the NFL would rather have another younger one cheaper than pay that position in salary and draft capital.

especially when it's a player like Anderson. Or a QB.

for the same reason adding our 3rd rounder for Anderson is a no brainer, refusing the trade is a no brainer for Seattle LOL Anderson is a stud, and if we could get him, we should, and I'm sure Seattle feels the same way! So yes, you're 100% right, but damn I'd like to see him in a Bears uniform. If it took more to get him but we could still swing it, Id be all ears.

according to the Hill draft value chart, it would be a perfect fit to give our 3rd round pick to move from 9 to 5. If that's all it takes to get Anderson, I'm all in. I'm not saying this is realistic, but Id do it in a heartbeat if it was on the table. But it wont be because Seattle wouldnt give him up.

If Will Anderson slides to 5, wanna move up to get him? I know it puts other things on hold, but damn it would pay off for many years.

AZ54, I agree with your analysis as far as draft value is concerned. There are multiple OTs, each of similar value. But each has a different personality, and I have personally fallen in draft love with Wright. I love the violence, and i want that on our OL, so for me I dont view them equally, but youre right they are considered to be ranked similarly. I just really want us to be feared in the run game if we go OT in the first.

So an ESPN analyst has this no-trade mock for the Bears. It's awesome, but I dont see all these guys being available where they are picked. Especially Dewand Jones lasting until 61. He'd be a great pick for us. 9 Lukas Van Ness DE 53 Keanu Benton DT 61 Dewand Jones OT 64 Luke Wypler OC and more https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bears/espn-draft-analyst-has-bears-taking-sleeper-defensive-lineman

I agree about McGlinchey, I just think the secret is out on Wright, and he wont last that long. i think the reason no one is talking so much about him is they all want to snag him. I think the new noise that the Bears are all in on PJJ is smoke. I do trust Poles to play this poker game though, and that's more than i can say for any Bears GM since the 80s. I cant wait. It's like Christmas eve.

I agree, as long as the trade down isnt too cute and we miss out on a blue chipper. I would be happy if they took Wright at 9. Id be thrilled if they traded down and still got him - that would mean they were better poker players than iw ould be at that moment. But if they trade down and we dont get the right player, then it doesnt matter how many 3rd rounders you got out of it I think. Now, if they trade down for a guy like Kancey (and they believe he is the real deal, while I can only HOPE he is) then OK too. But I would think we might either trade down just a couple spots, rather than getting massive capital, and take Wright, or even just take him at #9. I've come a long way on this. I still think we need a 3T desperately, but i cant wave a magic wand and make Carter into someone i dont think he is, or Kancey someone he might not be. And I think Wright is a stud with the kind of attitude we need.

yeah, it's really smart detail oriented coaching.

I don't think Wright will slide anymore. The secret is out on him. I personally don't think hes there at, say, 15.

oh thats an interesting tidbit. good coaching!

LOL so true

I saw it too - I thought he tried, but hearing how carefully he chose his words, I think Carter is not on our board. Youre right, he wants someone to trade up for him if he's there. And everyone always says they are going BPA, and they do try, but position does come into it. For example, if Bryce Young falls, we are not taking him But there are enough needs that we could be flexible depending on who falls at OT, DT, DE, CB, WR, RB with possible surprises as well. I mean in the first and second round too.