BearFan PHX

I think you have it right. DE is a need. I also think we will add someone to the OL in free agency. And possibly a depth WR.

Just had this 4 round simulated mock, as an example. 8: R1P8 LB TREMAINE EDMUNDS VIRGINIA TECH 39: R2P7 G BILLY PRICE OHIO ST. 105: R4P5 OT TYRELL CROSBY OREGON 115: R4P15 C FRANK RAGNOW ARKANSAS

A couple of points. Decent OL are more easily found int he 2nd round than impact defensive players. Also, impact ILB are RARE. The reason Edmunds could be such a difference maker is that you put a difference maker like him on the field and you can STILL put players in 2 OLB positions and on the defensive line. In other words, over time as you fill out your team, Edmunds allows you to create a defense that's got extra dimension. Nelson is a stud, there is no doubt. But he won't take over a game in the NFL the way that Edmunds will be able to. Also, the idea that Edmunds won't contribute right away is wrong too. He needs to learn some patience, so he will be fooled at some points, but it's not as if he needs a year int he weight room or anything. Physically, he is ready to go out of the box. Seriously, imagine passing on Ray Lewis because he isn't a pass rusher.

I like that this is a no trade mock. I still think Edmunds is the next great Chicago ILB. I think he is such a freak at that position, that you kinda gotta take him. You can find pass rushers that play OLB along the way, maybe next year, and when you pair them with Edmunds, then you have something crazy special. But Fangio will know what he wants best. I agree the first pick should go to Defense. Then, the next 2 picks (the 2nd rounder and one of the 4ths) should go to OL, so I like your pick there. Id be OK with Orlando Brown in the 4th, but NOT in the 2nd, his talent deserves it but hes a head case. The second 4th rounder can go almost anywhere, OLB, DE, ILB (if they dont take Edmunds), WR, CB, S who knows. So I guess I agree with what you're thinking, but mine looks a little different 1 Edmunds 2 Billy Price OG 4 some OT 4 some pass rusher or DE

I don't think Edmunds would last. Some mocks even have him going ahead of us. Have you seen his film? I gotta say tho, I'm loving the vibe around here this week. Seems like we are debating and disagreeing, all respectfully and there's no crap. Is it the new color scheme?

cool, but Edmunds will be primarily an ILB. ANd that seems crazy until you see his film. The guy is something else. A real difference maker you can surround with other players at traditional positions like OLB and DE that can put you over the top from well rounded to scary.

no doubt they need more than Edmunds. They'll need another pash rusher. It'd be great if it was a DE too. But Rome wasn't built in a day, and in all likelihood, we will go into this season missing at least one more impact player on defense. I do believe if we take Edmunds in the first that we will go OL in the second and then D front 7 and maybe another OL with our first two picks of the 4th. Whatever happens, those are our needs, and we're gonna come up at least one short it seems, unless Pace hits on both 4th rounders. That was the conclusion I came to when I wrote the "Bears have many holes" thread - seems we are in agreement.

that's for sure.

I dont think they will play Edmunds on the edge. I think he will play ILB. People assume pass rusher is the most important player on the field, but actually impact player is. USUALLY that's a pass rusher. But you can't say, for example, that if Ed Reed was there, that we shouldn't take him. Edmunds has freakish size and speed. Imagine having Urlacher in his prime shutting down the middle of the field, but only when you happen to choose to play zone, not predictably. Now imagine he can take any TE or slot WR in man coverage. Further, he is a spy on running QBs, and yes he can rush the passer from the ILB too. When you say he would be like a mini safety, yes exactly. He would be a chess piece that Fangio could use to do all sorts of things with. I know ILB isnt a sexy position, but Edmunds is a rare athlete. Have you seen the film on the guy? I've never seen a better tackler ever. He doesnt come at people from angles, his head is always right on their belt buckle and his arms just envelop people. In this defense, he could be a true difference maker. I don't take Nelson lightly at OG, he's amazing. But I think Edmunds is even more special.

I think they will probably pick up 2 OL players in the draft among our first 4 picks. I wouldn't be shocked to see us go defense in Round 1, OL in round 2, and another OL as one of our 4th round picks. Given we have Hiestand, we might pick a low pick OL toy for him to coach up too.

Maybe. While I agree that Nelson is plug and play and Edmunds will take a minute to develop, I'm not sure that you can't get better OL later in the draft than playmaking defenders. Either will upgrade our team a lot.

So the Bears have re-signed CB Marcus Cooper and long snapper Patrick Scales. I think we will probably see 2 OL and at least one pick on the defensive front seven in our first four picks. We could use another body at safety and WR, but the front seven and the OL are the obvious places that still need upgrades. I wouldn't be shocked to see us take 3 OL if you include the 5th round or later.

When I've seen Equanimeous St Brown available in the 4th on these mock simulators, Ive taken him. He wont be there of course. I don't disagree about the WRs, but by the time you get to the 4th, there's no one I really want, and I love the idea of 2 x OL and an impact first rounder on D. If we get Edmunds, and a good OL with 1 and 2, that'd be great. If theres another OL available in the 4th worth having, or a DE, so much the better.

And here is with no trades... R1 P8 Tremaine Edmunds ILB R2 P7 Billy Price C/OG R4 P5 Orlando Brown OT (again willing to take a flyer on a top talent with issues with a later pick) R4 P15 Isaac Yiadom CB R5 P8 Kyzir White S R6 P7 Hercules Mataafa OLB/Edge R7 P6 Eddy Pineiro K This would also be a great draft.

I don't think the game is very realistic, but it's fun! I traded from 8 to 11 with Miami, and again from 11 to 13 with Washington, picking up a 2nd round pick each time. R1 P13 Tremaine Edmunds ILB R2 P7 Billy Price OG R2 P10 Tyrell Crosby OT R2 P12 Arden Key DE (with three 2nd rounders, I was willing to take a chance on his character) R4 P5 Isaac Yiadom CB R4 P15 Kyzir White S R5 P8 Will Clapp C/OG R6 P7 Auden Tate WR R7 P6 John Atkins DT That would be beyond incredible.

I don't disagree, but imagine where we will be after the 2019 draft... I still want Edmunds, even if Nelson is there. And then a OG or OT in the 2nd.

QUOTE (Mongo3451 @ Mar 26 2018, 08:29 PM) Truly we have holes to fill, but I believe we have less than you think. Looking at what we picked up will help Trubisky, Trubisky will help the OL. Plus, the OL will have a healthy Long and a years growth for the younger guys. Greater TOP instantly helps the D. Scoring more points helps on a belll curve. If we can hit on White and Merideth the offense is looking great. I'm expecting a heavy defensive draft with an OL pick. If we hit on a couple of defenders, we are competing. Please pardon any typos. I can barely see on this phone. I do think we have crossed over the threshold where we might win more games than we lose, or are right at 8-8. We are definitely getting better. But I'm just saying we will still have some holes. Not saying they will be fatal. Leno and Massie might be serviceable for example, but I'd still call them holes in the sense that they arent a positive force at their positions, just holding the fort down. I think that's where we are on OG, OT x 2, OC, DE, OLB, ILB, S and possibly CB. 2-3 players will get drafted to fill those holes at the level I'm speaking of, but we have 4 holes at least, so I think we won't be fully complete.

The Bears have a lot of holes left to fill, and they won't be able to fill them all through the draft. The Bears will probably sign a couple more free agents before the draft. Here are the positions we still need a player in, not in order of necessity: DE, OLB, ILB, S, CB OC/OG, OT, WR The first draft pick is going to solidify one of those positions. It will either go to the offensive line, or to the defense. If it goes offense, it will be Quentin Nelson OG from ND. He would be a force, and a really good step toward building an OL that is probably the weakest unit on the team now. The other biggest weakness is LB. Unless you're ready to roll with Acho and Kwitkowski, you're going to want to put someone there. Travathan is getting older too. We saw how good the defense was for a moment when Travathan and Freeman were in there, and how porous it was when Freeman was out. When Travathan was out too, it was awful. The common wisdom on high defensive picks is to take pass rushers if possible, but playmakers are really what you want. Impact players who can change the game. If the Bears like one of the pass rushers, or a safety or corner as an impact player, and you get an Ed Reed, Richard Sherman or a dominant pass rusher to work with Floyd, then great. But Tremaine Edmunds is a real difference maker at the less sexy position of ILB, and that's a real need for us, both this year and going forward. Will Travathan be there in a couple years? Is Kwitkowski the MVP of Super Bowl 55? For a lot of reasons that have alread been discussed, Edmunds is a real option in the first round. So the first pick could go either way, and the second pick could go to the other side of the ball, Edmunds and an OG for example, or Nelson and a LB or DE. But it is just as likely we could double up. Nelson and an OT int he 2nd, or Edmunds and a pass rusher. My point here is that whatever we do, we will still have real holes. We have no pick int he 3rd round, but we have 2 in the 4th. Maybe Pace will hit on a player there, but unless he hits twice, we're gonna be short somewhere. OG, OT, ILB, DE are ALL needs. We are short a really good S too, and a young CB would be nice too. Maybe next year. So assuming we don't pull two 4th round rabbits out of the draft hat, we are still gong to be short. So the questions right now are: depth players like Acho, Kwitkowski, Bullard, Grasu and anyone on the OL vs. the free agent market at LB, DE & OL. We're gonna get a lot better after this draft, but we're still gonna be a few players short.

I think it's only fair that Phillips got sick from too many ups and downs due to the coaching choices he'd previously made, since we as fans had to do that too.

or at least the defensive front 7. I almost certainly would agree, except for what I see in Edmunds. I think he can be a crazy difference maker at ILB. Imagine having Urlacher there whenever you happen to be in cover 2, and then a beast of a man coverage guy when youre in man, AND a great spy on running QBs, which is more and more common, and hes a pretty good pass rusher too, especially when it's a surprise. I could imagine Fangio really coveting a player like that.

I agree with a lot of what's been said here. I'm just not sure that if Nelson, Chubb (Landry?) and Edmunds are there that Nelson would be the pick. He's awesome, but so is Edmunds.

Could be. Even if you're right about Kush though I think they will make another OL free agency move, for the sake of competition. I do agree they obviously arent that excited about any of the free agent OL that are left standing out vs any others. They'll probably pick one up after someone else signs one first and the prices fall. Ditto at DE. But you're right, the more significant moves will be in the draft, and unless it's Nelson, I think it'll be the second round pick. It is possible if an impact defender is still avail in the 2nd we will wait, but without a 3rd we wait until the 4th round, and that's a big drop off. Either way, we're going to be a couple good players short of a complete team this year. I think we will take Edmunds at ILB, which will be GREAT in the 1st. But then in the 2nd we really need another player on D, at DE or OLB AND we need OL. I think we will take best player available of Edge Rusher/OLB, DE or OL. And then we are fishing in the 4th to answer a few remaining needs. We will be a couple players short this year, but we are that close to being a complete team, and we oughtta be looking much better. The actual "window" opens in 2019. Exciting to be so close. This will be a fun team to root for. 9-7 would be awesome.

for sure. a center could shift Whitehair to OG. There are a lot of ways to improve the line, and that's another reason why waiting for bargains in free agency makes sense. But I think we need an OG/OC AND an OT. We'll see what happens... I dont think we are going to take Nelson, if Chubb or Edmunds is there too.

Yeah they are! I like him already!

So I was gonna reply "Gabriel plays in the slot" cuz, like, everyone KNOWS he is a slot receiver. And I went to find some kind of link to cite it, and discovered that not only was I wrong, but that the misconception is widely thought to be true. So in case anyone else missed it like I did... https://247sports.com/nfl/atlanta-falcons/B...ot-WR-106432377