dawhizz

This weekend, I played GM for the Bears in an online 7 round mock draft. Here's what we ended up with: 2) Rashad Johnson, S, Alabama - With Robiskie gone, this was a pretty easy decision, as I didn't want to reach for Iglesias or Massaquoi. 3) Brandon Tate, WR, North Carolina - A bit of an injury risk, but the best potential of any WR left, although I considered Jarret Dillard as well. 4) Henry Melton, DE, Texas - A guy the Bears appear to like a lot with the speed they are looking for off the end. 5a) Gerald McRath, LB, Southern Miss - Not on my radar really, but the highest rated player on the board for me with the versatility and speed at LB the Bears look for. 5b) Cornelius Lewis, OL, Tennessee St - Top small-school offensive lineman who can play inside and outside. 6) Aaron Kelly, WR, Clemson - Considered taking him in the 5th, so it was really nice to have him fall here. 7a) Ryan Mouton, CB, Hawaii - Nice developmental zone corner with great speed and has even lined up at WR from time to time. 7b) Ramon Foster, OL, Tennessee - Highest rated player left on my board. Another versatile OL. UDFA (just for fun) Cullen Harper, QB, Clemson Marcus Mailei, FB, Weber St Dominique Edison, WR, Stephen F. Austin Manny Johnson, WR, Oklahoma Stryker Sulak, DE, Missouri John Faletose, DT, UC-Davis Here's how the draft went: Draft Order Round 1 1 Detroit - Mathew Stafford QB Georgia 2 St. Louis - Jason Smith OT Baylor 3 Kansas City - Aaron Curry LB Wake Forrest 4 Seattle - Mark Sanchez QB USC 5 Cleveland - Brian Orakpo DE/OLB Texas 6 Cincinati - Eugene Monroe OT Virginia 7 Oakland - Michael Crabtree WR Texas Tech 8 Jacksonville Michael Oher OT Ole Miss 9 Green Bay Malcolm Jenkins DB Ohio St 10 San Francisco - BJ Raji DT Boston College 11 Buffalo - Andre Smith OT Alabama 12 Denver - Rey Maualuga LB USC 13 Washington - Everette Brown DE FSU 14 New Orleans - Chris Wells RB Ohio St 15 Houston - Brian Cushing LB USC 16 San Diego - Tyson Jackson DE LSU 17 N. Y. Jets - Knowshon Moreno RB Georgia 18 Denver (from Chicago) - Aaron Maybin DE/OLB Penn State 19 Tampa Bay - Jeremy Maclin WR Missouri 20 Detroit(from Dallas) - Brandon Pettigrew TE Oklahoma State 21 Philadelphia - Donald Brown RB Conn 22 Minnesota - Eben Britton OT Arizona 23 New England - Vontae Davis DB Illinois 24 Atlanta - Peria Jerry DT Ole Miss 25 Miami - Clay Matthews LB USC 26 Baltimore - Darrius Heyward-Bey WR Maryland 27 Indianapolis - Hakeem Nicks WR UNC 28 Buffalo (From Philadelphia From Car) - Robert Ayers DE Tennessee 29 NY Giants - William Beatty OT Conn 30 Tennessee - Percy Harvin WR/RB Florida 31 Arizona - Connor Barwin DE/OLB Cincinnati 32 Pittsburgh - Alex Mack C CAL Round 2 33 Detroit - James Laurinaitis LB Ohio St 34 New England (from Kansas City) - Kenny Britt WR Rutgers 35 St. Louis - Alphonso Smith CB Wake Forest 36 Cleveland - Darius Butler CB UConn 37 Seattle - DJ Moore CB Vanderbilt 38 Cincinnati - Max Unger OL Oregon 39 Jacksonville - Brian Robiskie Wr OSU 40 Oakland - Ron Brace DT BC 41 Green Bay - Clint Sintim LB Virginia 42 Buffalo - Larry English DE/OLB N Illinois 43 San Francisco - Lawrence Sidbury DE/OLB Richmond 44 Miami(From Wash) - Louis Delmas S WMU 45 NYG (From NO) - Sean Smith DB Utah 46 Houston - Ziggy Hood DT Mizzou 47 New England(From SD) - Michael Johnson DE GT 48 Denver - Jaron Gilbert DE San Jose St 49 Chicago - Rashad Johnson S Alabama 50 Cleveland (from Tampa Bay) - LeSean MCoy RB Pitt 51 Dallas - Duke Robinson OG OK 52 NY Jets - Fili Moala DT USC 53 Philadephia - Patrick Chung S Oregon 54 Minnesota - Derick Williams WR PSU 55 Atlanta - Jared Cook TE S Carolina 56 Miami - Ramses Barden WR Cal-Poly 57 Baltimore - Paul Kruger DE Utah 58 New England - Eric Wood OL Louisville 59 Carolina - Josh Freeman QB Kansas State 60 NY Giants - Juaquin Iglesias WR Oklahoma 61 Indianapolis - Sen'Derrick Marks Auburn 62 Tennessee - Darry Beckwith ILB LSU 63 Arizona - Shonne Green RB Iowa 64 Pittsburgh - Phil Loadholt OT Oklahoma Round 3 65 Detroit - William Moore S Missouri 66 St. Louis - Louis Murphy WR Florida 67 Kansas City - Andy Levitre OG Oregon St 68 Seattle -Jamon Meredith OT S Carolina 69 Dallas (From Cle) - Sherrod Martin DB Troy 70 Cincinnati - Marcus Freeman OLB OSU 71 Oakland - Chip Vaughn S Wake Forrest 72 Jacksonville - Jairus Byrd DB Oregon 73 Green Bay - Shawn Nelson TE S Miss 74 San Francisco - Andre Brown RB NC State 75 Buffalo - Chase Coffman TE Missouri 76 NY Jets (from NO) - Mike Mickens CB Cincy 77 Houston - Rashas Jennings RB Liberty 78 San Diego - Tyron McKenzie LB S Florida 79 Denver - Johnathan Luigs C Arkansas 80 Washington - Asher Allen CB Georgia 81 Tampa Bay - Coye Francies CB SJSU 82 Detroit (From Dallas) - Gerald Cadogan OT Penn St 83 Green Bay (From NY Jets) - Alex Magee DE/DT Purdue 84 Denver (From Chicago) - Darcel McBath S Texas Tech 85 Philadelphia - Mike Thomas WR Arizona 86 Minnesota - Macho Harris CB VT 87 Miami - Kevin Barnes CB Maryland 88 Baltimore - James Casey TE Rice 89 New England - Cody Brown DE/OLB UConn 90 Atlanta - Michael Hamlin S Clemson 91 NY Giants - Antonie Caldwell C Alabama 92 Indianapolis - Mitch King DT/DE Iowa 93 Carolina - Mohammed Massaquoi WR Georgia 94 Tennessee - Rhett Bomar QB SHSU 95 Arizona - Scott McKillop LB PITT 96 Pittsburgh - Herman Johnson OG LSU 97 New England (comp pick) - Dannell Ellerbe ILB Georgia 98 Cincinnati (comp pick) - Ricky Jean Franois DT LSU 99 Chicago (comp pick) - Brandon Tate WR UNC 100 NY Giants (comp pick) - Cornelius Ingraw TE Florida Round 4 101 Dallas (From Detroit) - Jarrett Dillard WR Rice 102 Kansas City - Davis Veikune DE/OLB Hawaii 103 St. Louis - Pat White QB WVA 104 Cleveland - Austin Collie WR BYU 105 Seattle - Troy Kropog OT Tulane 106 Cincinnati - Dorell Scott DT Clemson 107 Jacksonville - Terrence Taylor NT Michigan 108 Miami (from Oak) - Keenan Lewis CB Oregon St 109 Green Bay - Donald Washington CB Ohio St 110 Buffalo - Kraig Urbik OG Wisc 111 San Francisco - Stephen McGee QB Texas A&M 112 Houston - Derek Pegues FS Miss St 113 San Diego - Fenuki Tupou OT Oregon 114 Denver - Corvey Irvin DT UGA 115 NY Jets (from Wash) - TJ Lang OG/OT E Mich 116 New Orleans - Chris Owens CB SJSU 117 Dallas - Jasper Brinkley LB S Carolina 118 NO (from NYJ) - David Bruton FS Notre Dame 119 Chicago - Henry Melton DE Texas 120 Tampa Bay - Kaluka Maiava LB USC 121 Buffalo (From Philadelphia) - Emanuel Cook S S Carolin 122 Houston (From Minnesota) - Jonathan Casillas OLB Wisc 123 Baltimore - Kyle Moore DE/OLB USC 124 New England - Cedric Peerman RB UVA 125 Atlanta - Jason Williams OLB Western Illinois 126 Oakland (From Mia) - Xavier Fulton OT Illinois 127 Indianapolis - Zach Follet OLB Cal 128 Carolina - Travis Beckam TE Wisc 129 NY Giants - Javon Ringer RB Mich St 130 Tennessee - Trevor Canfield OG Cincy 131 Arizona - Terrence Knighton DL Temple U 132 Pittsburgh - Deangelo Smith CB Cincy 133 San Diego (comp pick) - Jason Phillips ILB TCU 134 San Diego (comp pick) - Jason Watkins OT Florida 135 Tennessee (comp pick) - Brandon Williams DE Texas Tech 136 Indianapolis (comp pick) - Ladarius Webb CB Nicholls St

My draft board going into the 2nd round pick, as far as guys who could conceivably fall to us (even including some EXTREMELY UNLIKELY falls) would look something like this: 1. Hakeem Nicks, WR, North Carolina 2. Kenny Britt, WR, Rutgers 3. Brian Robiskie, WR, Ohio State 4. Percy Harvin, WR, Florida 5. Louis Delmas, S, Western Michigan 6. Rashad Johnson, S, Alabama 7. Sean Smith, S, Utah 8. Connor Barwin, DE, Cincinnatti 9. Jairus Byrd, S, Oregon 10. Sherrod Martin, S, Troy 11. Darcel McBath, S, Texas Tech

Not that it is necessarily indicative of anything substantial, but two of the most updated mock drafts I've seen, both from fairly reputable draft sites, have Harvin available when we pick and one has Nicks as well. Here's hoping that holds true... http://draftdaddy.com/MD/ - Harvin and Nicks available in the 2nd http://walterfootball.com/draft2009matt.php - Harvin available in the 2nd

I'm not saying two in a row. In fact, I would be very against that. But a WR in round 2 or 3 and another with one of our round 5 picks would be a good idea, IMO. Robiskie and Dillard, Gibson and Kelly, Barden and Tate. Something like that.

I actually just started a thread about this, but I wouldn't be at all suprised if the Bears end up with two WRs from this draft in the first 5 rounds. That would give them 5 WR options and they can go out right after the draft and sign the veteran WR of their choice. If everyone we would sign now falls into one of those two categories, why are we running to sign them? I think this just says "We don't love the free agents WRs (completely justifiable), so let's see what the draft brings."

I touched on this in another thread, but I think the Bears have to be at least considering drafting two WRs this year if the value is there. I'm sure they would still love to add a veteran (particularly Holt), but the amount of research the Bears have put into scouting the WRs suggests to me that they would probably be interested in getting a couple new bodies in there. So, if that's the case, which two WRs do you draft and where do you think you can get them?

I don't know that the reason we haven't looked at WR is because we are "locked into a WR in the 2nd." The fact is, most teams are in a bit of a holding pattern regarding free agents, waiting to see what the draft brings before committing money to a FA. Since the Cutler trade, exactly one FA WR has been signed (Ronald Curry to the Lions today). I think the Bears are going into the draft with the right mindset. They know what WRs will be out there in FA and they can be fairly confident that they have a favorable situation for the free agent WRs with Cutler in the fold, which can give them some confidence in the market. Now they can look at their picks in each round and weigh the draftee against the players in free agency, instead of committing money to a FA, then finding out a guy you like better ends up being available at a value pick.

I would also throw out Nate Davis' name here. His stock is falling like a rock, but I think he's worth a shot late in the draft despite the int/learning disability fears.

I would be very pleased with that draft, although I'm not real confident it will shake out that way. I'm still concerned none of the WRs (after Robo) would fall and I'm not sure McBath lasts until the end of the end of the third.

Have you actually watched him in games? I haven't and there's not much on YouTube, so can you tell me what about his game you don't like?

Two receivers I haven't heard anyone really talk about as possibilities for the Bears, which would seem to be for good reason as they share a lot of similarities to Devin Hester (at least in theory). But let's say the top receivers are gone by our second round pick (Crab, Maclin, DHB, Nicks, Britt, Robiskie), and Harvin has somehow falled and Williams is on the board. Should the Bears consider taking either of them (as talent-wise they would be considered good value) or do you pass because they seem too redundant? I've seen a bit of each, but I honestly haven't looked at them very much. I'm not even sure what kind of receiver they both are after watching their highlights on YouTube (lots of returns/reverses/direct snaps/handoffs). Anyone have thoughts on either?

I can't quite seem to figure out the scouting reports for Tate. Most of them seem to operate on the impression that he was poised to be a potential first round pick this year, but I can't quite understand how he would have gotten such great press considering he only had 30 catches prior to this year, though he was a great return man. So, it's an incredibly small sample for him. But his ypc this year, in only 16 catches) was still an insane 23.5. The videos seem to show he has legitimate WR skills, but the injury scares me.

Some videos: He seems bigger than I think he's listed as and looks like he has good hands. The concern is obviously the injury which could make him Airese Currie 2.0.

Then that's the list, as far as I can gather.

I believe the players on the roster who were not drafted (if I understand your question right) are: Cody Balogh Brett Basanez Rudy Burgess Joe Clermond Jason Davis Rashied Davis Robbie Gould Caleb Hanie Israel Idonije Jason McKie Fontel Mines Adewale Ogunleye Brandon Rideau Nick Roach

I have documented my support for Rashad Johnson if Robiskie is off the board in the 2nd, so I'm right with you there. But how can you ignore WR until the 5th round on this team? We have 4 OTs on the roster who are at least arguably starter-quality (Pace, Williams, Shaffer, Omiyale) and 4 OLBs of at least arguably starter-quality (Briggs, Hillenmeyer, Williams, Roach). We have 1 1/2 WRs of starter quality (Hester and a completely unproven, but reunited with his college QB, Earl Bennett). I have no problem going with a WR in the 5th, in fact I would prefer it, but only if the Bears also go WR in the 3rd.

How the deal went down: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writ...rade/index.html

Except if you read the article I attached, the provisions are built to prevent people from buying championships by limiting the amount of money successful teams can spend without losing comparable value (either by cuts or FA). For a team like the Bears who now expects to be more successful, that's a bit of a concern.

I also like hearing from players about how they feel. In a recent CNNSI column, the writer talked to Nnamdi Asomugha about the trade: When I asked Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha on Thursday about Cutler, whom he calls a buddy, he told me: "He was arguably the top QB in the [AFC] West, so I'm not upset to see him leave. He should bring success to the Bears. [He's a] top eight QB." http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writ...tler/index.html That's good to hear, in my book.

Just for fun, I figured I'd take a look at what FAs might be available next year. According to KFFL (http://www.kffl.com/static/nfl/features/freeagents/fa.php?option=WR&y=2010), the list includes: Chris Chambers Braylon Edwards Lee Evans Vincent Jackson Greg Jennings Brandon Marshall Derrick Mason Hines Ward Roddy White Some of those guys may have already signed extension that they haven't reflected yet, but that's a hell of a list right there. If Denver doesn't have a great year, you think Marshall's not running toward Chicago with both hands in the air? The problem, the much-anticipated "uncapped year" of 2010 will probably actually hinder FA movement: http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d8...mp;confirm=true

That would probably be my preference at this point. If you don't sort out the defense, Cutler's not going to make enough of a difference.

Looks like JA is also eyeing a possible move up in the second if an impact WR starts to slip: And on the subject of the Bears, don't count them out of draft-day dealing. General manager Jerry Angelo says the team already is discussing scenarios in which it can move up from its 17th spot in the second round to acquire a "bubble first-rounder" early in the second round. Angelo also is open to the possibility of moving down if the round does not break right. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-0...0,3366579.story

Chris Mortenson actually made this same point this morning on Erik Kusillias's ESPN radio show. Basically, that sure Brandon Marshall looks like a monster and has been superproductive, but there's a couple guys every year like that who often don't end up doing much of anything. And there are even more who fit the Eddie Royal "type." It's hard to say there is a unique quality that makes you at least conclusively determine that the WRs are independantly better then the QB is making them look.

Another couple guys to keep in mind a little later in the draft: Aaron Kelly, Clemson - Another huge target who had a huge junior year (88/1081/11), but came back to earth last year. If you're look for a "Brandon Marshall-type" a little later than Ramses Barden will be drafted, but maybe a little more ready to contribute, he might be a good option Jarett Dillard, Rice - He's only 5'10', but he led all receivers at the combine with at 42.5' vertical and his last three years of production have been insane: Year G R Yds Avg TD 2006 13 91 1,247 13.7 21 2007 12 79 1,057 13.4 14 2008 13 87 1,310 15.1 20

It will be interesting to see how Forte's ground and air production change. Part of the reason Forte caught so many balls last year was that he was often the checkdown receiver, and when you have a pure pocket passer, he has less time in which to decide the check down. With a more mobile Cutler, I can see him doing a better job of avoiding the rush while keeping his eyes downfield for the receivers (whover they may be) before checking down. Then again, Cutler's agility will let him pull the rush that much farther in for screen passes and such.