AZ54

I also prefer the long term approach versus going after the big name FA this year. If this year works out well and we continue to improve then we can look at finding that one missing piece next year.

I agree I don’t want to give up two firsts.

Someone here keeps saying he’s had a bunch of knee surgeries. I actually don’t know his history but at a mínimum needing one surgery last year qualifies as a reason IMO.

The same Oline coach who told them I know what playing LT looks like in the NFL and didn’t see that from any of them?

I think any team giving up two first the deal would already be done. Deals are getting done and the Raiders are not getting what they want so they queue up the rumor mill.

Stepping back and looking around the league: The 2nd Rd pick likely means there was good competition for DJ and I suspect NE was that main concern the Bills had. Maybe we’re going to see a bit of an arms race in the AFC. Will the Patriots trade for AJ Brown? I thought DJ might be part of a deal to bring Crosby here. That might not be totally out of the question if we use our 2nd Rd picks in that manner. Perhaps the Raiders only valued DJ as a 3rd Rd equivalent? Poles turns around and says here is a 2nd instead of DJ. I still lean toward not spending big money on a vet DE but can’t deny how much of a game changer Crosby is as a player.

Now go get us a 2nd rd pick for Bagent.

❤️

The thing for me is that I simply do not see a center as a game changing position. The fact we have some of the best OGs in the NFL next to a Center, and a really good RT too should mean we can get by with a good but not elite center. Dalman stretched that model last year with his huge contract but at the time we needed that gap closed and he was best available option. Now we know better what we have and we don’t have as much of a learning curve across the entire offense. (I watched Bear Down w/ Adam Mason and also Da German Bears reviews on centers earlier today) Despite that elite contract Dalman still had flaws and was exposed at times in pass protection, both 1v1 and on stunts where he completely whiffed on his block. Biadasz graded out similar to Dalman but he’s not as nimble and won’t be able to make those really wide reach blocks. Yet he’s still good at them and he’s got a better anchor in 1v1 pass pro which would be nice to have. He’s also really quick at picking up stunts. For $10mil/yr (if that is a realistic price tag) I don’t think we’ll see any dropoff in the offense although some things might look different based on his traits (because we have a coach who leverages talent and skillsets). If my luck holds out I might be able to use the left over cap space to bring in Trent Williams for a couple years. That’s a swing for the fences but I would do that and then just use my entire draft to go fix the D. Signing Trent also removes him from a key NFC opponent which only helps us more in the playoffs. If he hits the market, he will definitely be looking to go to a playoff team with a good QB and OC/HC. https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/trent-williams-great-news-bears-163912846.html

For obvious reasons I never looked into Centers in this years draft but there is some very good depth there. If Linderbaum is going to get $20mil/yr we need to walk away from that. Biadasz has some injuries last year that impacted his play and they walked away from him at a relatively high price in dead money with little cap gain. Would we be better off snagging one of the mid-tier FAs and saving $5-10mil in cap space that we could use toward so many of our other needs, and then just drafting our future Center? "Washington saved just $2.9 million in salary cap space via the cut, while incurring an $8.1 million dead money hit in 2026"

The first order of business right now is finding a FA Center to replace Dalman. Nothing is as important as protecting Caleb right up the middle as well as keeping the running game going. IMO the Bears will close on that deal first then sort out the remaining options.

Best I can do is DJ and Tremaine plus this years second round pick.

What I saw from Biggs is that the Bears are not interested in trading Dexter. Not that other teams don’t want him. Biggs further said that it’s as simple as not wanting to create another hole on the roster at a position of need.

I think it will depend on Edmunds contract demands. Is he wants big money terms will back off. If he’s taking second tier money we might get a 4th.

After thinking about this for a bit, at the very least this should help drive up the price for Edmunds and Moore. That’s assuming teams have legit interest and aren’t just bargain hunting.