AZ54

Every time I go through the exercise of “would I rather” have Jeanty or Simmons at LT? Or Kenneth Grant paired up with Dexter? Or even Zabel as our OC long term? Jeanty never rises to the top.

The elite defenses have interior pass rush. You can survive with strong and long dudes who can snag the QB when he comes their way. Or who can squeeze the pocket.

Add Kenneth Grant or Deone Walker

Very surprised by this. I always liked his game just don’t know what he looked like last year and what we can expect. Are we going to cut Billings? Or will he and Grady be the NT rotation? Add 3 tech in the draft? I can think of several 2nd Rd DT who would look good in this rotation.

I think he’s about to get a new deal.

In terms of adding good depth future starter there are a lot of good options in this draft.

Poles has been remarkably restrained with the salary cap spends. It’s almost as if he was waiting to get “his coach”.

I tend to think by year 3 or 4 you pretty much know what you've got in a player.

It's difficult for us to know but his football intelligence will be a factor. We can see the physical talent but the mental side of the game, aside from obvious mistakes is harder to diagnose as fans. Johnson likes to run a variety of schemes.

Sweat has never seemed to be more than average as a DE. If someone is going to pay him $20mil/yr I hope its not us. I'd take Mack on a 2yr deal over that especially with the talent in this draft. Or maybe just go after the DE from Indy who won't cost as much and seems to be similar in production. Even paying Mack $20mil a season makes me nervous. There's a lot of DEs on the market and a guy like Sweat would make us better if we can wait out the initial scramble and grab one for a lower contract. I don't really see a need to be first in here as compared to fixing OC.

We have to see how FA plays out but I would like find a good 3rd WR in the draft. Jaylen Noel would fit in well as a nice compliment with DJ and Rome. He has a little bit of DJ Moore's style to his game and can work all levels of the field with speed and good ball tracking skills. Since I watched quite a few games during the season, he has occasional drops usually because he's trying run before completing the catch. He's likely a 3rd Rd pick. https://www.nfl.com/prospects/jaylin-noel/32004e4f-4537-8255-74e9-bfa22151ef3a https://thedraftnetwork.com/2024/06/27/jaylin-noel-scouting-report-nfl-draft

At the 45min mark Mark Schlereth discusses his thoughts on Dalman. If you want the short version...Zimmerman thinks he's just good/average and not worth. the money....Schlereth says he's a whole lot better than just average and details why. https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2025/3/8/24380288/mark-schlereth-joe-thuney-has-great-football-left-jonah-jackson-could-be-dominant-chicago-bears

Within Aaron Leming's offseason projection is a simple restructuring of DJ Moore's contract that could free up another $10mil in cap space this year. That's with minimal impact in the following years. We've had two big trades so far but if Poles elects to use that extra $10mil there could be two more big signings. https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2025/3/7/24379041/aaron-lemings-2025-chicago-bears-mock-offseason-extravaganza-drew-dalman-dayo-odeyingbo-joe-thuney

Skynet smiles. There’s a ton of Dline talent in the draft too which further drives down the market.

First video was Jaden Daniels 2023. Second was 2024 QB highlights. I agree not all of the misses were entirely arm length issues but if he had the longer arms it would help him redirect the rusher. It would also help him to engage with a first strike a bit quicker to upset the pass rushers plan of attack.

Seems a bit rich for Blackwell but I like him even as depth on the defense.

Figuring out how to line up two Pro Bowl OGs for the Bears. Who had that in their offseason plans?

If it was just that I'd make the deal but I think we'll need to put more on the table. That might mean just giving them 10 overall. If they give us 17 we're likely giving up at least one of the 2nd Rd picks. I don't know if Cleveland is quietly considering trading Garrett but if they are this complicates things for both Ohio teams.

These are not just narratives. (definitely agree on lazy sports jouros peddling narratives without substantiating the data) Although I don't have a link for it, it does appear to be fact that less than 7% of starting OTs in the NFL have arms shorter than 33". There is a legitimate reason why longer arms make a player more likely to be successful covering a lot of open ground against some very fast and agile athletes, many who also have long arms to help them gain leverage. Here are some clips where you will see him struggle with speed and length. I'm not saying he's a bad player because he's not. If you watch the full film you will see many plays where he handles bigger power rushers very well including some DTs. That's why I like him at OG. I accept it's not ideal film but this is all I get to make some judgment regarding how he'll handle NFL speed, power, and length. What I've seen concerns me considering he'll be a top 10 pick. I have watched highlights of the top 10 edge rushers in this draft and noticed quite a few get around Campbell, some more than once (isn't that ideal for their highlight?) but I'm not going through that many videos again. I figured LSU QB highlights were the easiest way to show a sample of how he holds up. Without knowing what was going to be in these here is what I found... First video: 23s, 2:12s against Alabama, 2:28s against Alabama, 4:17s against Texas A&M, Second video: 1:13 against S.C., 1:22 against S.C, 2:48s against Miss, 3:38s Arkansas long arm move walks him right back into QB before he gains his footing, 3:52s against Texas A&M up and under move goes right by him, 3:50s against Texas A&M another up/under move DE goes right into heart of the pocket, 4:28s against Alabama DE goes right around flushes QB, 4:50s Florida DE long arms him gets pressure,

He’s going to need to show legit 4.3 speed to really stand out in this RB class. I don’t think he’s got it. I expect his time to be close to Hampton which I think was 4.45. If I’m wrong the hype machine will be off the rails before the draft. If he is that fast I also won’t mind drafting him. That kind of speed with his vision and contact balance is lethal to a defense. Especially in the 2nd half. https://www.nfl.com/prospects/ashton-jeanty/32004a45-4142-7291-3a65-da29eaedce27

One thing not brought up to this point is that the Bears are now becoming a desired destination. Players know how good Been Johnson was. You have to believe the Chiefs asked Thuney his input on the trade. They may have even accepted less value in exchange much as we did with Fields when e sent him to Pitt. In years past we had to way over pay to get FAs here or they just ignored our offer and accepted less to play somewhere else. Now if we go after Dalman it’ll be would you like to work with Thuney and Jackson outside you while snapping to Caleb Williams to run Ben Johnson’s play’s? I don’t think we’ll have to pay above and beyond, just be competitive.

All hat and no cattle.

Sometimes you don't cut the player until he passes his physical. It's the offseason no way to get that done. I'd be very surprised, and disappointed, if we banked on having a rookie at Center this year even if that was for later in the season. First off that means we're gambling because we don't know who will be available. Or we reach way too early giving up value at another need position. With a new offense for everyone to learn I don't want a C who has to learn how to read the D and learn what the play is. I'd rather have a vet there even the lower level FAs like Shelton or Brown. That doesn't mean don't draft a future center as I'd be on board with that. Just don't expect he'll be the answer this year. In the event of an injury I wouldn't even be surprised to see them move Jackson over and put a youngster at OG.

Never liked him. That hasn't changed as he's gotten older, slower, and more expensive.

We still have $50mil in cap space with 49 players rostered and we haven't cut Ryan Bates ... but we will and that frees up $4mil. We could also negotiate a new deal with Thuney and perhaps free up another $3-5mil. Keeping it at $54mil... Rookie pool appears to be $13mil. So we've got ~$40mil to spend If we want Dalman we'll get him. Worst case I figure we can spend $15mil on Dalman, which is way too much, and $15mil on a DE. Leaves us $10mil We will likely do a contract extension with Kyler Gordon but they can use the current year to spread out the impact. https://overthecap.com/salary-cap/chicago-bears