AZ54

If Pineiro makes it in the NFL (Bears or otherwise) and becomes one of the better kickers it will be interesting to see if more young kickers adopt his style. I am 100% not a kicking expert but it seems to me most kickers tend to pivot or move more sideways after the kick while Eddie moves more forward. In some ways it is similar to an instep kick in soccer where you get your entire body weight behind the kick and follow through with a forward motion. I watched some highlights of Gould and Justin Tucker to see if I was wrong. Both end up closer to the ball but al little more to the left. Even Aguayo in the video above pulls his plant foot through to the left of the spot. Eddie hops more forward after contacting the ball and then ends up almost a yard or two forward of the spot following the arc of his kicking leg. As kids are taught in soccer for the instep kick, the energy of his forward momentum ends up in the ball and without swinging his leg as hard he can get more velocity on the ball.

He's definitely comfortable in his evaluations of players and their scheme fit and is willing to go get them. This Jesper kid looks more like a TE the way he runs in these videos. He is not that quick laterally in his cuts but there is definitely some good straight line speed. He looks like he could add 10lbs and play around 235lb without losing much agility or speed. That's what Burton is at. Definitely worth bringing in to see what he can do.

Every kick looks the same when you look at his feet. I think we have a winner here but what I don't like is they are always at the same landmark. That's good for developing technique but can he hit that plant foot just in front of the ball when it's not on the line? Can his holder put it in the same spot everytime? It appears we hired a kicking coach and he recommended his star pupil. Not bad.

That's a seriously long shot.

I don't think it's a coincidence that a day or two after the new kicking coach showed up we got rid of 6 kickers.

I haven't seen this confirmed anywhere yet. Patrick Finley reported we hired a kicking consultant, Jamie Kohl for the season. https://twitter.com/patrickfinley/status/1124418368142966786

Just watching the initial press conferences from our draft picks it seems we again have good character. After watching him for years at Iowa State lined up in the backfield it was interesting to hear Montgomery really likes the fact Nagy uses RBs all over the field. I take that to mean he likes the idea of having more one on one opportunities. For a player who had the most broken tackles in college the last two years I kinda like that idea too. Riley Ridley seems mature for his age and he knows what got him here in his route running. Stephen Denmark looked like he's still in shock he was drafted and is in the NFL. He's facing a huge step up in competition and it's going to take him some time to settle down and get comfortable. Hopefully he can earn a roster spot on special teams, basically taking over for McManis which would save $1.7mil in cap space this year.

If I look at his body language and that hesitation in his thoughts it sure doesn't seem like Singletary was the player he coveted. He has no choice but to say positive things about Singletary to his fan base. Knowing the timeline here would help. Obviously Buffalo's GM makes it clear Pace was trying to just use next years 4th for the deal. He says he wanted more yet a few minutes later Pace gave up more to NE to move up one spot higher in the same round. Fact is Pace was willing to give more and it doesn't appear they countered the offer. The key here would be when did the Rams take Henderson and if Pace was talking with Beane afterward. In the video Beane says for that deal we weren't going to move if we knew our "guys" were there. Since we know RB was the target it's logical to assume the guys were Henderson, Montgomery, and Singletary. If Pace called Beane once NE was on the clock then Beane already knew he had either Montgomery or Singletary and if they were graded the same he shouldn't have entertained the offer. Yet if he wanted more to trade back, and was willing to do so, then why was there no counter offer? Then if Pace didn't receive a counter offer he may have assumed the Bills were likely waiting on the same RBs. Which prompted the call to NE and a higher offer to make the trade. I wonder if the multiple workouts and visits with Singletary led Beane to think the Bears were more interested in him than Montgomery? Maybe he didn't worry if the Bears traded ahead of him because he thought he could still get Montgomery? Only the shadow knows.

After Buffalo took Singletary I felt like Belichick was playing a bit of 3D chess when he traded back. I can see Pace saying "hey Bill we tried to trade up with Buffalo, we think they want a RB and we want one too. They refused to deal. I want to come up and draft Montgomery before they do. Are you in?" I don't really think they talk about specific players when trades are made but you can see Belichick expecting Pace to grab Montgomery knowing he's still on the board. They likely knew the needs of division rival Bills and who they had heavily scouted. Plus NE already has their lead RB and just needed a complimentary piece for their backfield. With good depth available for backup RBs why not drop back, take away a good RB from your division rival which helps keep home field advantage in the playoffs, and get an extra pick this year and next.

He's not fast but he's not that slow. Ran somewhere around 4.7 at his pro day. https://247sports.com/Article/Georgia-Football-Isaac-Nauta-feeling-a-lot-better-after-pro-day-130316106/

It is interesting to do this exercise and also difficult in a way because I know more now about the players we took than I did before the draft. In other words I have very little background on players beyond the majority of RBs, a few DBs, and a few TEs in the draft. Rd 3: I said a month ago that I could see Pace trading up 10 or so spots in Rd 3 to grab a RB who fell to that spot. At the time I said it would be Miles Sanders. In the last couple weeks before the draft I cooled on Sanders a bit simply because of his fumble issues. I don't think that goes away too quickly at the NFL level and it worried me for a team that I feel is ready to compete deep into the playoffs. That led me to Henderson and then Montgomery as the options. I expected both to be gone in late Rd 2 but both last to Rd 3. I'll stick to my sentiments that Nagy felt the pass receiving RB was key to the whole thing and just stay with the trade up for Montgomery. I actually preferred Henderson just because I like having the home run threat but I am confident Montgomery will be the more consistent RB. Rd 4: I'd have gone with CB Isaiah Johnson out of Houston. Rd 5: traded away Rd 6: NB Duke Shelley. I didn't know about him heading into draft day but after watching him and learning about him he's a good fit at NB. I'm not 100% confident he can develop into a starter but he has the potential and should at least provide solid depth. That's about all you can ask for in Rd 6. Rd 7: TE Isaac Nauta. I liked him before the draft and with Montgomery, Cohen, Patterson, Nall, and Davis on board I see no reason to take Whyte here. I'll get to see Nauta when we play the Lions. Rd 7: OG Bars This one is tough because going into the draft I'd have likely drafted Bars here. However, I don't know his medical status and he appears to be headed for a likely red shirt season. OTOH it's hard to argue with what I've seen of Denmark plus the coaches were able to see him first-hand during his team visit. Again when doing this part time with only a glimpse into what players can do I'll just stay with Bars. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the grand scheme of things Pace needed to draft well enough that he can make some cuts next year to save cap space without a drop in performance. With my draft he would have some ability to free up space at the CB positions (Amukamara, Skrine) and OG (Long - Bars). With Pace's picks that cap flexibility looks to be at WR (Patterson-Ridley), RB (Davis - Whyte), and maybe CB if Tolliver develops further this year along with NB (Skrine - Shelley). Denmark should absolutely take over for McManis (2020 FA) on special teams coverage next year but it could happen this year opening up $1.7mil in cap space this year to be used on someone's contract extension. Then Pace went and got Bars, Hall, and Dax Raymond as UDFAs. I'd have been happy with any of them in Rd 6/7. Throughout the 7th Rd teams are on the phone with their potential priority UDFAs. Judging by how quickly they committed to Chicago after the draft, by the time we made the Denmark pick Pace likely had some idea that Hall and Bars were coming to Chicago if they weren't drafted. That may have swayed him to take Denmark who has the highest upside based on his athletic skills plus our needs.

12 months after Glennon took his first snap as our starting QB Pace put a 12 win team on the field with what turned out to be a Pro Bowl QB.

Excellent point on the smaller players and IMO that's why Taylor Gabriel doesn't standout as being fast, despite his fast 40 time. He's not slow either but there are plenty of DBs keeping pace with him stride for stride once it's a straight line race. Beyond the overall 40 time,quickness comes into play as well. How fast can you get to top speed and how quickly can a player make cuts at speed, which is something Antonio Brown does well. Some guys like Tavon Austin are incredibly quick in the 10 yard split but lack long speed. The net 40 time might be impressive but he's often run down from behind in the secondary. But he'll be the first one out of a phone booth.

I like this photo..

Pretty good interview with the Iowa State RB coach. https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-bears-david-montgomery-position-coach-20190430-story.html#nt=oft03a-2gp2

Patterson is clearly a 1 yr deal, especially after this draft class. There's $5mil. I think Floyd will get a contract extension and in so doing they will lower his 2020 cap hit.

They entered the draft expecting to focus on defense. Instead they come out of it with another WR with their first pick in Rd 2, and a big bill for Frank Clark.

No FBs on the roster this year. It opens the door to keep Nall in that role/roster spot if they so choose. This draft also opened the door for some cap management moves next year depending on who improves enough to earn playing time at WR. Wims could ascend and take Robinson's role. Hall could likewise take the role Gabriel has on the outside. Whyte can take the role Patterson and/or Davis have this year. We only have $12mil in cap space in 202 according to Overthecap.com. Dropping some big WR contracts could open the door to extend Eddie Jackson.

Since I'm an alumni of Iowa State I've watched both of these RBs for the last 2-3 years. I like both and each became a fan favorite for their respective teams. The same traits that made Bears fans appreciate Howard will be on display with Montgomery and that will be obvious very early on in Montgomery's career. In time I expect Montgomery to become a fan favorite in the same manner.

First a thank you for pulling in all this info. Second, what an odd collection of schools many of these players are from: Colgate, Georgia Southern, Laval, Buffalo (maybe not so odd anymore), Lindenwood, Grand Valley St., App St. Widener, Limestone College, Fort Hays State, Edinboro, McNeese St. Without the first and second round picks I expected Pace to scout the small school ranks heavier. This collection is surprising even if they are UDFAs or rookie tryouts. Not only that we drafted a guy from Valdosta St. I'll be surprised if any of these small school UDFAs make the practice squad.

There is some significant money being given to a few UDFAs.. The #Saints are signing Wyoming edge Carl Granderson to a free-agent deal that includes $85,000 guaranteed, source said. Chris Westry wasn’t drafted, but the #Cowboys are signing him to a deal with $100K guaranteed, including a $10K signing bonus, source said. Brings some rare traits to Dallas. The #Vikings gave Washington QB Jake Browning a whopping $140K guaranteed on his contract, source said. That includes a $15K signing bonus. Browning helped himself with a strong pro day. Undrafted, but found a good opportunity behind Kirk Cousins. Undrafted Buffalo QB Tyree Jackson reached agreement with the Buffalo Bills on a deal that includes $75,000 guaranteed, per source.

Malik Gant is unsigned. I'd like to see us bring him in.

Yeah, forgot about Hall. Another 3/4th Rd value added post draft.

The reviews and instant grades are coming in. For me this was an excellent weekend. For a draft that started late 3rd Rd we still picked up two players with 2nd Rd grades. Montgomery is a starter week 1. Ridley is a future WR2 starter. Shelley looks like at least a solid backup NB but has the potential to become a starter. Whyte has enough ability to develop into a 3rd RB after a year on the practice squad but may only find a niche as a special teams player. Denmark is just an athletic freak. I'm really curious to see how he handles the jump to the NFL but Pace saw enough not to take a chance on grabbing him as a UDFA. Then in UDFAs we added OG Bars who had 3rd/4th Rd grades but fell due to injury. If he gets healthy that's excellent value. Dax Raymond had day 3 grades, anywhere from 5th to 7th. He should be able to fill in as the 4th TE this year and maybe compete with Braunecker a year from now to be the 3rd TE. He's much better suited to backup Burton than anyone we had last year. There are a couple Edge players that might develop into backups in a year or two so for now Fitts and Irving have a little competition. This was a deep draft and so most teams were able to add good players throughout. Most teams got good grades but NFL.com also gave us an A. Given where we started I agree.

He is either really smart or has a smart agent. The Bears kept 4 TEs last year and have 3 on the roster and of the 3 only one is a legit pass catcher/route runner. The door is wide open for Dax to earn a roster spot.