AZ54

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.

Ellis Richardson looks like a Trey Burton clone. Might not be as fast.

Quebec. Universite Laval. Mathieu Betts edge. I don't think he has enough length to free himself from OTs at the NFL level but he's got some lateral quickness and can flatten to the QB once he gets the edge. He's got one move and it's speed. For his size he seems to have a strong base because he often runs through contact and keeps his feet to make the play. Lots of hustle to the ball in his game. His path to an NFL roster is clearly through special teams but he might be able to develop into the type of player Acho was for us. Looks like he ran well at his Pro Day. https://3downnation.com/2019/03/14/laval-dl-mathieu-betts-wont-attend-cfl-combine/

IIRC there were some calling for us to draft Bars late on day 3. Can't argue with picking him up as a UDFA. Anyone ever heard of Laval?

Hall was generally listed as a 3rd Rd pick. Not a bad haul as a UDFA and if he can clean up a few things on his route running and continue to improve his hands I could see him replacing Gabriel in a year or two. He has a lot to learn on the route tree to get to Gabriel's level. He's not a natural hands catcher either but apparently he improved quite bit his last season. Practice squad it is. With all these new offensive players, both FA and draft, Nagy must feel like a kid walking into Toys'R'Us back in the day.

That was fast.

I think we came away from the draft with at least 2 future starters in Montgomery and Ridley. Likely a 3rd in Shelley. I really think Denmark becomes at least a special teams coverage ace for us but he appears to have the tools to become a solid starting CB. It's always hard to say when he's only gone against lower level competition and played CB for a year. However, I wonder if coaches will try him out at safety because he closes and hits like one. If he's not quick enough to cover NFL WRs he certainly should be able to cover TEs and RBs. He and EJack could be one heck of a safety combination. Whyte will likely always be a depth player. Overall the talent acquisition was very good considering the late picks. By that I mean these are all players who have the physical talent to play in the NFL (i.e. no Mizzell's here). I expected to see a TE taken somewhere and Nauta was on the board in the 7th and we passed on him for Whyte. Same with Oline but maybe they like Coward more than we know.

This guy is very athletic and especially so when you consider he's 6'3". He's also very raw and has one year of experience at CB. He's clearly a practice squad candidate this year. He's going against inferior competition in his highlight tape but his burst to close stands out on several plays, so does his aggression. You all know I love defense and I like football players who have an aggressive edge in their game. Denmark is knocking players to ground all over the field including those who are trying to block him. If he has the work ethic at a minimum I can see him becoming a special teams coverage ace and replacing McManis next year. Maybe that happens this year. Elite size and athletic testing; ran two 4.46-second 40-yard dashes with a vertical of 43.5 inches and a 10-foot-10 broad jump at his pro day

Interesting pick and this is likely a by-product of all the time they put into Devin Singletary. You can't watch an FAU game without wondering who the other guy in their backfield was. If you liked the idea of taking Tony Pollard late in the draft you will like Whyte. Similar style players and I'd say he has a shot at replacing Davis in the backfield in a year or two. In the meantime he offers some KR return ability so that might be his best chance to get on the field this year. This year I see him ending up on the practice squad. Edit: If he reaches his potential I can see him helping free up $8mil in cap space by filling the roles of both Davis and Patterson.

Nothing wrong with Jason saying he'd do things differently than what Pace has done. He defends his opinions but y'all are being a little harsh. I see zero chance if he were the GM in Oakland he'd have gotten rid of Mack and his favorite WR from Alabama in Cooper.

He's a slot CB. These are highlights but there are a lot of plays where he's in sync with much bigger receivers including Lazard. Despite his size he plays with a physical edge. He closes with energy too on the WR screen plays. I don't know what his vertical leap measures at but on the last play in this highlight film he is way up there. I also see one KR so he may be able to help out there this year. He's from Georgia and played at KSt so maybe that's a positive for Pace? He didn't even make the list on NFL.com but I expected Pace to bring home at least one surprise prospect in this draft. Prospect Grade NO GRADE LIKELY NEEDS TIME IN DEVELOPMENTAL LEAGUE

Despite starting at 87 overall Pace has come out of this draft with two of the top 60 players.

I'm very surprised by the pick. I expected a TE to be taken. From a value standpoint Ridley stands out and he's similar is many ways to Anthony Miller. It's pretty clear now Allen Robinson likely won't see another contract from the Bears.

Ryan Pace: "I told you this was going to happen" https://twitter.com/chicagobears/status/1122128267027329024?s=21

We have picks 126 (4th), 205 (6th), 222 (7th), 238 (7th). I think Pace is going to make a trade to get either one more pick or to get back into the 5th Rd from 205. To get that done he'll either drop back from 126 or he'll use one of next years' picks to move up.

Starting Day 3 Packers: Rashan Gary DT, Darnell Savage S, Elgton Jenkins C, and Jace Sternberger TE. I really like what they did because it should help us stay leaders in the NFC North. Gary has all the talent and none of the production. I liked Savage for our pick at 87 and maybe even a big higher given his versatility but to trade up for him so early...thank you! Jenkins and Sternberger were good choices at those spots. Vikings: Garrett Bradbury C, Irv Smith TE, and Mattison RB. Bradbury was good value, same with Smith. Then they used a 3rd Rd pick to take a player who IMO should have been a 5-7th Rd RB. Detroit: TJ Hockenson TE, Jahlani Tavai LB, and Will Harris S. See my post above. They're on track for another top 10 pick next year. There are still good players available so they can redeem themselves but they bypassed a lot of talent in Rd 2 and 3.

Out of curiosity I'm looking over the NFL Network player rankings/grades to see who the lowest ranked players are that were drafted. Aka biggest reach. At this time the Detroit Lions have drafted two of the lowest graded/ranked players. Will Harris S out of BC ranked around 205 overall and he was taken with the 18th pick in the 3rd Rd. Before that pick Detroit drafted Jahlani Tavai who is ranked ~190 overall and they used the 43rd pick in the draft. Their draft ended after they took Hockenson. I should add that NFL Network has the prospects listed 20/page. For both of these players, on the pages they are listed there has not been any other player drafted.

This is a good way to start your RB career... Montgomery told reporters that his grandfather would show him tapes of legendary Bears Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton. “I watched Walter Payton when I was younger,” Montgomery said. “Seeing how he ran, trying to correlate a lot of the ways he ran into my game.”

and you can get to know him a bit...

A little film breakdown...

We were all worried about you after this pick. It's at least good to know you've been released from the ICU and are back home.

The biggest problem with Montgomery catching the football was that we didn't have a good QB at Iowa State for most of his career. That changed midway through the season when we started the true freshman from my current home town (Gilbert, AZ). I had to rewind the the game on the DVR when that flashed by on the screen. Anyway, I've seen him catch a few passes but even I have to rely on the scouting reports (and Nagy/Pace) for how good his receiving skills are.

He'll never be your home run hitter but he'll be the one who keeps the offense in 3rd and short.