AZ54

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.

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.