AZ54

I don't have many because without a big trade this is kind of a 2 pick draft with a cherry on top. I don't know a fast way to format this so I'm just pulling off a top 100 list. Likes are only going to be guys that standout to me so you'll see some surprises like Odunze not on my list because I think we can similar value later in the 1st. Likes: MHJ, Nabors (elite quickness), Bowers, Latu, Verse, Turner - we get better with any of these 3 Powers-Johnson Byron Murphy, backup option at 3-tech Orhorhoro (he's raw but if he's coachable...) McConkey. Graham Barton (can he play OC?) Nubin, Zach Frazier (not ideal for the scheme but more than good enough and he ain't going anywhere in pass pro), Polk . Dislikes: Alt (seems to get too high and power gets under him which reminds me of the current guy but yeah, I'm a minority on that. Part of my thinking is the value proposition - i.e. for that pick how much better are going to get versus say adding Turner or Verse? Legette- seems to win with muscle not finesse. At the NFL level that balances out. Fatanu - a little slow in movement and how can a big dude like that have such tiny hands. Newton - way too slow off the snap for me. He has 2nd/3rd step quickness once he's in motion but NFL OGs are going to have their hands on him early and can match his lateral quickness better. He doesn't have the levers to fight it off. I think he ends up more rotational player than starter. Chop - for all that athleticism he has to do something with it. What's the saying? All sizzle and no steak.

We need WRs with more wiggle than Brendan Rice so they can get open.

I was just giving up one of next years' 2nd. Not sure about your proposal, I'm really hesitant about giving up a 1st Rd pick.

Anyone else hearing the noise around MHJr wanting to play in Chicago? Sports journos with Big Ten connections were out yesterday saying as odd as this is the noise around it won't go away. If he fell to 5 they proposed a trade up with the Chargers giving up one of next years 2nd Rd picks. It leaves holes on the roster but I'd do that because who is going to cover our WR corps? Plus we don't have to extend Keenan Allen freeing up money next year to fix the holes. Mostly I think this is a pre-draft boredom and speculation but every year there are weird twists in the top 10.

I guess I was the only one who didn't like his relatively weak arm (by NFL standards). I just never saw NFL QB in him but draft wizards had me outgunned. I think regardless of circumstances his career arc will trend toward bridge QB. Good enough to be a sometimes starter. On the flip side I didn't understand all the criticism of Stroud but I only watched one or two of his games late in the season. I think they said he had more struggles early on. Regardless, with no dog in the fight, I was happy to take DJ Moore and a truckload of picks.

I see Williams doing a whole lot of hero ball. I see him survey the field but just as often ignore the easy wide open underneath route. Or often bypass the late opening read in the middle. I see him fast and loose with the ball when he scrambled. I see him throw up prayers when under pressure. He has a Gumby arm, quick release. Great pocket awareness. I see a whole lot of Kyler Murray. Taller but not as fast. The best defense is a great offense. Control the ball control the clock and keep your defense of the field. That’s what worries me because that’s not how he played the game and even your assessment agrees with that. He tried to put up 40 every game. Take the open short route and maybe you win with 25pts. Elite 2min left game winning drives don’t require as much talent as smarts. I would like to have seen him do more death by a thousand cut type drives mixed in with the big plays. The talent is all there but what I see on film leads to the part I’ll never know. Is he humble enough to know what he doesn’t know and work to improve? For such an obvious first overall pick Poles has put in a lot of effort to figure that out. On the other hand he’s seemingly done none of that with any other prospect. Why? Why make it blatantly obvious to the world you are only courting one QB yet refuse to say he’s your choice at #1? From a career standpoint Poles might survive drafting Williams if he fails. Draft anyone else and that’s not likely unless it’s a home run.

Have you ever heard or seen Caleb saying he'd love to play for the Bears? All I've ever heard from him is that he'd love to be the #1 pick. For all the social media posts and interviews he does I'm still waiting for that.

Worthy will go in round one. It’s not just speed he has some nuances to his route running that make him effective. He doesn’t have the best hands or he’d be in the top 20 discussion. I’n other news I saw Steve Smith review Brian Thomas. I respect his opinions on WRs. He’s saying he’ll end up a #1 WR.

His arm is crazy good but I don’t like his pocket presence. I think he needs a full year to work on that stuff before being thrown into the fire. If he can get his feet to calm down that should lead to less missed easy passes.

Slowly the talk of Jayden Daniels being the best QB in this draft gains traction. I haven't changed my position. I'm so far off the consensus mock because I'm still the only fan here who will trade back to #2 and take Daniels and the picks. I'd take Daniels at #1 and still be happy but I believe I can make that trade happen. Even the Bears fan I met at a my granddaughters softball game agreed with Daniels being the best so there's at least 2 of us in the multiverse LOL. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWbtESDDezQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C53IuDnGczM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Uxx0_v9t04

I agree we're more likely to take Verse over Turner as well. Part of that reason though is the lack of depth we've got at DE. Walker isn't bad though on run downs so having elite speed off the edge would be welcome in the mix. Maybe they swing big for the elite pass rush because Turner definitely has a skillset we don't have the on the roster. Ngakoue was never a bend-around-the-hoop type of DE, nor did he have elite quickness, speed, or power. At his age his one-trick pony show wasn't working anymore.

It depends a bit on what you want. If you want the best pass rushing DE for third and long you grab Turner. He still has value as a run defender but not really the guy you want to anchor against the point of attack in the run game. If you want a starting caliber NFL DE for every down you take Verse. He’s a beast who just will not be moved. His bull rush is so effective it’ll give Braxton Jones nightmares about practice. He has enough athleticism to work off that and get sacks. if you were in group one then you might not care much if you trade back and get Latu. The rest are JAGs.

Fields has speed but not a lot of wiggle. Neither does Patterson for that matter. It's guys like Hester that are so damn slippery when they cut without losing speed.

XFL. But I still want to see it with NFL caliber athletes.

I like it. I need to see it in action but this is a positive step forward and very appropriate considering Hester enters the HoF this year. Maybe enough people finally watched his highlights and realized how exciting those plays were and how much they missed them.

Of course it s al rumor and innuendos. Have you got video or a link to that statement from Poles?

Doing more research on the QBs...

This is interesting...and I haven't heard this anywhere else. Now Daniels gets maybe 5% of the press coverage that Caleb Williams does so this stuff doesn't catch fire in the media in the same way. I just find it an odd twist to the rumors now that Daniels is reportedly at the top of their list at #2. Except for the report that came out after J.J. McCarthy's pro day saying they liked him at #2. Musical chairs with the QBs in the media all the way up to draft day.

RAS is overrated as a metric IMO and even as the creator admitted it was never intended to become what it is today. But it is a nice summary and I like to use it as a quick reference for some basic athletic traits to see if it backs up the play on the field. Just as often players have a high RAS but aren't good football players. Dominique Robinson has a 9.73 RAS and still can't find the QB. The two physical traits I think Poles has been the most clear about is OT and DE having long arms. I think that's also a physical trait he likes in DTs but I'm not sure it's as big a deal for IOL, maybe more of a nice to have.

Let ‘'em get mad at me. I don’t care. My opinion is just my opinion. The best way to learn if I’m wrong is to publish it and see what the feedback is. We had a vigorous debate last year about the character of Jalen Carter. I don’t see any reason we shouldn’t be doing the same for our top ten picks this year.

Depends how it's scripted. Lamar Jackson mostly threw between the hashes at his pro day and guess what... that's mostly what he does in the NFL even in the past season. They are just throwing against air with no pressure and they've practiced everything in advance so I doubt that sways anyone much at all.

Money and timeline to wait for him to prove he's the guy. I would say it's more simply that he feels either Williams or Daniels will have his team in a better position in 2025. I leave Maye out because he said the QB coach and maybe OC are going to his pro day but Poles is not. I'm not sure about Flus either. So it definitely feels like a 2 horse race and I have no clue, based on his words and expressions, who is in the lead right now other than the obvious Williams ranking #1 overall. As noted above, I did catch him saying the #9 pick being key for OT, WR, or DE. If he trades back from 9 I don't think he goes far unless the reward is huge.

I see a compilation of really good along with stuff that looks like Justin searching for the big play and ignoring the easy one. On some of those easy plays I think you recognize that he is going through all his reads. Can he play on time and in rhythm? Yes. I have other concerns about how he throws when under pressure in the pocket. Those off angle throws will lead to trouble in the NFL. How does that bad habit translate to the NFL for a shorter QB?

Trey Lance?

With Waldron calling plays this is likely legit interest. He’s not opposed to putting 3 TE in the field.