AZ54

Pace keeps things close to the vest before every draft so there's not a lot of chatter about the Bears. Nonetheless, I'd still like to have a thread where we can put all draft rumors. Technically what other teams do in the draft is Bears related. Let's start off with some Bears tidbits... http://draftanalyst.com/small-school-gems-offense Bears have interest in a small school QB, Connor Jessop, and a small school OG, Matthew Gono. Three NFC North teams are showing interest in Gono. I'd say Jessop is a UDFA candidate. I don't see much anticipation but he is accurate. Gono has some good raw talent and could be in play very late in the draft but it's always hard to evaluate against this level of competition. One thing we know is the Bears are putting a lot of effort into finding OG prospects this draft.

You really see Roquan at 6'1" 235lbs playing OLB in our scheme?

Roquan Smith is terrific at see ball get ball. He'd make a perfect fit in the role Lance Briggs played for us in the Lovie 2. Today he'd be a perfect replacement for Trevathan. Keep in mind that 4-3 WLB perfect fit because teams that run that D might be willing to trade up for him. If we bring him in and then in a year or two he replaces Trevathan that'd be fine. I'm not so sure how well he'll do handling the strong side responsibilities. http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2015/05/28/durkins-playbook-inside-look-at-the-mike-jack-linebackers/ Edmunds on the other hand can play at every LB position in Fangio's D, both inside roles, and at OLB. Either player helps this defense take a step forward but the potential and versatility Edmunds has makes him my choice. We're paying Fangio a lot of money to hone the skills of elite talents like Edmunds. Unless based on their interviews or background checks they don't think he'll put the time in to study and learn his craft. Those are the things I just don't know.

My dream scenario... We are at #8 with both Edmunds and Nelson still there and Chucky calls asking to trade up from #10 so he can take Roquan Smith. We should net a 4th and 5th Rd pick in exchange. We drop back to 10 and still get one of Edmunds or Nelson. We can package a couple 4ths to move up into the 3rd Rd if we choose but I'm not opposed to taking 3 players in the 4th Rd this year. We should see some good WR, CB, Oline, or RB options there.

We have a much more relaxed and, IMO, confident Trubisky.

If the Ravens who are desperate for WRs left him alone then we should expect nothing from him.

All I know so far is my rumor mill says Bears will be here at Cardinals on 23 Sep.

No need to worry about a practice squad guy who was going nowhere as a DT. At best he shows some promise at OG and makes the practice squad again. At worst someone else who is better makes the practice squad at OG.

It's not just smoking some marijuana. It's got to be really bad for a person to need help with an addiction. Beyond those concerns I just see him as a player who makes the easy plays. He rarely dominates the competition. Is that a result of his addiction issues hurting his desire? Perhaps. Assume he cleaned up before the 2017 season, and of course he also had that offseason shoulder surgery impacting his start to the 2017 season. But starting there and finishing the season, it is logical to assume if he's got his head on right that he's working full speed toward being a 1st Rd draft pick. Then he refused to work out at the Combine, followed by a 4.85 forty weeks later at his Pro Day. I'm not opposed to giving people second chances (so to speak since this is his first NFL draft), but for me these things all point to a guy who still doesn't have his act together. Or perhaps, as is his playing style, he simply does not love the game. Compare Key to someone like Josh Sweat who has worked very hard to recover from his knee injury and has outstanding athletic ability. I don't know the medical prognosis on Sweat's knee but assume it is decent enough that he'll play 4-5 years perhaps with some limited snaps as a 3rd down pass rusher. If I had to take a risk on one of these two players in Rd 2/3 I'd go with Sweat every time figuring I can at least get some exceptional play during his first contract.

It's hard to really know for sure but there are plenty of rumors out there about his drug addiction and going to rehab. https://www.secrant.com/rant/sec-football/arden-key/68713966/ https://www.theadvertiser.com/story/sports/college/lsu/2017/02/15/lsu-star-de-arden-key-taking-leave-football/9795989 http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2018/04/lsu_de_arden_key_wont_help_bei.html http://www.profootballweekly.com/2018/04/05/way-we-hear-it-concern-over-lsus-arden-key-starts-with-his-outside-influences/aekqxhp/ That kind of approach almost never works in this kind of scrutinizing climate. It turned out that Key's disappearance in the spring was to check himself into rehab for a marijuana problem, Pro Football Weekly reported. Key returned to school after the rehab and was suspended for another failed drug test. That part of the story wasn't as concerning to teams as another choice Key made while he was isolated from the team, the report stated. Against the words of his team doctors, Key had his shoulder operated on. The school later looked at the shoulder and determined it was not a successful surgery, per the report.

I'm still not that high on him. Is he really going to be more dedicated to his craft when he's a millionaire? It's hard to see that happening. If we were adding him to a solid group and could take a chance it might be different but we must get it right on the OLB we draft.

I think it did come down in part to Meredith's ability to be ready for training camp. We have an entirely new offense and he's still relatively new the WR role. Then you have Meredith saying he thinks he'll be ready for training camp (paraphrasing what I've read). If he can't practice this offseason or in training camp how much will he really contribute during the season? It's really hard to play catch up with such a limited practice schedule during the regular season unless you already know the offense.

Why are you drafting two RTs? There's either a CB or WR there for the taking that should have better upside than Moore in the 5th.

He's been doing it for 10 years or more (going back to his college days). How could we not think he'd be a pain in the ass when Robinson gets healthy and Dez gets less snaps?

He absolutely can play some DE. Vea is a powerful beast but he's also quick, even in lateral movements. That lateral movement skill is where he differs from Goldman who has decent quickness for his size when he's moving forward. Vea does not have great endurance, but that's partly because of his body type. In college Washington used him all over the defensive front and as games wore on he was less effective. However, put him in the rotation and he will handle some early down snaps at DE, he'll be first backup for Goldman at NT, and can spell Hicks as well. Plus we will mix in some Bullard or RRH on passing downs. That much depth in a defensive front allows rotating DTs/DE's out on downs or for a series and it will make them incredibddddddly tough. Last year it was obvious HIcks was wearing out late in games, but he was playing a ton of snaps. Get Vea in the rotation and remove about 10-15% of Hicks snaps and he'll be even more effective. We'd be doing the same for Goldman. When Goldman, Hicks, and Vea have fresh legs each has plenty of pass rush. Our ILB will only worry about off-tackle runs so play action up the middle won't be as effective. I think the OLB will be shading a bit more to outside too having to worry less about the inside gap. That helps pass rush off the edge. In an odd way it's the opposite version of what our Oline could become if we draft Nelson. If you can take away or control something on the field, like the interior rush lanes, it simplifies what everyone else in back is concentrating on. Beast out on one interior line or the other.

Interesting signing. Young WR with some upside potential who can challenge White or a 3rd/4th Rd rookie for reps. We'll have 3 WRs on relatively equal footing albeit for different reasons. With his special teams experience Fowler could end up replacing Bellamy if White and the rookie are looking good and we keep 5 WRs. I think that's quite possible for a team that says it wants to run 3 TE sets often, plus having a guy like Cohen on the roster. Robinson, Gabriel, (White, Fowler, rookie) Bellamy.

Another Pro Bowl player on the roster would make some of the roster weak spots less visible on Sundays. If Robinson lights it up then Gabriel will be more effective. I feel the same way about putting Tremaine Edmunds in the middle of the D. A lot of little things should be harder for offenses to take advantage of. Add QNelson to the Oline and ,while our OTs aren't perfect Trubisky should always have a nice place to step forward and out of harms way, and the running lanes might be ridiculously big at times. Add Saquon Barkley and everyone else on offense looks better, except of course Jordan Howard because he won't be here. Of course if Trubisky develops as we hope he'd have a similar effect.

He's said to be working on learning how to run routes this offseason. That's not something you want to hear from a veteran WR. We already have Kevin White doing the same but with a better attitude. Then there is the fit among Robinson and Gabriel. It seems we need someone who can be more slot/outside WR who lines up on the same side as Gabriel, which I expect means someone who is going to run a wide variety of routes, and probably a WR with good quickness in/out of cuts for the slot. If we didn't have Robinson perhaps Dez would fill a need. I'll say we pass with Bryant's deficiencies, attitude, and his price tag as a bad fit for Trubisky in this offense. It was just last year Dez missed the start of training camp because he threw a party for his home town. http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/nfl/dallas-cowboys/article163049643.html

I will say this about Pace's decision on Meredith. With the original round tender he bought himself an extra month of time to evaluate his recovery from the knee injury. Maybe the signing of Gabriel should have been the clear signal of concerns about Meredith? To me it seemed more logical to bank on Meredith with Robinson and grab a fast slot WR type in the draft, which are easier to come by in the later rounds. With that tender he managed to hang onto Meredith long enough to get him back at Halas Hall with the Bears trainers for several days of work. I think at the end of the day that evaluation had to play a big part of the decision. If the injury concern was so high early on they could have simply left Meredith as an unrestricted FA and not even bothered with the $2mil tender. Technically the Bears could still have matched any offer Meredith received, it just wouldn't guarantee he'd stay. Pace hedged his bet with low enough risk and got some extra time to get more data on his recovery. I'll be watching Cam's numbers this season to see if he was right.

I'd be ok trading back to 12 and adding a 3rd Rd pick but I wouldn't move back any further. At 12 we can still get a player with excellent potential. Drop back to 23 and that becomes less clear. In this scenario if Nelson and Chubb are both gone yet Buffalo wants to pick at #8 so it means the last of the top 4 QBs remains on the board. Who are the other 4 players taken in the top 7: Barkley for sure, Edmunds, Ward, one of Fitzpatrick/James. We pick at 12 so knowing Buffalo takes the last top QB at 8, who gets taken at 9, 10, and 11? If Edmunds is gone I'd guess at 9 the 49ers grab whoever is left of Fitzpatrick/James. At 10 the Raiders take Roquan Smith. At 11 we have Miami and here is where the draft takes on a different persona because other than Vea, who might not be a fit in their scheme or needs their isn't any one player standing above the rest. I'll say they take Davenport to improve their pass rush. With #12 the Bears take Vea and nobody can run against the Bears front line for the next 4 years. Or the Dolphins take Vea and we take Davenport. If we don't take one of those two options, with player grades being relatively level at this point in the 1st Rd, we can choose from Ridley, Da'Ron Payne, Landry, or Jaire Alexander, Mike Hughes. Behind that group the question marks start getting bigger quickly. Just my opinion but looking at several draft boards I'd prefer to stay top 15 if we trade down from 8.

It's an unusual year because the 4th Rd presents a lot of good options for us. More typically it seems we're saying grab the player who falls out of the 3rd Rd. I'd like to stay at #8 at least until we sees who available. A trade back in the 2nd Rd of just 7-10 spots should net an additional 4th Rd pick and that could really help fill out the roster.

I liked Cam and was hoping, even expecting we'd match. I think he has the potential to be a solid #2 WR. I don't know his medical status and his availability for this season although I expected it would be no problem. In the course of the 5 days I expect Pace was in touch with agents for some of the FA WRs who are still out there and he has a good idea who he can bring in for depth and for how much money. He might have to wait a bit for their money to come down to match his price. Perhaps now that he's got his draft board put together he's confident he can find similar performance for a lot less money. When I say similar performance we have to keep in mind two things: New scheme and Meredith's fit and 2) His injury recovery prospects. I can't speak to either but Nagy has. Look at a few of the projected WR names available in Rds 4-6: Trequan Smith, Simmie Cobbs Jr., Allen Lazard, JMon Moore, Deontay Burnett, Daurice Fountain, Jaleel Scott, Auden Tate Adding someone like Deontay Burnett would pair well with the speed we already have on the roster.

GIven all the effort to surround Trubisky with weapons I'll be very surprised if we don't match the offer for Cam. Relying on either Kevin White or a rookie WR doesn't fit with that. I'd say if we don't match the offer, it indicates a significant concern over his injury recovery

First, New England has a ton of holes to fill so I'd be surprised to see them give up those picks. Two, because of all the QB focus this is not a normal draft where the 8th pick doesn't get you a blue chip type player. For us to trade back that far and walk away from that opportunity, and many others such as Davenport, they need to offer us a lot more than the normal point value.

Seems to be on most draft boards. We could also have Brandon Parker here too, Chukwuma Okorafor, or maybe Desmond Harrison (talented head-case who I'm less high on).