AZ54

Where did you see that? http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000090...edskins-take-qb http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2751411...son-predictions The one name that really stands out on Daniel Jeremiah's first mock is Marcus Davenport at #7 overall.

Yes I remember that. That still doesn't change the long term outlook for his career with that knee injury he suffered.

Agreed, but just because it isn't realistic now doesn't mean you won't learn something of value that will help you build that realistic scenario later on. In the end nobody even knows what is realistic because zero people suggested the Chiefs and Bears trades last year to get those two QBs. If the draft was "realistic" it wouldn't be must see TV for most of us. Personally I'd like to have your perspective as we begin this process to try to figure out what is a realistic draft scenario. If you want to wait until later in the process that's ok too.

Tanner Gentry has good straight line speed but lacks lateral quickness. It was evident on his college film and really evident in the NFL. I think these coaches value quickness over speed, somewhat the opposite of Gentry. He's a gym rat who focused on strength but he might benefit some by leaning out his body to gain some quickness. No matter what IMO he's likely headed to someone's practice squad.

I really like Nelson. My question with him is why couldn't the well-regarded Harry Hiestand correct his poor technique? If he continues grabbing guys outside the shoulders in the NFL he'll get a lot of holding calls. Sitton gets away with it but he doesn't try to maul DTs out of the way he just sort of guides them to one side or the other and let's the RB take care of the rest. In other words, Sitton can release his hold easier than a guy like Nelson who is working to run over the DT. Which brings to mind another question: If we're keeping the Zone Blocking Scheme do we really need a powerful OG like Nelson who doesn't have the best feet? He's not horrible by any means but he does struggle at times in space.

Jason, I know you're researching the board's history to put together the first mock. What are you seeing as far as positions go? I'd like to start there before we put down some names. At the moment it appears we favor a first pick of: WR, OT, or OLB. Probably in that order (# votes) based on what I've read.

This is not designed to be realistic. It's designed to get fans' thoughts on what they value and who they value in the draft. In other words we're starting to get some names in frames from all over the country. All of us watch the Bears so we know the needs but we also watch different college teams and conferences. We need that input so we can be smarter than Ryan Pace. Or maybe not depending on your point of view.

Add Brett Toth OT Army to the list. After reading up on him it seems he's pretty talented but there is the Army commitment to deal with. http://www.walterfootball.com/eastwest2018interviews4.php http://www.recordonline.com/collegevarsity...ns-best-tackles

Biggest need = OLB

Joel Lanning... I don't know if he's a sleeper but since he's not invited to the Scouting Combine he might as well be. I need to see how he runs but when we get to 3rd day of the draft he should be on our board. He plays a lot like Kwiatkoski, stout around LOS, but I think he might run a bit better than him based on what I saw when he played QB. Having played LB just one year he's going to need some time to learn the role but he wasn't lost on the field as much as you might think. http://www.tampabay.com/sports/college/Iow...-Game_164537028 There is no question about his leadership ability...

After watching a few minutes of film I'm all in on Brandon Parker. He's the type of athlete who could develop into a starter with a couple years of work but should at least be a solid backup swing tackle. Jaleel Scott can catch but I'd like to see him run away from someone especially given the level of competition he played. I'd compare him more to Alshon Jeffrey or maybe Muhammed Sanu and that's not a bad thing. In the game against ASU the DBs look like they are casually jogging next to him. He knows how to win when the ball arrives and still made some good catches.

Getting ready for the Senior Bowl and other scouting bonanzas. Bleacher Report's Matt Miller posted an early sleeper list. Some of these players should be on our watch list. Marcus Davenport OLB... I've already written about him. The Senior Bowl will be big for him because on paper he has 1st Rd talent, maybe even top 15 talent. I'm very curious to see how he does. Desmond Harrison OT... In the highlights you can see the raw athleticism that will get him drafted. What round is hard to determine right now and he has character concerns. For now in this short highlight clip we can see he doesn't treat the competition he faced very well. Most of these players look like out of shape former high school stars. He's another one to keep an eye on at the Senior Bowl. There are a couple other names on his list that might be worthwhile mid to late rd picks for us. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2753645...-draft-sleepers

I just remember being upset because nobody on the Bears seemed to be capable of stopping him. Before the game he was the first guy on their offense you were not worried about. On game day he made you pay for it. And he did it again and again. Some players are special because they have elite physical traits others are special because they don't have those physical traits but they still beat you. If he can capture that mental aspect of the game and teach it to our WRs we'll be in good shape.

I think Howard improved a lot catching the ball this year. He started out with some drops but over time with Trubisky he started making some good catches and not just the easy ones. He showed enough that he can't be ignored on short routes. Intermediate to long routes are still off limits but in those situations we have Cohen and Cunningham. At least I'd like to bring Cunningham back. I felt he was a good 3rd RB for us. He's not spectacular in any one area but he was good at quite a few things. Back to Jordan Howard: There is nothing preventing him from improving further on his receiving ability. He did it in 2017. He may never make acrobatic catches but he can contribute to a spread offense type role.

I said speed, but in reality I think quickness is more valued. Jeffrey doesn't have good quickness, Meredith does. https://www.arrowheadpride.com/2013/1/16/38...nse-chiefs-2013 "You'll see more quick-slant, square-in and drag routes in a West Coast system. Therefore a receiver's ability to run precise, crisp routes and creating separation in small space is more important than straight-line speed or jump-ball ability." "The offense is a quarterback-oriented attack based on a progression-type passing game with mostly, but not exclusively, short and intermediate routes. It is dependent on the quarterback's ability to read coverages quickly, identify the progression of receivers and throw in rhythm so he hits the receivers in stride, enabling them to gain yards after the catch."

Given the speed Nagy is operating at on the offensive side I get the feeling he's not going to wait much longer on Fangio to make a decision. We don't really know if he was considering Bradley or Pettine as viable options but assuming they were then he's lost out on both. If Nagy views Bettcher as next best option he's not going to wait and watch him also land elsewhere and then watch Vic ride off into the sunset for a warmer climate. If that is how they view Bettcher: It's Fri and games start tomorrow which means more coaching positions get filled this weekend and thus more competition for coordinators and position coaches. I suggest Pace give Fangio his best and final offer with a deadline of noon for an answer. If it ain't happening move on. It's possible there are other candidates (not already DCs) on playoff teams we might have interest in but I have to think Bettcher's proven track record makes him a better option.

One thing Chip Kelly had that made his offense good in Philly was a very good Oline. He said as much that it was their ability to run the ball that made the passing game so effective. I don't think we can rule out OT in the first, much less OLB. I'm still ok if we go OLB/OT in Rd1 and 2. When we get to the WRs I suspect they will be prioritizing speed and the Alshon Jeffrey types won't be what they are looking for. Maybe there was some good fortune in him leaving so we have the roster flexibility to bring in what Nagy wants. Plus we do have Meredith who can fit that role on the outside. That might exclude Jarvis Landry as well although I wouldn't want to pay him anywhere close to what he's asking for.

This is a very interesting hire and I'm not sure if this is good or bad. Too many people are talking about the college spread offenses as the wave of the future but Chip Kelly proved that it isn't. Actually he proved that when his teams kept getting shutdown in the big bowl games, much less a championship game. Mixing in a piece or two here and there is one thing but I much prefer Reid's offense as the base for what we do. Hopefully that is where Nagy is headed and Helfrich is ready to come in and learn how it's done. Do these two have some history together? How does Nagy go completetly outside the NFL for his OC? -------- These guys are really fast on updates... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Helfrich...rican_football)

I agree and the fact this rumor is out there (in many places) indicates Nagy agrees too. He has a successful defense no need start over from scratch on that side too.

Some interesting quotes from Brad Childress on Nagy's decision to coach the Bears. Indy never made him an offer but by the way Nagy spoke about his conversation with Ballard you get the sense he was in strong contention for their job too. http://www.espn.com/blog/indianapolis-colt...ears-than-colts It will be interesting to see how this works out for the two franchises over the next few years. Meanwhile Josh McDaniels is still on the clock and Indy is expanding their search to included Steve Wilks and just interviewed the HC from Baylor. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/c...ort/1022932001/ ....and I might have been wrong. Matt Patricia might be headed to the NY Giants but it still seems clear he's the top candidate the Lions want to hire. Of course he could be using the Giants to ratchet up the offer from the Lions.

This should ease your mind: https://twitter.com/PatrickMannelly/status/...src=twsrc%5Etfw

If you scroll around on that twitter feed you'll see PFF snapshot of JimmyG's grades. It looks like SF has their new Alex Smith on the roster. https://twitter.com/PFF Scroll further down and you'll see Adrian Amos as their All Pro Safety with a grade of 92. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DTBsCb7W0AMEdMI.jpg:large

This is interesting. At a minimum it will generate the usual comments about how PFF scores don't always match performance. Nonetheless there is Trubisky sitting right alongside Watson and Mahomes (in a very small sample size) not far above. https://twitter.com/PFF/status/950778207325...com%2Fnfl-draft Myles Garrett will be stud. QB is still the more valuable position. The geniuses in SF can't possibly be happy with Solomon Thomas. I still think he'll be a good player and as a fan of his in the draft expected better play from him. That's close to being a bust in the top 5. Reuben Foster makes up for it late in the 1st Rd. Jabril Peppers played poorly. Eh, not surprised. I still prefer Tarik Cohen in the 4th Rd over Christian McCaffrey #8 overall. I think that comparison will really be tested next year with Nagy calling plays. OJ Howard might be the biggest shock as he seemed to be one of the safest picks in the draft.

Trying to get the timeline down: Jet lands, shortly afterward Fangio meets with, or at least talks with, Nagy and Ryan Pace. Within hours of those conversations the Packers hired Pettine and then shortly afterward Gus Bradley agreed to a new contract with the Chargers. The timing of all this is supposed to be coincidental? I think not. According to ESPN the Packers fired Capers because he hasn't had a top 10 Defense in years so you have to think the idea of plucking Fangio, who has a top 10 D in Chicago with ZERO Pro Bowl players, was very appealing. All things being equal among the top DCs available if you take Fangio away from Chicago you at least force them to adapt to a new system which takes time but also affects personnel. ------------------------------------ http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/2201773...ive-coordinator McCarthy fired Capers after the Packers finished 7-9 and ranked 22nd in total defense. That's the fourth time it has finished in the bottom third of the NFL in the past seven years, including a dead-last ranking in 2011. Capers had not finished with a top-10 defense since the Packers' Super Bowl season of 2010, when it ranked fifth. The Packers have finished outside the top 15 in the defensive rankings six of the past seven years. ------------------------------------ Now we have a blitz happy DC in Green Bay. If our HC is what we think he is, and with Trubisky having already seen every blitz known to man, then we're going to take advantage of those blitzes. For Gus Bradley he had to know he was on the radar for Chicago's new coach and at a minimum would use that as leverage to get a better deal from the Chargers. Pettine was going to accept whatever was offered to him first. I have to believe Vic decided to stay here and the rest of this time was just working out contract details. He'll sign a new deal with Chicago today. John Fox's ego will take a big hit immediately afterward. I do like this. Of course I like Fangio and the work he's done but I feel it's akin to Pace bringing in Fox when he started. A young GM had an experienced head coach to help him turn things around. I still think that was a good decision given the other coaching candidates that were available at that time. Now with a foundation in place and experience in his role Pace gets his man for the future. For Nagy, he'll be able to learn a new role while allowing Fangio to take full ownership of the defense. It will be a tremendous help for him in his first year as HC and will allow him to devote his energy into fixing what is most in need of repair: The offense.

I wasn't looking at catches, I was looking at how he handled the tight coverage from a player who will lining up opposite him in the NFL. In the end zone throws can he win well enough to go up and get after the ball (even if it was a bad throw)? He also wasn't as fast as I hoped he'd be. He's still a very good WR prospect who should be on our radar but not worth a top 15 pick IMO.