AZ54

Looks like Turay turned some heads at the Senior Bowl practices: https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/news/se...allen-and-more/ Where'd that come from? Rutgers outside linebacker Kemoko Turay had an up-and-down collegiate career plagued by injuries. His best statistical output came as a freshman in 2014 when he tallied 8.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks. His film was generally underwhelming, with a rare flash of pass-rushing brilliance. At the Senior Bowl, his explosion and bend around the edge was nearly unbelievable at times, particularly for someone a shade north of 6-foot-4 and 252 pounds. And that outstanding display of athleticism didn't happen once or twice. He was dominant often in practice and created pressure in the game. For perspective on Turay's physical profile, he has close to the same height and weight measurements as underrated 49ers defensive end Aaron Lynch.

The good news is that both Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield looked good at the Senior Bowl. Allen seems to have played himself into a top 10 pick but there is a good chance both end up in the top 10.

I'm not sure where to fit this guy in on a draft board but he's starting to take the same path Haason Reddick did last year with a big rise up draft boards once the process started. Reddick was just 6'1" tall whereas Edmunds is listed at 6'5". That could put Edmunds in play for us at OLB. Like Leonard Floyd he was most often lined up as a LB off the line so in two games and some highlights I didn't see much film of him coming off the edge. When he does he shows some of the skills you want to see. I think he'll need to be stronger in his upper body to play there full time. Watching him play I think he could easily slot into the ILB role for us. If Fangio thinks he can grow into the OLB role, as Floyd is doing, Edmunds will definitely give him options. He can have him at OLB when we're in a 5-man front and then move him back to ILB with Trevathan when we go to a 4-man front, keeping Floyd at DE. Trevathan and Edmunds at ILB, especially in coverage would be a very good combination on 3rd and long but you could also walk Edmunds up to line and blitz. When Fangio rushes 3 and drops 8 in coverage, as he likes to do on 3rd and very long, he'll have Floyd, Trevathan, and Edmunds as the first line of coverage. If you consider defending a hurry up offense like the Packers where we are basically in nickel the entire game there's much more flexibility to scheme. While he's learning the OLB role Edmunds could also take much of the 5-man front coverage responsibility leaving Floyd more often to rush the passer. Basically he'd follow the development path Floyd took in his rookie year. I'm not yet comfortable with him being the 8th pick in the draft but at least one analyst is. Daniel Jeremiah has him as the #3 overall prospect, ahead of Chubb. Typically he's listed in the top 15-20 overall. Some sites don't even have him in the first round but that will change soon. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000090...-2018-nfl-draft http://draftbreakdown.com/2017/10/16/trema...s-clemson-2017/

Yes we are much different in evaluation. For me character is a trump card and can easily remove a player from my board and I don't care how well he can play. I don't have a disagreement about film being a better evaluation than running in shorts. I just disagree that Lazard looked fast on film. It's what you saw when you watched him play so that's ok. I won't change my opinion that how well he runs largely determines what round he gets drafted in because I think it's the only real question mark there is regarding his ability as a WR. I might never be able to prove that but for now he's more or less listed as the 25th best WR. We'll see how that goes. If he runs poorly and goes undrafted or late Day 3 then I think it's fair to say a 1000yd receiver from the Big 12 was affected by his poor forty/shuttle/3-cone times. Scouts have already seen a lot of what they wanted to know at the Senior Bowl practices. Between now and the combine we'll see if he rises a bit on some of boards out there. I hope he does.

That's where I'm at with Lazard. He's got all the receiving skills (just talking ability to catch the ball) you want. I still think the round he gets drafted in depends greatly on how well he runs, not just the forty, but also other drills like the 3-cone and shuttle. If he runs well, I think he'll move up the boards quite a bit. Scouts have already seen what they need at the Senior Bowl practices in terms of his ability to get separation but I don't have that luxury. At a minimum I think he'll be a good red zone threat. I'd say his ceiling is probably as a #2 WR but he may just end up as 3 or 4 WR similar to how Inman is. I'd take Lazard over Inman because he can win the contested throws, jump balls, make the occasional one-handed catch, etc. Inman loses concentration when he's contacted. Aside from the red zone that's valuable on 3rd downs. There is nothing wrong with having a big reliable target who can help you move the chains. 100% agree on Lanning. At his worst I think he'll become a core special teams player/captain. He has the kind of character that teams would love to have leading their special teams. If you want to replace a guy like Timu with a player who has a bit more range but still has good instincts around the LOS then I think Lanning can do that. With just a year at the position he's still a work in progress but when he read it right he showed up to make big stops. With a couple years experience he might develop into a player like Kwiatkoski. I look forward to seeing where he ends up and how he does. He might be a practice squad player to start out.

This must be the Mike Hass fan club. Let's review what you just implied: On game film Jerry Rice ran away from people. That's not really hard to see that when you watch a game or even highlights if they show a wide enough angle. If y'all were reading what I wrote, as in the entire post before you latched onto part of a single sentence, then you clearly remember the part where I said: I don't remember seeing him run away from people...ever. I watched him for whatever few games I could find on TV over the years but I've seen him play every season at least once or twice, and several times this year. This year I especially focused on him because I knew he was headed to the draft and guess what: We need WRs. I never saw him pull away from DBs. I don't think it's crazy to look for some evidence elsewhere regarding his speed. He has a week at the Senior Bowl to do just that. Afterwards he'll have a chance at the Combine or wherever to show it on a track. You can hang your hat on the Jerry Rice's 4.71 from 1985 all you want but the list of successful 4.71 WRs in the NFL is a short one, especially in this modern era. Besides that, for a WR quickness is a far better indication of ability to separate than speed. In the meantime Lazard already has several NFL teams asking him if he'd convert to TE. That must be because he's really fast. Why do they run a scouting combine or measure anyone's athletic abilities? Because teams want to know if what they saw on film matches the measured data. Tarik Cohen running all over the place for NC A&T against FCS competition doesn't exactly give you a warm fuzzy feeling that he can do the same in the NFL. Be honest: Were you really willing to draft a 5'6" 180lb RB based solely on his game film from that school? Did you like him better after he ran a 4.42 forty? Would you have still drafted him if he ran a 4.6 forty? Or would you have waited until he was UDFA to try to bring him in? Would have even given him a UDFA contract if he ran a 4.71 forty? Every year you will hear pundits say they weren't expecting some players to excel or perform poorly at the combine and they were going back to watch the film to see how it matches up. For the record I loved Mike Hass in college and fully supported the Bears giving him a shot. Devin Hester only ran a 4.46 but on film he pulled away from a lot of players.

Read the entire post before you comment. Plus your statement is non-sensical. How many WR who run 4.8 forty have a career in the NFL even if they have great hands and run good routes? Surely you noticed that several teams have already asked Lazard if he'd be interested in playing TE. Why do you suppose that is? The combine, or any athletic performance testing, is relevant when it is matched with the game tape. I've watched plenty of Iowa State games to know Lazard has all the tools to be an NFL WR except one I'm not sure of: I've never seen him run away from anyone. IMO its reasonable to wait to see how fast he is before I say he's a prospect we should consider, much less what round he'd be worth investing a pick in him.

Given how poorly Jared Goff played in his first outing I'd say one good week in the NFL from Mahomes would be enough to move him to #4 overall. We also get to include the season of evaluation of what was then the elite 2018 QB class. Plenty of questions surround Darnold now and Josh Allen looks more like a project than an elite QB. Moving Watson to #1 overall is a bit trickier in part because so many of the good things he did were based on his running game, yet he still threw 8 INTs in 7 games. That's not horrible by any measure for a rookie but you have to ask yourself which way does he go now if he is to become more of a pocket passer? I think for Cleveland he was still the perfect QB in 2017 because of his leadership and experience. There's no doubt for me that each of Trubisky, Watson, and Mahomes look very good compared to the QBs in this draft. Would you take Mahomes' arm strength over Mayfield's? Both were similar on the college field running their respective spread offenses. We need 3 years to evaluate each more completely but it's ok to look back at the end of their first and second seasons and compare.

An alumnus from way back in the last century. Lazard is intriguing as a prospect. I'm not sure how fast he'll run and IMO that will largely determine what day he is drafted. He's definitely not a burner but if he can run close to 4.6 he might end up as high as Rd 3. If he runs a 4.7 he's probably a UDFA. I figure he'll be around on Day 3 if we want him. He can go up and win the ball in traffic, very good hands and makes tough catches all the time. Don't let the drops in the first Senior Bowl practice fool you, he'll get used to the QBs. He definitely has the size and strength to get off the line against press coverage just need to see what he can do afterward against the best CBs. I'm curious to hear how he does throughout the week. The Cyclone receiver I really like is his understudy who is not in the draft this year but probably will be next year: Hakeem Butler. He's made some excellent catches in traffic (ala the highlight below) and has the speed to go the distance on any play. He's quicker in/out of his cuts than Lazard. http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=21460496

No change on where Trubisky ends up... http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/2218263...-2017-nfl-draft

True but I think as long as we keep the Dline solid the ILB can be less of a focus or need in this scheme. I saw someone say we should draft Vita Vea and move Goldman out to DE. I don't think he's worth #8 overall but in trade down scenario I have to admit that Dline would be unblockable. Like Goldman, Vita Vea has a lot of mobility for a big man, so they could rush the passer as well. Nobody is running inside against Hicks/Vea/Goldman.

At this point I'm still staying with Connor Williams our first pick. Marcus Davenport is second on my list but I need to see how he performs in drills leading up to the draft. I've given up on Chubbs being there and we are not trading up, nor do I think he's worth trading up for. After watching Foles tear up the Vikings because he had time all day long to make throws on deep routes and double moves I want to see Trubisky have that opportunity. Put Williams at RT with Leno at LT... for now.

Adding Kemoko Turay to my little watch list. He fits OLB mold for us and is likely a late Rd draft pick but right now his draft stock is so low he could end up UDFA. He has a lot of athleticism but is stout enough to set the edge. He battled some injuries (torn labrum) in college and for those who want lots of sacks he was used a lot in coverage so the numbers weren't there, and he's still raw as a pass rusher. He's headed to the Senior Bowl and Combine so we'll know more soon. http://draftbreakdown.com/2017/12/10/kemok...gan-state-2017/

Looking at a WR on day 3 I'm keeping this guy on my list. Daurice Fountain. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2755116...ggest-takeaways I watched some highlights and I'm not so sure he has the speed to run away from NFL DBs, as Matt Miller says, but he appears to have good quickness in his cuts, can track the deep ball well, and catches with his hands. He was a team captain so it appears he has good character and leadership. His coach puts him on par with players like David Johnson in terms of his work ethic. We'll see how well he times in the 40. "Northern Iowa wide receiver Darius Fountain was the star of the East practice on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, Fountain added another impressive session. He has scouts buzzing across the league. His name is being passed along to scouts, directors, and general managers who aren't in St. Petersburg to check out his tape. Teams split their college scouting staffs between the East-West Shrine and the NFLPA all-star game. Fountain was very good in one-on-ones, showing the quickness, body control, and route-running to get separation from the cornerbacks. He had one drop in the team scrimmage, but sources were also raving about a few catches he made, including a leaping touchdown on a fade route on which he high-pointed the ball perfectly before getting both feet down near the sideline. He made a beautiful over-the-shoulder catch streaking down the sideline to tracking down a deep ball for a score. Fountain has had an excellent week and has definitely push his draft stock up. " Read more: http://www.walterfootball.com/eastwest2018...p#ixzz54subtsbz

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.