AZ54

I do like Lawson more than I like Leonard Floyd. He fits the scheme better IMO and I can live with a strong rotation of McPhee, Lawson, Houston, and if he's still around Willie Young. I think if we took Lawson we'd be trading Young for a late round pick.

Horrible decision. There is nothing to his game that says he should be a safety. No long speed, no height to match up against TEs, not a good tackler. Keep him where he's at either NB or CB so he can use his elite quickness to cover players off the LOS.

I'm so disappointed.

Using a similar approach to what we did here CBS came out with the Bears biggest need as Dline. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-footba...of-all-32-teams

I have heard the two are rated very closely and that, as you say, Conklin could be the 2nd OT drafted. For a team that want's to run first it might not be out of the question. OTOH that is the type of RT we have and if you can't get both (good pass pro & run blocking) I like the idea that our left side is better at the pass protection. That makes it easier to slide protection toward Massie's side because he does have trouble with speed.

Or are we doing this just to poke at Elway. I'd rather not go with Hoyer but he's serviceable as a backup for a year especially if we build a very strong running game.

Rolle can be cut any day and we' pick up another $2.7mil.

I like Elliot but I don't see anything that is special about him. He's very good at everything. I totally disagree on the his cuts being as slow as Henry's. You can watch the combine for both and see how they handle the cuts. On some drills with sharp cuts Henry almost comes to a complete stop, Elliot does not. I think he's likely to have a better career than Forte because he's faster but should at least be equal to Forte's production barring injury. I'll live with Elliot at #11 if he's out pick but I just don't think the drop off is too far if we grab a RB in the 3rd Rd. Going beyond that, I think it's wrong to assume we'll just grab any RB in the 5th Rd or later and he'll be nearly as good. From a value perspective I think we should grab a player at another position with #11 and a RB in the 3rd Rd. I don't think 3rd Rd CBs can be as close to 1st Rd CBs. Same goes for OTs. DT might be simply because of the rare talent in this draft.

He'd be the type of signing that would generate a lot of fan interest so I could definitely see the 49ers jumping in.

..oops, reading is fundamental. Here's the 2015 draft visit list for the Bears: http://www.windycitygridiron.com/2015/4/17...t-visit-tracker

I'm not interested in him at that price. If I got to choose I'd gladly take Wilkerson and his high price tag over Norman. Norman is one of the better CBs but I've seen far too many analysts say he's not an elite CB. He wants elite money. Wilkerson is an elite 3-4 DE and with his pressure any average secondary coverage on either side, or in the slot, will be good enough.

http://www.windycitygridiron.com/2016/4/18...prospect-visits

Seems like we went through a similar debate a couple months back between Myles Jack vs. Ragland.

There are now 20 votes vs. the 19 when I ran the numbers. As I said that can swing things quite a bit especially between #2-5. If I can get back to my other computer I'll try to verify the spreadsheet I used but we have some friends in town and unfortunately I have to head to Las Vegas for a couple days. No clue how I missed putting TE in there.

I'd give up 2 chances to get a strike at the move TE position with Higbee and Boehringer. Where ever Moritz goes in his first practice he is going to be shocked at the speed of the NFL. The first time he really gets hit will be equally shocking.

Results are in: 19 people voted. Points were awarded: 10 points for each 1st place need vote; 5 points for each 2nd place vote, 3 points for each 3rd place vote. TalkBears Draft Needs are: 1) Edge Rusher with 78 points 2) Safety with 65 points 3) CB with 62 points 4) DT with 60 points 5) OT with 56 points 6) QB with just 6 points 7) RB with just 5 points No votes were placed for: ILB, OG, or WR You usually learn something when you put the data together and this time is no different. 1) Clearly finding someone to get pressure off the edge is the top priority here on this board. I'm a bit surprised by that since I felt we were effective enough with McPhee (when healthy), Houston (when healthy late in the season), and Young but I admit we are missing a speed element in this mix. 2) The tight distribution in points from Safety through OT points to a couple things. First, this is a rebuilding effort that has a ways to go. Second, the varied priorities among everyone here on what should be fixed first. If one more person voted that order from 2-5 could be completely reversed. I'd say the second point is why we should stay with BPA. Too many needs to bypass a better player. We're just not going to be able to address all these needs effectively in one draft. I say effectively because you can draft players at need positions in the 5th, 6th, and 7th Rd but it's wishful thinking to expect them to contribute in year one, if ever. Not to say it can't happen because Amos proved that last year but expecting it to happen is different. Or put another way, relying on those late draft picks to contribute doesn't usually end well. Next is how we match up with our front office and coaching staff. Clearly none of us view RB as a need but I think all of us expect the Bears to draft a RB prior to the 6th Rd. Same goes with QB.

I think Gregory is different. Gregory had reports of being hours late for meetings with teams before the draft and then not giving a damn about it...as in no apology. He was/is very arrogant and selfish and lived his life that way. I haven't seen signs of Nkemdiche being that way but when he talks he is clearly his own man and not worried much about impact on other people but I don't think he is disrespectful in the way that Gregory is. That can be good or bad depending on what Nkemdiche chooses to do in his life. I'd say there are some similarities to Martellus Bennett but Bennett might be the more selfish player (i.e. throw me the ball in the red zone).

With all the discussion lately around BPA vs. needs I'm curious to see what everyone views our top needs are heading into the draft. I tried to include all positions so this can be as objective as possible. In other words ILB is still listed even though we just spent $10mil to fix it. Even though I listed top 3 needs, if we get enough people to vote then from a statistics view point we should we will be able to identify and rank our top 5 needs. To do that I'll give every 1st place vote 10 points, every 2nd place vote 5 points, and every 3rd place 3 points.

It's just our preferences. I value the player with the 4.3 forty that is more versatile and you value more the player with the power for short yardage situations.

Insanity is me. I watched some more film I'll say 3rd Rd is ok for me. Despite the highlights you shared I don't see a guy with the ability to make the quick lateral cuts to the backside of the play. He'll have a good career and he'll have plenty of NFL highlights. I also think NFL defenses are going to shoot into the front side of the play and make him stop to cutback. That's going to lead to many short gains or no-gain plays. I don't want him with our 2nd Rd pick, or a late 1st Rd pick if we should trade back. I do care if a RB has versatility and can return kicks, punts, and especially if they are able to work outside as as slot WR like Forte did for us for many years. I think that makes it harder for defenses to figure out a play based on personnel. If it's between Henry and Drake in the 3rd Rd I'd still take Drake. If I had Dallas' Oline then Henry is a perfect fit. We have Grasu at C who gets pushed around, or an aging Ramirez in his place, and Leno at LT who is not that good as a run blocker. Our slot WR depth right now consists of Eddie "Sugar Glass" Royal backed up by Marc "I might get separation on this play" Mariani.

That's what I'm hoping for as well. Keep in mind Buffalo has wined and dined Paxton Lynch throughout this draft process. They are definitely interested. On the Jets side Todd Bowles was in Arizona when the Cardinals went after Carson Palmer. That was an easy deal to make (more or less a 6th Rd pick) but the point is he saw how important it was for Arians to get a good QB and they went after it and it paid off. It's clear Bowles doesn't like Geno and they really want Fitzpatrick back but they know he's just a stop gap. Limited in cap space and with few other options I can see Bowles thinking he'll figure out the defense without Wilkerson and using him as trade bait to move up and draft Lynch. The 49ers have $50mil in cap space and this past week Wilkerson came out and said he'd like to play in San Francisco. There may be something to that smoke. If Lynch is still there when we pick it's possible both the Jets and Bills are calling to make a trade.

It's not the free spirit aspect that bothers me, it's more the guy who admits he just takes plays off too often. I don't think that free spirit is the guy who loves football. If he played the game with the passion Bosa does then he'd be a top 5 pick.

I understand your point and we might be closer aligned than you realize. If ratings are close fill the need. Freeman and Trevathan won't stop me from taking Myles Jack if he's there at #11. We have little need but neither are blue chip players and Jack is a blue chip prospect. Likewise Freeman and Trevathan wouldn't stop me from taking Ragland in the 2nd Rd.... IF ....I had a mid-1st Rd grade on him. If I have a 2nd Rd grade on Ragland then the answer is no. I think everyone understands that the job is to build a football team not group of the best WRs (eh Matt Millen?) The reality of every draft is that the highly scored players go early. Blue chip prospects are basically found among the top 10. If one falls to 11 you take him UNLESS you already have a blue chip talent at that position. Draft grades gradually go down each round and I'd say by the 3rd Rd there is a leveling off and you aren't seeing much difference. A player taken with the 10th pick in the 3rd Rd might have the same grade as the player taken 15 picks later. When I think of BPA I believe it applies to the early part of the draft where a highly rated talent could fall to you in the 1st and sometimes 2nd Rd. By the time you get into the 3rd/4th/5th Rds grades are fairly balanced and you tend to draft more the needs. I still think you shouldn't go full on needs based and grab a 4th round graded talent in the 3rd round just to plug a hole. Later in the draft again you start to see BPA again because here your grades are based more on potential vs. past performance (or injury). If I get to the 4th Rd and there is an OG sitting there with a late 2nd early 3rd Rd grade I'm not letting the fact we just signed Ted Larsen and Ramirez, and have Slauson at LG, stop me from taking him. If there's a safety out there with a similar grading scenario then I'm going with the safety (need) over the OG. I still say once a roster is deeper with talent (i.e. competing deep in the playoffs) than we are today then in the 4th Rd I might forego that highly rated OG that dropped in order to take a safety with a 4th Rd grade. Now I'd want more depth across the board to increase my chances of winning the Superbowl. The reason I said might is because I'd have to consider a) my cap space and what kind of FA are available at the safety position vs. the talent of the 4th Rd safety. Right now our roster has no depth and we have cap room. We should take BPA to build the talent level and backfill needs via FA. Many of the vet FAs we signed will be gone in 1-2yrs maybe including Porter and Freeman.

Watching some other RBs tonight... Day 2 options: I'm already on board with Kenyan Drake. Not on board with Derek Henry. I don't like Devontae Booker that much. He's effective but I don't see the quickness in his cuts. Later rounds I'm ok but I often see him selected in the 2nd Rd. I like Prosise. Like Langford he was converted from playing other positions in college so he doesn't have a lot of RB experience. That means he has some things to work on but I like the tool box: power, speed, quickness and vision. I like Kenneth Dixon. CBS has him as a 2nd Rd prospect but I don't quite see that as he doesn't have any standout attributes. He is a very good all-around player. Good hands as a receiver, quickness and vision to make the lateral cuts and find the opening. Enough size to run with some power. He won't run away from anyone in the NFL. Day 3 options: Said many times I like Tyler Ervin's versatility as a slot WR/KR/PR but as a RB he's a 5-10 carry guy. If we're are looking for 15 carries/gm player to split time with Langford we'll have to go elsewhere. Likewise if pass protection is paramount, and after pursuing CJ Anderson I suspect it is. Paul Perkins... he's ok but for a smaller back I don't see any special traits. I'll pass. Jonathan Williams... I like him. He would have probably had a Day 2 grade (still does in places) but after missing all of 2015 with a bad foot injury and just now getting back into form I think he'll drop to day 3. If he's elite in one area it's balance. This is the guy who just makes people miss tackles, over and over. Good enough strength to run through the arm tackles and can run with some power. I don't see enough long speed for the NFL game but he's fast enough. In two games I didn't see many receptions but he had a few. He did run routes at his Pro Day. Jordan Howard... If you enjoyed watching Chris Ivory play smash-mouth football for half a season this is your RB. Oddly, as physical as he is while running he puts a skirt on when pass protecting. I'll pass. Darius Jackson... I like this kid. He's from Eastern Mich so level of competition is a concern but he has all the tools you want. 4.40 forty at 220lbs and the shiftiness to make tacklers miss in the hole and open field. I'm sure he'll need time to adapt to the NFL but watch him against LSU's defense and it's clear he's belongs on the field against those players.