AZ54

Ranked 37 overall... http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000063...-2016-nfl-draft I think the upside with him is pretty good but we'd likely need to let the veterans handle more reps early in the season much like we tried to do with Goldman. Even when his technique is poor he's still so strong he can hold his ground.

I wouldn't be happy at all if they took a projected 2nd Rd pick at #11 overall. Better to grab a guy like Ragland who is at least mid-late first. There are a bunch of players rated higher that would make better choices. Just give me Jaran Reed at #11 and I'd feel much better.

I agree with that assessment and when watching film of those games he doesn't jump out at all, not even physically as in elite speed/quickness among the players. Caveat emptor!

Myles Jack is likely to have a 100% healthy knee, or nearly so. He might not be in full conditioning shape but that's a different subject not much different from White's injury late in the season where it was healed but he still didn't have full strength in his leg. If the MRI shows the meniscus tear has fully healed then there should be little worry. Jaylon Smith is a completely different story and who knows, maybe he drops to the 2nd Rd.

I'm ok with that as I proposed just that a week ago. I like Snacks better but Williams might come a bit cheaper and there is that Fangio connection. While we're at it, I just watched some film of Chris Jones and I'd like to add his name to the mix for 2nd RD DTs. This kid is young but he's strong at the point of attack, often holding up against double teams. At times he'll just rag-doll the blocker and make the tackle, which you can see against LSU where he makes a couple plays like that stopping Fournette at the LOS. He's got some pass rush to him as well. I see him looking fatigued on some plays but then again, holding up against a lot of double teams can do that. Put him out there with a nose like Ian Williams and Goldman on the other side and we'll be tough to run on. I think with a bit of seasoning he'll help make that Dline very good. http://draftbreakdown.com/video/chris-jones-vs-lsu-2015/

If the QB remaining is Wentz take him. I'll stick with BPA and on my board he's the next up but that's only because you said we had to pick here. However, with two QBs remaining they will be trade bait for New Orleans, Philly, Rams, Buffalo, and especially Houston. Someone will bite. With our top 4 targets off the board by #11, I don't see much drop off in talent between 11 and 22. With so many needs I'd go all the way back to Houston's 22nd pick if they gave us good value in return.

I think either of those players fits what Pace will target in FA.

First, great job putting that list together Adam. I think this fits exactly what Pace wants to do with FA money on a rebuilding team. No need to throw big $ at a high priced vet hoping for one more elite season like we did with Jared Allen years ago. On the Dline...I'm in the minority but the 4.5 sacks and excellent mobility we saw at times from young Mr. Goldman makes me think he'll be just fine, if not dominant, at DE in a 3-man front. I would love to have Wilkerson but he's going to break the bank and he's not going to be available. Nor do I think Pace wants that high dollar commitment in a FA. So looking at the realistic options in preferential order I like: Damon "Snacks" Harrison to anchor the nose, Jaye Howard to play DE (think he'll be a cheaper and just as productive as Jackson), Ian Williams NT, Malik Jackson. Jackson was the early favorite but when a player enters FA after winning the Superbowl that's a dream scenario like hitting the jackpot twice in one year, and I don't want to overpay for his services. I might be wrong on potential contracts but the $2mil/yr difference for Jackson over someone lesser known like Snacks, Jaye Howard, or Ian Williams gives us another good player. We need good players all over the field on defense. $6mil/yr If we go biggie size on Dline in FA then we're going after a pass rusher at DE in the draft. LB: One option here and one massive need so we overpay the man: Trevathan Find someone in the first two rounds to pair up with him. $8mil? CB: This is where it gets tough. CBs command big money in FA but after some quick research I think we'll grab the lesser known but dependable mid-level player in Trumaine Johnson. I think Fangio values consistency over the splashy INT fails that lead to big plays (think Janoris Jenkins gamble on INT and miss). It's not that Fangio doesn't want INT's but he hates giving up TDs as seen by his 8 man drop back to the goal line calls in the red zone. Also evidence for this is that he doesn't like to, or prefer to blitz. Let's bring back Porter to compete as well. With Fuller in the mix we also add a solid mid-Rd player in the draft to develop. Then we'd have some competition to start on the outside. I liked Callahan at NB last year and I think he'll be our starter this year. $6-7mil? S: I've been conservative with the money but I might risk it all on Eric Berry to lead the DBs on this defense. He isn't on the list so sticking to the theme here Iloka makes sense. $5mil/yr? OG: Osemele. I've said enough on this subject. $6mil/yr? WR: Draft a returner/slot guy TE: Draft mid-Rd player. I have no clue on contract values and I used Overthecap existing deal annual salaries by position for estimates, but feel free to educate me. I'm guessing these signings (excluding Berry of course) would take about $32mil/yr. That leaves money for Alshon and Long to get contract extensions. Push some of the guaranteed money on some deals into 2017 to spread it out. Pace may need around $8-10mil to fill out the bottom end of the roster with 1yr-deal players and cutting players like Rolle and Bennett (release him after or trade during the draft once we have his replacement) frees up a big chunk of that. Add in budget for the rookie pool and we're ready to draft.

Per NFL.com Long is 6' 3" and 268lbs. McPhee is 280lbs at OLB but also floats inside at times. Long likely has the frame to add some bulk but going from 4-3 DE to a fulltime 3-4 DE at the age of 30 is not necessarily successful. If we didn't already have a Dline jack-of-all-trades type in McPhee I'd be more open to signing him. OTOH it would also depend on what type of money he's asking for. I think he'll be getting well north of $5mil/yr and that's too rich for me on a guy who will change positions to something he's never done. Or has he already played a lot at DT?

If we're in a 4-3 alignment 60% of the time why wouldn't we want at least one player in the Dline rotation who has 3-tech pass rushing skills? I would like to think Sutton could provide that but I don't think that will materialize. Unless I missed him getting cut the Bears kept Cornelius Washington around on IR likely to see if he can fill that role next season.

I don't see the point in replacing one sometimes malcontent player in Bennett with another in Cook. I doubt Pace/Fox go that direction.

Mar 9th is the start of the signing period but teams can talk with players starting Mar 7th. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000063...-dates-for-2016 I'm not that interested in Chris Long. I don't know his injury history the last two seasons nor do I see a clear fit in what we need at OLB or DE. Laurinitis might be worth a look.

That's interesting. Ware played well enough last year that he might force their hand and make them cut him because he will find a nice new contract with significant bonus money on another team.

First, I think it's impossible for Denver to keep that defense entirely together but they'll keep the core players. Malik Jackson is not a core player and they can find a replacement early in the draft. Bruton is a backup player but he's really good on special teams, something we need. If he's willing to come in and anchor our special teams and compete for a starting job I think that's a good fit. Your point is valid about the dominant pass rush being the biggest factor on that D. I'm not that enamored with Malik Jackson for the same reason: The edge rushers put so much pressure on the Oline, even with stunts, that it's going to make him free from time to time. Even with that he didn't dominate. Then you add in that Wolfe on the other side was the better player and that means Jackson was almost always 1on1. I think he's a good player but not one worth over-paying for, especially with the talent available in this draft.

Broncos should have their hands tied a bit in the FA process because they'll be sorting out how much to pay, Von Miller, then Osweiller, and then Brandon Marshall. They have $8mil in cap space right now. I assume rookie pool will be at least $5mil if not higher this year so that leaves $3mil. If, more likely when, Manning retires that frees up $19mil. So there's $22mil available and next season they have $86mil in space so they can move some bonuses into 2017. Without Manning in order to repeat in the Superbowl priority #1 has to be to keep the defense intact as much as possible. Good luck attempting to keep Von Miller from getting close to $20mil/yr after he fueled their run through the playoffs. Osweiller is going to get at least $10mil/yr and if he's any good at negotiating should have closer to $15mil. What else are the Broncos going to do coming off a Superbowl season? Looking at LB contracts I'd think Brandon Marshall will command $8-9mil/yr. They can play with the numbers and move bonuses into 2017 as much as possible but I can't see how they don't consume all of their cap space with those three contracts.

I keep coming back to Smith as our pick at #11. Right now he's going to stay a late 1st Rd pick but as the draft gets closer and he gets healthier he'll move back up.

Perry is still fast, he just doesn't offer enough shiftiness to find his way through traffic. Your point is valid in that Ervin might appear to be fast due to level of competition. Watch him rush for 160yds against an SEC opponent Auburn in 2015. He still is fast. He might not have the absolute best long speed but his acceleration and shiftiness on cuts is outstanding.

Also worth keeping in mind: If he's cut, Martellus Bennett only has a cap dead money of $1.1mil, and generates cap savings of $5.2mil in cap space. I personally would like to keep Bennett around but it's possible the club doesn't want to deal with his headaches long term and they could look to sign someone like the Colts' Coby Fleener who grew up outside Chicago. I don't know what Fleener's market value is although one Indy source puts it around $4/yr. Presumably Bennett wants $7-8mil/yr, or more, in his next deal. Is it better to give $8mil/yr to Bennett on his 3rd deal or something like $4mil/yr to a younger Fleener on his 2nd deal? We could also target the Colts other TE Dwayne Allen who is the better blocker and will likely come cheaper, and pair him with Zach Miller?

He built his career from being a 4th round draft pick to a Pro Bowl player and I respect how he handled himself as a professional. While he didn't hit the Pro Bowl level while he was here he played well for us and was a class act during his time here. No surprise seeing the Bears move in another direction. Overthecap has us sitting at $60mil in space. Next on the list might be Antrel Rolle after we see who we can sign at S in FA. http://overthecap.com/salary-cap-space

Scanning names in FA and noticed Ian Williams FA NT from the 49ers. 65 tackles last season puts him ahead of Wilkerson. He's not a pass rusher but that kind of productivity inside would have made him him our best Dlinemen last year. For comparison Malik Jackson had 45 total tackles. Williams started his career with the 49ers as UDFA and worked his way up. Certainly Fangio would have some experience working with him. We might be seeing one of Williams or Damon Harrison from the Jets (he had 72 combined tackles last year). Goldman moved out to DE could be quite effective with interior pressure. We'd still need some interior pass rush help but we could prioritize that more in a DT we draft.

Sometimes I think your emotions get you typing before you finish reading: I said: "He might not be starter quality at OT but on game days he could be the backup OT." Or would you not even consider him as an emergency backup at RT if there is an injury to Long in a game? The game day active roster is fairly limited so you need some Olinemen who can fill in at a couple spots, even if for half a game. Further, they moved him over to LG but, much like how we moved Long outside, it might have been a case of having better depth at RT and moving him inside gave them the best 5 Oline combination. I simply don't follow the Ravens close enough to know what motivated the move. It is fair to say he's probably more comfortable on the left side because that's where he's most of his career. In any case we'll just agree to disagree because I think a full season at RT indicates Osemele could handle the switch to RG. I like the idea of having him and Long side by side and that Langford would find plenty of daylight running behind those two.

I had watched some highlights of this kid a week ago. Best thing I can say is that he's a football player and he's not afraid of contact. Jacquizz Rodgers was that way in college despite the slight stature. He fits the bill perfectly since he can return punts, and therefore kicks as well. Toss him out there for 10-15 snaps a game to mix it up and we're good.

Now that we've all thanked Forte for his many contributions to the Bears for the last 8 years it's time to figure out who we are adding to the roster at RB. There is no way a RB focused coach like Fox is heading into the season with Langford and Carey as certain #1/2 on the roster, and with no clear 3rd option. I don't think there is much love for S. Perry among the coaches. I've seen no signs they are very interested in re-signing Jacquizz Rodgers, although he might be offered another 1 yr deal later in FA. While they will be looking for Langford to assume that #1 role I can't see Pace or Fox just handing it to him. There will be some competition for the job and I don't put Carey in the mix for #1 role with his lack of speed. Carey competing for the #2/3 spot fits better. That means we're signing a FA RB or we're drafting one again. I would think the club prefers to bring in a vet FA to mix in with the younger guys but since they completely walked away from Forte before Free Agency began that seems unlikely. Unless we target a guy like Bronco FA Ronnie Hillman that means we're using a draft pick to bring in a RB. Hillman didn't exactly wow anyone this past season and reportedly he's got no special teams value. That special teams ability might be the key to who we go after. If Langford is your #1 RB and Carey can't do much on special teams then we might be going after a RB who can also be a KR/PR. Yes, this will blow up the "everyone agrees" mock but after thinking this over the last week I don't see Pace and Fox heading into the season without another solid option at RB.

Not sure where you got your info from but Osemele has played a full season at RT and I don't think he did too badly. http://www.baltimoreravens.com/team/roster...eb-f8227de0cb25 2012: (16/16, 4/4) Started all 16 games at RT as a rookie and helped the Ravens score the second-most points (398) in franchise history (409 in 2014) and gain the third-most total yards (5,640) in team history, including a then-career-high 3,817 passing yards by QB Joe Flacco and 1,143 yards and 9 TDs rushing by RB Ray Rice That versatility is one of the reasons I'd really like to sign him. Not only has he played RT but I would think that experience would aid him in transitioning to RG. He might not be starter quality at OT but on game days he could be the backup OT. At Iowa State he played LT and LG.

I like Kearse a lot more than Killebrew. Kearse has some nastiness to his game.