AZ54

http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/is-miss...on-bears-radar/

Me too. Lawson playing with one arm was a beast on the edge in the championship game. He's not flashy as a rusher but you have to figure with another good arm he'll be even better.

NFL Network is reporting that Ragland has an enlarged aorta and will need medical monitoring every year but that it should not affect his career. This has caused some teams to move him down their draft board.

I hope that is all smoke screen with a goal of trading back. Every time I watch Rankins I see a guy who too often gets stopped cold on his pass rush. He also doesn't hustle as well as Jarran Reed on plays away from him. Maybe the coaches see something obvious with his technique that can really improve his effectiveness.

I'd like that draft. Definitely finding a way to get an extra 3rd pick gives us the chance to plug in a player at each need.

Brandon Allen is listed as a 5th Rd prospect but if he's our guy then I think it's better to take him late in the 4th. I'll have to keep an eye on Hall and see what round he ends up being chosen. 4th seems early to me for a guy that has bounced around defensive positions from LB, CB, to S. He's going to need at least a year of coaching to settle into a new role and will have to make the roster on special teams, which I think he can do Morgan is a better blocker but he's very pedestrian as a receiver. I figure our current TEs Lee, Housler can fill the blocking role equally as well and that getting insurance against Miller's next injury is the higher priority. I thought about grabbing another DT but I think the guys we have on the roster between Unrein, Ferguson, and Sutton would be good as depth. You might be right about Vitale but then again few teams use a FB and he's too slow to be a RB.

After months of intense studying of prospects and (sometimes intense) beer drinking I am ready to proclaim who I think we'll draft today. 1st Rd) CB Vernon Hargreaves III. We've stayed away from any signs we like him. I see signs of a 2nd DE/Edge rusher taken ahead of us and possibly someone like Conklin. If that happens someone has to fall and right now it appears to be Hargreaves. He's not my first choice because I don't see him as a shutdown CB but he is elite in his quickness and can cover anyone for the first 20 yards. He'll start at NB while he learns the NFL. 2nd Rd) DE Chris Jones. He's been rated as far back as the 3rd round and later as high as late 1st. I think he is still on the board and he becomes a starter next to Hicks and Goldman. Strong man who can hold up against double teams, or push the pocket one-on-one. He's got some holes in his game but is young, talented, and ready to learn. 3rd Rd) RB C.J. Prosise. Fox loves how Carey runs but obviously doesn't love the fact he isn't good as a receiver nor in pass protection. Throwing $5mil toward C.J. Anderson showed how serious this need is for Fox and Pace. If you can't get the first C.J. you might as well get the second one that comes along. He has all the tools you want in a RB but lacks experience. We have EZ's former coach who knows how to get the best out of a RB so pair him up with Langford. 4th Rd) TE Jerell Adams. Earlier I wasn't too enthused with what I saw from him but I found another game film to watch (against FSU) and he was much more mobile and active when running routes. Tyler Higbee has since punched himself right out of consideration. Adams has much to learn as an inline blocker but has the size to add more strength and improve over a couple seasons. He can run and catch well enough to threaten a defense down field. 4th Rd) QB Brandon Allen Offers a little bit of everything as a backup QB. His arm is good enough to make most throws and he's mobile enough to work outside the pocket. 5th Rd) ILB Nick Vigil Our depth here is still an issue and Vigil has much better instincts at the position than anyone we had playing here last year. 6th Rd) S Deiondre Hall He's from No. Iowa and you know him as the CB who is on the Carson Wentz TD pass over two DB's in the end zone that won the game on the last throw. Except Hall left his man underneath to help out on the deep route and almost got into the play enough to stop it. Developmental prospect but he has those quick instincts to react to the ball that you want in a safety. 6th Rd) OLB Travis Feeney He's 6'4" and runs between a 4.4 and 4.5 forty. 3 cone a little slow and he needs to add some bulk but he has the quickness and length to get around the edge. He does coverage on special teams so he can come in and compete with Acho for a job. 7th Rd) FB Vitale Superback nothing else needs to be said.

I actually think this might be who we end up with. I see DEs like Lawson and/or Floyd taken in the top 10. Jack falling like a rock lately as most teams agree he'll need another knee procedure to clean up things and down the road might need micro-fracture surgery.

Interesting that with the knee concerns keeping him lighter in weight and playing more in space as a safety may prolong his career. When he's at 225lbs he can cover the slot WR or move TE and is still capable of playing the run.

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.