AZ54

As long as the QB pans out nothing else will matter but overall this was a good offseason for our roster. We're finally getting to some depth in places that nobody talked about all offseason (i.e. LB, CB except for Jaylon's contract). Two years into the rebuild with 3 offseasons behind us, the first of which was the tear down phase, this is a good effort by Poles. This year's draft didn't have a ton of depth so he used some of the late picks 4th/5th on adding good depth that can contribute this year. We have good draft capital next year which will have a much deeper talent pool. Plus we're in good shape with cap space. For 2025 the only key contributors I see on OTC that we'll have to make a contract decision on are Teven Jenkins and Keenan Allen. We only have 33 players under contract but $76mil in cap space. Poles will be in the driver seat. Add in that he said in the press conference that it's getting easier to sign FAs as the team improves. If the team plays well this year some of those vet FAs that are looking for a winning team might come our way for less money.

Absolute specialist at putting punts inside the 20. It really sucks the wind out of our sails drafting a punter right after we supposedly drafted a generational QB and WR to score points.

My WTF moment arrives in Poles 3rd draft. Now I have to go figure out what this kid has to offer but NFL Network (Rich Eisen) spoke glowingly about him.

The only thing helping Velus are the new kickoff rules.

Let’s hope the Tom Brady type traits start to show up in year one.

Jason ... so far you've got the hat trick and we are 3 for 3 on offense.

Based on what I've seen on Youtube we grabbed him right where he was rated. TheDraftNetwork.com ranked him 64 overall so that a steal at 75. He's never had anything in coaching, nutrition, workouts, etc like what he is about to experience his first season. We'll have to wait for it if you take a long term view of roster building this isn't a bad pick.

Yikes. I wanted someone that could contribute more this year and I don't see anything from him other than swing OT in 2024. The fact we had him in for a visit means we've done enough of a workout to have a good idea. He has a lot of good traits and there is potential to develop into a legit long term starter at LT. ...and he grew up in the Chicago area? edit: After watching several videos it appears he has legit long term LT starter potential.

I truly believe Williams has matured over the last six months. I also believe he wasn’t sold on Chicago. He stated clearly that he had a really good 30 visit and since then, even in the media, he has been more upbeat about playing there. I can’t blame him for thinking about the possibility of playing in his home town, and even wanting that to happen. Poles, Flus, the staff, and his new teammates did a solid job recruiting him. That showed thru loud and clear when he hit the stage. I think they gave him some perspective too on how to handle himself. Jaylon was clear about leaving all the Hollywood stuff behind.

This is a potentially starting caliber player so I think they look to fill the bigger needs first which is IOL or DE. S or TE could be in the 4th or not at all.

Odunze has legit long speed. The route running. But compared to those two he’s really ahead in terms of being a redzone target. I think he’s better at catching jump balls than MHJ.

Saw that. Poles must have had him rated as a top 5 pick. He’s also very high on his character. I don’t get the sense he’s going to be a primadonna WR.

Drinking Pace Whiskey?

I don’t want to give up that much. If IOL is the best depth position in the draft, and if Poles is the GM we think he is, then he should be able to find the right value in RD3 or make a smaller move up to RD2.

I'm kinda disappointed we didn't trade back and grab at least another top 100 pick but I like Odunze a lot. Having DJ Moore and Keenan Allen as mentors his rookie season is awesome. It's the complementary type of receivers we have now that is really nice to see. Then with Kmet and Everett at TE, Wililams is going to have a lot of options and not many excuses. As long as Williams is decent, and that should be the floor for him, we have a competitive roster. We still have some significant depth issues at DE, 3-tech, Safety, OT, WR (gotta like the top 3), maybe IOL depending how you view them, and just two TEs listed on the roster. Plus Poles can wait to see what cuts happen post camp and fill a couple spots, or make a trade for someone decent before they get cut. We've got three 6th Rd picks next year we won't need them.

Austin Booker DE if he's still on the board.

I felt the trade back here was good but if they have Odunze rated that highly I’m good with it. Makes Keenan a one year rental unless he wants to stick around on a team friendly deal. I could see him go right back to LA for that.

If Fashanu is starting LT caliber there is no contest you take him. From some of the film I’ve seen I have my doubts about his movement skills but he’s also really young. Poles will also likely have given him the same workout treatment he gave to Darnell Wright.

I hope you are correct but his history says he could just as easily fumble his way out of town. 30 fumbles in college is a lot and defenders only get bigger faster and smarter in the NFL. As Jay Gruden said if those fumbles were INTs people would be questioning it a lot more. There’s a lot of talk that he’s a finished product yet he has many things to improve up in the NFL. He’s not the tallest either so I’m expecting teams will try to keep him in the pocket and avoid those extended plays. His quick release will help him avoid batted passes. Not to mention all the crazy arm angles he throws from. It’ll be really hard for a DT to predict the release point.

Agreed, that makes for better TV.

A week or two ago I asked why Poles hasn't declared Caleb will be the first pick in the draft? This is now the worst kept secret in the NFL especialy after watching his pre-draft press conference when he was talking about Caleb in glowing terms. After reflecting on that a bit I now believe he's just doing this to give that moment to Caleb. Caleb has been very clear this has been one of his goals for a long time. IMO that's a class move by Poles not to steal the spotlight and that moment from him by making the announcement early.

I would say he’s keeping his options open. First see who is still on the board at 9 then compare against any offers you get.

Not entirely correct. Some of us had Darnell Wright as the target. All the glory goes to the dice that I rolled.

If there was tampering it affects the entire league not just the Vikings. Any other team, including Chicago, could have pursued Cousins, although there is a logical end to the list of suitors. So the Bears were potentially harmed, as were other teams. Awarding the ATL pick to Minn further harms the Bears and the other teams that could have pursued Cousins. If they do that they are idiots.

If you pick at 9 you should come away with a blue chip player at a premium position. These days with colleges running so many wide open offenses it’s not hard to find a good WR outside the top 15. If you really want a WR at 9 you should just trade down maybe way down to late first. Otherwise the drop off at the premium positions OT DE QB is rapid.