AZ54

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.

Never thought I’d say this but we just need Caleb to do what Geno did in Waldrons offense. In that light it sure doesn’t seem like a high bar.

This anti-Williams fan is finally seeing a different side of Williams, a more mature one that fits what I expect from a starting NFL QB. More importantly for me is that this is the actually the first time I've ever seen Caleb genuinely smile when talking about the Bears (when he mentions the good time he had on his 30 visit). Talent for me was never the biggest issue although I do still have concerns about some of his bad habits such as bad throws under pressure, and how loosely he carries the ball when scrambling. Plus he's not the most accurate deep passer but he's good enough. I was more worried about 1) would he even play in Chicago, and 2) would he have the work ethic and maturity to handle this job in the NFL. Kudos to Channing Crowder, Ryan Clark, and Fred Taylor for putting together a quality interview, really a deep dive into the person who is Caleb Williams. I remember after we drafted Trubisky I came across an article about Mahomes. In short, during college Mahomes was totally focused on getting to the NFL. He wasn't into the party scene, didn't drink, just focused on football. I had him as my 1b to Trubisky as 1a because I'd seen him have numerous multi INT games where he'd make risky throws all over the field. If I had known the character side of both players there's no way I'd have taken Trubisky over Mahomes. Looking back it's clear Trubisky doesn't really want to put in the effort to be a starting QB, not physical but the mental side with film study. After listening to him in this interview now I don't see that being a problem with Caleb. I also feel like he's gained some maturity or perspective on things as he's gone through the draft process. Without saying it directly, it seems to me he hints that there are some things he'll do differently and better in the future.

No too rich for me. Also the drop off to the 3rd or even 4th/5th best WRs isn't that great this year. We also have Bowers out there as a really good receiving option, and with the right supporting cast he might pose more of a problem to defenses than Harrison.

Depends on how you define "risk". If you simply look at it as a numbers game then yes there are more failures in later rounds. If you look at it in terms of investment, not just money but also opportunity cost then the miss on a top ten pick is really bad.

I don’t buy that argument. I’d buy the crappy GM drafted you argument better. Even teams with bad QBs always can find decent options to pair with a good roster. It might take a year or three to get that FA QB but in the meantime you’re building everywhere else on the roster. Derek Carr. Cousins. Just look at what Shanahan has done with cast off QBs. That includes Purdy because nobody wanted him. If a GM is doing their job right you should be on a competitive roster in year 3. Year 4 at the latest.