AZ54

Maybe Nagy was smart enough to realize he had much more to learn and wanted to get back with Reid to finish what he started.

I read that the other night but haven't yet had time to do any research on him. His age is certainly a factor but athletic OTs can usually play well into their mid-30s so we should get at least 8-10yr out of him if he performs well. He seems like a target for us if we were to trade back from 39. What little I see of him it appears he struggles with length and power which given how new he is to the position are understandable. Some of his hand placement is poor, getting outside the shoulder pads too often. As he said, during the switch from TE to OT he had no practices or coaching due to COVID. We're talking about an OT playing well with very limited coaching, just one offseason with coaches to work on his craft. He responded well to coaching at the Senior Bowl so how he does at the combine will be telling. He has the feet the mirror smaller faster edge rushers around the pocket. https://twitter.com/PFF_Mike/status/1489044617941110789?s=20&t=875pma8ocjYDZWMvlENuSw https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2953804-nfl-draft-prospects-with-the-most-at-stake-at-the-2022-combine

Looks good. Adds some players who can start or contribute now without long term handicaps in contracts. It's a strategy Poles could pursue to give him a couple years to draft his players. The alternative being to lockup 2-3 higher priced starters long term.

GBN had this to say about Zion which should add some fuel to the fire for him being our pick at 39. If true that could also see his value drop a bit to later 2nd Rd or even early 3rd. https://gbnreport.com/2022-prospect-profiles/ Zion Johnson, C/G Boston College, 6-3, 314, 5.15, SR+ … Fifth-year super senior was essentially unrecruited out of high school and ended up at FCS Davidson where he played two seasons before transferring to BC. Started two seasons for the Eagles and one at LT, but is reportedly being looked at by the NFL primarily as a C where he played at the Senior Bowl. ------- I think if Poles wants to fix 2 positions on the Oline this offseason (C, LT) he'll do one via FA with the most likely being C since that's cheaper and leaves room to add good depth to the WR or DB groups. Offset the money by letting Daniels leave. That would make LT the likely draft target assuming he wants Jenkins on the right side. The downside being that other would likely see that as being our strategy making us an obvious trade-ahead target for anyone wanting a LT prospect in a given Rd.

I've been saying that I think Olave goes late 1st in part because of Jameson Williams' injury but more and more often I'm seeing Williams still being taken in the 1st. Right now it's all speculation he'll return around week 4-6 but the combine health check rumors (and disinformation) will give us a better idea. I think you are right on someone taking him early in the 2nd especially as he'll be seen a very likely pick for Chicago. Teams behind us will be thinking they need to get ahead of us to take him. The other thing pushing Olave down the board is the rise of Drake London into strong 1st Rd consideration. I like this exercise with mock drafts because everyone here is pulling in info from all over. I agree we'll likely see who is on the board but early 2nd is where draft evaluations/rankings flatten out so if there is no obvious choice there he'll try to trade down. I'm not a fan of drafting Bell at 39. He's a good football player but I think he's part of that group where the evaluations flatten out and you can find similar value later in the draft (Doubs/Watson/Pierce)

Drafting straight up no trades at TDN.https://thedraftnetwork.com/mockDraft/view 39. Chris Olave. WR He was sitting there took me 2s to make the pick 71. Nicholas Petit-Frere OT He has all the physical traits to play LT, needs some work. Jenkins slides to RT 147. Jack Jones CB ASU. He has all the athletic ability needed to play CB. Watched him a few games this past season, he gambles a bit at times and ends up lost on some plays but that's why he's still on the board. Enough quickness to cover the slot if that's where we want him to play. Coach him up. 149. Bryan Cook. S Cincinnati. Not the biggest safety but a very good tackler, brings the right attitude to our defensive backfield, good enough coverage skills 184. Isaac Taylor-Stuart. CB. USC. Another athlete who needs coaching, has some injury history, but has starting caliber athleticism and the size at 6'2" to cover bigger receivers outside. I was looking to add help on the Dline 3-tech but didn't find anyone I liked based on their board and within reasonable range of our picks.

If we're going to learn from the mistakes of our last GM I'm not that interested in giving a long contract to a 30yr old LB. He's not a special player so if we're going to spend the kind of money Hitchens will want I'd rather find someone younger coming off their first contract. If he sits on the market to the point he'll sign a 1yr deal then ok. In terms of FA fits this proposal feels more likely: Anthony Walker played for the Browns last year. Led the team in Ts. Played in Indy the previous 4 yrs. He played for 2.5 mil. He's 27. Would be a perfect get at MLB. A 3 year- 14 mil should get him here. Give him 7 guaranteed. What say you

Whitehair's contract is getting way above his performance and is not sustainable beyond this season. He's not worth a $14mil cap hit in 2023.

I like most it. Asamoah is similar in traits to Roquan and is aggressive hunting down the ball. Might not be the most physical inside but his sideline to sideline range offsets that. Skyy Moore looks a lot like Christian Kirk did coming out of college and but I don't think he'll be much more than a 3rd/4 WR in the NFL. I'd be looking for better value at this pick. Domann looks like he's more football player than athlete but we need one of those at S. Probably will have some liabilities in coverage but his ability to hunt near the LOS is a plus. I have no problem taking Watson this late in the draft. Flott seems like a reasonable risk at finding a NB I see no need for Ellis when we have Tonga on the roster.

I find it hard to believe being part of Nagy's offense helped any player's value with the possible exception of Mooney. Nothing like being the one consistent player on a bad offense to help you standout and make other teams think wow how much better will he be with help at the other WR positions. For Daniels, I think a lot of people will remember that Cleveland game where Fields was sacked every other play and from there to the HC being fired. Daniels might be a good player but I can't remember anything special he did all year long even though I just watched his 2021 highlights. I suspect we could just as easily have a low-lights video too. I think his value likely falls into that $6-7mil range. Spotrac has him at $7mil. At the end of the day this decision is less about Daniels and more about Borom. If our GM feels Borom's natural position is RG then he's going there. That leaves Daniel's options in Chicago limited to Center, a position he was not very good at. While he may have learned and be better there next year, how much is Poles willing to commit to that experiment? Despite the position switch Daniels' will want the RG starter money he's earned so he's not likely to take a discount to stay with Bears to play OC again. If Borom is the RG of the future, does Poles prefer to just pay a known OC commodity the money he'd be giving Daniels? Since it appears there are a few good OC options in FA, then in this situation I think Poles is more likely to go with the known good commodity and pay a FA OC and let Daniels' go. If he chooses Daniels at OC and it turns out he was wrong then he's got to trade him next year. I don't see the risk-reward ratio falling in favor of keeping Daniels to play OC.

Since we have so many needs we will likely have many targets at that pick. If it happens that none of them are on the board its likely other teams' targets are also no longer on the board. That makes it more difficult to find a trade partner and more difficult to get good value for our pick.

This is not a great year for drafting a QB. I could see a team preferring to take on Foles giving them 1-2 years of adequate play and time to find the long term solution. Having a competent QB is still needed to help develop other young players like WRs. It's worth it and then you can be like KC and add the QB at the end of the build.

Great analysis. I'm taking Grant. He's effective enough, but doesn't offer the kick coverage skills Patterson has but at half price we can sort that out. Cohen can stick with his Fortnite clan.

I agree with this above. Plus add in a rookie QB who couldn't decipher defenses, is naturally risk averse, prefers throwing downfield, and you get a recipe for less opportunities for a player who can only gain separation immediately after his cut. If you don't have the defense read quicky and timing down with ARob then he's always covered. I also want to add that this entire argument for why ARob played so poorly feels like the typical BS spouted an agent to improve his market value. Coaching issues or not, ARob was playing for a new contract. That alone is enough motivation for him to perform well when given the chance... and he was given plenty of opportunities to be on the field. Further, putting the coach aside, when a professional is on the field with his teammates he's playing for them. If those two factors weren't enough for ARob to play well last year then I don't want him around this year. I guarantee Nagy was never at practice telling ARob... "hey, don't stay after to run routes and help Fields improve. Get home and relax you've earned it." Nah, ARob just walked off the field day after day knowing Fields and Mooney were working to build chemistry. Then it appears the lack of targets from Fields hurt ARob's ego so much he didn't even want to block for him when Fields was scrambling. I advocated heavily for ARob as a FA years ago and don't regret that we signed him. He's not what we need to help right the ship this year.

Maybe but we always need extra specialists for the summer. Long snapping isn't so easy to do but I could definitely see O'Donnell being let go. Just not sure Winslow will be the replacement.

Wit the scheme change I can see them going in any number of directions in the first 3 picks. 3-tech DT if the talent falls them in Rd 2 why not? Especially on a team with DB issues. Oline any of OC/OT/OG all depending on where they think the existing players fit best and it will all be a mystery to us until after the draft. WR I could see in Rd 2 but I also feel like there is depth available later in the draft. Safety: Our starters were so bad they made their backups look good when they were on the field. Would I take Lewis Cine in 2nd/3rd? Absolutely CB: With this roster overhaul imminent for me it's easier to state what we don't need early: RB, QB, and DE with Oline needing something we just don't know where. We have 2 chances to get starter level players on day 2 and need to make those choices count.

Nice argument except it excludes the fact those offense had: QBs: Stafford, Brady, Mahomes, Brady, Foles (meh), Brady, Peyton Manning, Brady, Wilson, Flacco (meh), Eli Manning, Rodgers, Brees. So yeah, go get us one of the top 5 QBs in the NFL and we won't need but an average RB. I won't dig into the full rosters but I'd hazard a guess that most of them had some pretty good WRs/TEs during. their Superbowl runs. Who do we have? As noted there is zero doubt Wilson benefitted from having Lynch carrying the load. It's still a team sport so the meh QBs, and even Stafford all had strong defenses, strong WR corps, or a strong running game. IIRC Foles benefitted from what was likely the best Oline in the NFL. Go get a top 5 Oline and we won't need a really good RB as well. Who do we have? Maybe Fields turns into one of the top 10 QBs in the next 12months. Maybe our WR corps or Oline turn into top 10 units in the next 12mo. From my point of view those things will take 2-3 years. In the meantime, I think our best chance of success is having a strong running game.

Glad to see this. I think he did a great job last year considering what he had to work with and his experience. Hicks out, Mack out, only Johnson effective at DB. Yet he kept them productive. One of the traits I'm always looking for in coaches is can they make the sum of the talent better than the parts. He had some mistakes along the way but overall I think he learned from them and late in the season they looked better than the talent level predicted. I was hoping he'd stick around but his background doesn't fit what Eberflus runs on D so not surprised he's moved on and landed in a good spot.

These are great questions. We have so little invested in any of them that we should just take a wait and see approach. Move them to where ever they fit best and if it doesn't work send them on their way. There will be plenty of low level competition brought in that fits what we need. Among that list Snowden likely has the most potential. If he can gain 15-20 lbs and the strength to anchor against the run game he can easily play DE as a backup for us. He has the frame for it and it's the position he played in college. I doubt his ceiling is higher than backup but he is a pretty good athlete. Despite that, at 6'7" I can't see him having enough lateral quickness to play at the 2nd level. Let him use those 35" arms to attack the OTs.

Being a former Cyclone I might be Montgomery's biggest fan here. I'm not sure he's worth $12mil/yr but I also think Bears fans underrate him. It's interesting on Spotrac to see his comparisons (Kamara, Dalvin Cook, Joe Mixon, and Aaron Jones) and statistically he's in that mix. He's done that despite Nagy's offensive limitations. At Overthecap.com they have his market value listed as around $7mil. Since I've been watching him run for 5 or 6 seasons I can say he's never run behind a good Oline. He had a very good coach in Matt Campbell at Iowa State and the offense there was more effective than Nagy's. He actually followed Campbell to ISU after committing to play for him at Toledo. Then he got Nagy'd. In Chicago more often than not he's dealing with defenders at the 1st/2nd level. In college he got more 2nd/3rd level but not always. You could see the DBs wanted nothing to do with tackling him in the 2nd half, even LBs were frustrated. I'm very curious to see where we go with the Oline this year and what this, and Montgomery, looks like in the 2nd half of the season. I know if he's getting contact at 2nd/3rd level more often he's going to easily have a top 5 RB season. That's not even a stretch because he's 16th in total yds last year and missed 3 games. Other RBs on the list also missed games so I get that and I don't really see him as a top 5 RB but he's right there among the top 10. As far as a trade for a 3rd/4th Rd pick the idea here is that we feel he could be replaced by a rookie and get similar production. If we feel that way, and that's his value, then it's likely the team with 3rd Rd pick thinks the same way. Why would they make the trade? I see the theory that Herbert can fill his shoes but a short stint of 3 games with good running followed by much less production doesn't make me think Herbert is ready to carry the load. He might show more this year but I'd like to see it first before relying on him. With Fields being so young and learning, along with the rest of the offense I see no reason to take a risk and remove a good consistent RB. Let this play out in 2022 and the right decision will be known. Right now I think top 10 money is likely on the table for Montgomery and the NFL values RBs more now than 10 years ago. That shows up in the draft too. If Herbert shows he's ready this year, then let Montgomery go in FA next year and get the comp pick. If not, I prefer the bird in the hand and I'd pay him. Cap space is not an issue in 2023 so mostly we're talking philosophy on cap allocation. As I see it we'll still be working to fix the WR position that year so we should not have a $20mil WR on the roster. If Jenkins and Borom pan out then it's likely our Oline expense is going to be below Poles' targeted budget in 2023/24. If Poles is what we think he is, we'll likely see young OG and OC starters out of the next 2 drafts. If that goes as planned then in 2024/25 the Oline is established with 2nd contracts on Jenkins/Borom consuming more budget but we will be able to survive with younger less experienced RBs. Poles would need to structure Montgomery's 2nd contract such that we could get out of it if desired after 3 yrs. Getting that leverage usually requires a bit more per year, plus the usual contract inflation, so the $12mil/yr seems likely.

Au contraire... Helfrich has been enjoying his time as a broadcaster for Pac12 games but I get your point he isn't coaching. The funny thing is I had watched several ASU games and kept feeling like the announcer's voice was familiar but I couldn't figure out why. I didn't actually see his name on the screen until near the end of the season. I figure he's just doing the same thing he did in Chicago....talking about offense and not actually doing anything about making it better, albeit for much less money.

Feels like he's getting the band back together again.

Maybe, but what if he likes them all as Interior Oline? Then we're back looking for 2 OTs and assuming he'd move Whitehair to OC, there's no need to re-sign Daniels.

That's very surprising.