AZ54

Keep an eye on this guy: https://thedraftnetwork.com/articles/zion-johnson-scheme-fit-nfl-combine-draft “I always say that if you don't love football, you're not going to go very far," said Johnson. "Because when you get in those hard moments, when you're tired, something’s not feeling right, you have to fall back on something. And if it's superficial, you're not going to be able to sustain that.”

After today's combine stats we will have no problem finding a fast WR if we want one early. It'll be interesting to see how this shakes up rankings but just based on their 40 times many WR are moving up. Players like Skyy Moore, Pierce, Watson all helped themselves today. Skyy was even getting some chatter about performing in drills like you'd expect of a 1st Rd pick. The last time I remember Steve Smith saying that about a WR was for a guy named Kupp. I don't think Skyy will rise that far but 2nd rd seems like a real possibility now. On the flipside, I like our new GMs approach where he has the draft board set before the combine and only small adjustments are made afterward within their bracket. Don't get too crazy on measurables in shorts. It has to show up on the field.

Mustipher adding more bulk will only slow him down further and I think that was part of his problem last year after adding strength. Daniels would appear to be perfect fit for that description. Agree on Borom, he's part of that group of younger players who need to get leaner and quicker. Bars too as Castillo's bulk-up program didn't seem to do him any favors. I watched the video of Poles and while answering the Oline question he was avoiding eye contact until he had carefully worded his answer. He wouldn't even commit to Daniels as someone he'd like to re-sign so he's keeping his cards close to his vest.

That is feasible if he thinks Borom/Daniels is his best OG combo for the future. Post Jun 1st dead money $4.2mil, added cap space $8.1mil which frees up the money for Daniels. Upgrading LT via FA is going to be expensive and with Poles coming out today describing the value he finds in Tier2/3 FA it doesn't seem likely he'd spend big. If the real plan is to draft a starting LT, holding onto Whitehair past the draft would smokescreen the intention somewhat. https://www.chicagobears.com/news/5-things-learned-bears-gm-poles-free-agency-draft-offensive-line-darnell-mooney (3) Poles is a big fan of the second and third waves of free agency. While some NFL teams make high-risk, high-reward big splashes on the first day or two of free agency, plenty of quality free agents remain available after the first wave. The key to maximizing the second and third waves is to keep your ear pressed to the ground and continually monitor a fluid market. "You'll start to gather that information just with contacts into that first wave and you'll get a feel based on how you value players once they start to trickle down and the price points come down a little bit," Poles said. "Because at the end of the day, you're going to overpay in free agency. That's just what it is. It's market price. So, it's really through the communication that you'll get an idea of when things settle down a little bit, but it's usually a couple days in." With 26 Bears players due to become unrestricted free agents when the new league year arrives March 16, Poles and his personnel department figure to be very active. "There are a lot of spots we've got to fill, so that volume piece is important and it really comes down to our evaluation, to make sure that we're right on there," Poles said. "And the other thing, too, that I've always loved is, usually in that volume piece, you're going to have some players that, they're motivated, they've got a chip on their shoulder and they want to get back into free agency and go at it again. So they play with a purpose. "I've mentioned this before, but it's very hard to stay super motivated. You've got to be a special human being to be in that first wave and keep going. [If] you want your name etched in the stadium, that's what kind of mentality you've got to have. So, I definitely think there's a lot of good value down there. Plus, like I said, the mentality comes with it."

I haven't watched all 22 in years, nor even just rewatching games where I can focus on the lines. You seem to believe that I say Borom is better than Daniels but I'm not. I'm just going through different what-if scenarios for the offseason and scouting some different players for the draft to backfill roster gaps in those scenarios. We'll have some idea within the first 48hrs of FA what Poles is thinking about our C and RG Daniels. Then to a lesser extent Borom, wherever he may end up. It is entirely possible Poles wants Daniels at C but will sign him and tell everyone he's the RG leading people to think whatever they want about Borom and Jenkins at OT during the draft. He has to get rid of Whitehair's contract at some point because I can't imagine Poles carrying that $14mil cap hit in 2023. Per OTC he's the 6th highest paid OG in the NFL and I don't see that level of play. Borom could well be his replacement at LG in 2023. If you're right that Daniels has played better than Whitehair then Poles will have an engaging time with Daniels' agent since Whitehair is making $10mil/yr. Now that contract was Pace's mistake but it's still something Poles has to deal with and there's no way an agent doesn't use that as leverage for his client. That could lead to Daniels checking out the market and giving Chicago an opportunity to match. I still say if Poles believes Borom is best fit at RG and that he'll be a better player there than Daniels then he either has to move Daniels to C/LG or let him go. It's Poles' job to accurately project where players will be in their performance down the road so he can make the best roster and salary cap decisions.

I’m ok with competition for playing time but we’re paying Poles a lot of money to avoid problems like paying Daniels 8 to 10 mil per year only to see him get benched so Borom can play.

I think they'd move Borom to RG and save the $$$. I could be wrong.

Over at GBNReport.com they have a mock with the Bears taking OT Raimann at 39 and then C Dohnovan West out of ASU at 71. Although I had watched a bunch of ASU games this past season I never really focus on a center. There are a few games on Youtube that I caught and West, while he's young, looks pretty solid and holds his ground well plus he can move around and get to the 2nd level or pull to the outside. If the draft went this way it would not only mean we let Daniel's leave in FA but also using that money elsewhere. If we bypass Daniels we can get some good help at WR and CB in FA. In this scenario I wouldn't mind bringing back Peters for 1yr to mentor both young OTs. Peters could even start at the beginning of the season while Raimann gets settled in. All things considered, at his age and coming out of a fishing boat with no practice to speak of, he was impressive. Not to say he played great, and he's not what he used to be, but how many people are there on the planet who can pull that off at 39 years old? Going Oline with our first 2 picks has been talked about before and this one definitely gave me a little different perspective. FA starts Mar 14th with talks, contracts on 16 Mar. Poles won't get everyone he wants in FA but it'll be interesting to see which direction he chooses at the start.

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.