Alaskan Grizzly

Don't the "experts" do that same thing with mock draft 2.0, 3.0 etc? I'm fairly confident that GM's (and their staffs) do the same thing, but behind closed doors. There was this cat who is an area scout for the Bears doing an interview with Lauren Screeden (believe his name was Sam Summervile) talking about his meeting(s) with 1st round pick Smith. During his talk he mentioned how excited they were in the war room that Smith was still available to them at 8 and how concerned they were he may not have been. What if he hadn't? More than likely they would have had to go with option 1a, or 1b. That by itself tells you how fluid this type thing is. Looking at Summerviles's history with the Bears, he's also scouted former players Khaseem Greene and Deon Bush (as well as Eddie Jackson, Cohen and Goldman) so he's not even been 100%. One thing I can say for Jason is that he's consistently been an Oline guy. He and I, and others, have gone back and forth on what the basis for a good team needs, especially through the draft. He is of the opinion that it is oline, I beg to differ. But he's always been pretty consistent with that. For anyone to be able to accurately predict how the top 5 QB candidates this year will do is crazy. Of them we have no real concrete way of knowing when they'll start. Even with Mayfield, they have a pretty capable player in Taylor signed on. But even if they were all to start on game one there's no way of predicting how well they'll do. What about injury or other intangibles that cannot be forecasted? I'm still of the opinion that Watson would have been the better pick than Trubisky. But Watson was slowed by injury after coming out the gates quickly whereas Trubisky was mired by an un-imaginative offense (or so we hope).

Yeah if Whites injuries were repeated that would be one thing. But he’s gone from shins to ankle/fibula to shoulder injuries. The kid is just having bad luck. I hope he makes it the whole year this year.

Smith hands down is (IMHO) the most exciting pick. Similar to Pix I’d have been ok with Edmunds too. But after hearing Smith in post-draft interviews I’m sold. My very close second liked choice would be the last pick Wims. I have this sneaky suspicion that either Robinson or White won’t be available (hopefully not at the same time) and that’s where Wims will come in. To do what he did last year in Georgia is pretty impressive. (thanks Ashkum for the insight).

Apparently all he did was after transfer from JuCo he led the Bulldogs in Rec, TDs and rec yards(?) last year. Despite, as you point out, not being the primary receiver. Nice!!! Thanks for the feedback.

Preach Brother Jason!! Although I’d argue that Fangio had the defense going in the right direction two years ago. Wasn’t it ranked top 10 that year? Considering the mess he inherited AND the change from 4-3, I’d say he’s done pretty dang good. And you’re right in that collectively our fellow posters are as good (if not better) MOST times at evaluating talent than many “experts”.

What do you know about him? I’ll do some reading up but curious why he was available so late.

RE: Javon Wins After the Smith pick this is my second favorite choice in the draft. On paper looks great.

Stinger, I’m glad you’re sure with the picks. And even from you I appreciate the explanation. But the fact remains the majority of his drafts have not panned out completely. To be fair none of his picks from last year have worked out...yet. Yes that includes Trubisky and Cohen. So far one player we know has made the measured progress ‘over three years’ and that’s Howard. And for the record I love the Smith pick just like I loved the Jackson pick last year. The reason I’m concerned with this oline pick is because I see some similarities to how well Grasu was graded out when he was drafted and he was a third round pick, not second. Yet two years later here we are, essentially drafting his replacement. And for what it’s worth, after the pick was made Mayock himself said there were concerns about his knees. But did admit that Daniels was ‘good in space’ which is key to a zone blocking scheme, but so was Grasu. The pick of Miller makes some sense considering Nagys potential style offense. But still we lack a SOLID big body WR. I’m hoping it’ll be either White or Robinson but looking at the last two years, I have reason to pause. For me the comfort comes from knowing we have people like Fangio, Hilstrant (sp?) and Ragone on the staff who add not only some consistency to our young team but some respectability in their fields of expertise. Not to say I don’t like Nagy, I actually am excited to see what he comes up with. You yourself said Pace’s draft grade from the first two years was C- and now suddenly you’re convinced he’s better and ‘learning on the fly’. Again I hesitate in saying he’s done exceptional.

Riddle me this; Pace does great with pick one getting a super neat kid in Smith. Then we open day two to find out Pace tried and failed in getting Ridley...a WR. So when he actually does get his pick he goes with a lower rated interior lineman while Sutton was available one pick later. Then after drafting ANOTHER center (after doing so with Grasu) he trades some draft capital to get back into the second round and get a lower rated WR. Sure this center is rated high on zone blocking but wasn’t Grasu highly rated too? In fact, here’s what Pace said at the time. Tell me if it sounds familiar: http://m.chicagobears.com/news/article-1/Bears-pick-center-Hroniss-Grasu/be77d5e8-bd8b-4550-9f29-ec8b5d540a54

So what happens to Grasu? Another Pace pick.

Thanks. Admittedly I’m not as familiar with the 3-4 set still. Always think of the DE as the edge rusher but in a 3-4 they seem to be more an edge setter. I mean when you have a 330 lb DE like Hicks, you can’t expect too much speed rushing. Not every down anyhow.

I saw in some of the clips #7 was involved in a lot of the plays that Smith was highlighted. Better known as Lorenzo Carter. They seem to feed off one another pretty well. Anyhow, I saw some post-draft interviews yesterday with Smith and I gotta say, the kid is just an awesome kid. Plain and simple. Smart, articulate and appears to be pretty humble. Great character. He ticks off some notable Chicago LBs without blinking...as if he’s been a fan all his life. Tip of the hat to Pace on this one.

Agree with your analysis of his ability to call games. Don’t know that he’ll be to Romos level but he’s smart enough to dissect plays...without pressure. Good luck Jay.

How many edge rushers does one team need? Isn’t the role Floyd is slated for? If there are more needed, someone else suggested Lorenzo Carter (also from Georgia). Would be interesting to see a bunch of Georgia dogs out there eating up opposing offenses. I think a large part of the Bulldogs success was/is due to their defense (which is crazy considering Mel Tucker is their coordinator). Anyhow some have noticed the precipitous fall of Ohio States Landry which is intriguing. They think he may have a malingering injury that worries some. Would he be worth the shot? But then connor noted Will Hernandez is still available And he was a hot commodity right after Nelson so there is that... I went into this thinking the smart choice would be Olineman for round two (nod to Jason) and still do. But I can’t help notice Sutton and Chubb (the running back) still sitting there too. I’m always a fan of skill players.

I like this. Ridleys gone so would be nice. Although both Hernandez or Connor Williams (Texas) were ranked in the top 32. Any of these would be good pickups.

Ridley went to Atlanta . Means he and another Bama alum Julio Jones will be playing together. Watch out for ATL.

Fun fact (because I was curious). Turns out Smith and Floyd played together at Georgia. Does it mean anything? Maybe not...other than familiarity with one another. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2760787-bears-take-roquan-smith-in-nfl-draft-leonard-floyd-twitter-hyped-for-chicago

Pretty much why I get frustrated with Pace. I feel he may be trying to get cute and reaches ... sometimes That being said, I'm going to channel my inner-Pace and go with Ryan Wright. He is a QB who can also Punt (or is he a punter that can be a QB?). Nevertheless his ceiling is HUGE mostly because he's only a D1 prospect (still in HS) and is committed to play for Tulane. But you know darn well he'll have that chip on his shoulder because not only will he be an alum of the "Green Wave" but that everyone will have questioned his ability to be an effective QB and Punter. https://kohlskicking.com/player-profiles/ryan-wright But in a serious light I'd have to say 'my guy' would be pretty much any of the tier one LB's. Of those Edmunds, Smith and Evans would be how I'd rate them. WIth Smith and Evans being interchangeable. After that I'd say in round 2 it should be OL (remaining top candidate) and/or Fitzpatrick. I'd still like them to get a decent WR in the top few round if possible but I don't feel its as necessary as it once was. *Edit: I’d also say I wouldn’t be the least bit offended if Lamar Jackson were available in later rounds the Bears made a ‘go ‘ for him. I like that he can potentially play both QB and WR and I’m still not convinced Trubisky is the answer.

Nicely done AZ. I thought it was a trick question so I went with Evans (assuming that player had the least amount of ‘games played’). But in the light of your explanation Edmunds surely makes more sense, especially his age (19) and raw talent. I still wonder if he wouldn’t be able to play a hybrid role of ILB/OLB as needed. Seems he has the range for it. And to some degree I agree with the point Stinger made. I like Evans a lot (mostly because he’s from Bama) but there could be some truth to his less stats due to his being surrounded by other NFL ready talent. Nevertheless, if Pace were to pick one of these four I think we’d be in pretty good shape. So will he???

I think with Edmunds it’s more about raw talent than anything. I was surprised to see that he is only 19 going into the draft. One thing to think about (and put it into context) was at one point Urlacher played safety. In college he converted to LB but still didn’t play much at it until late in his collegiate career. Even then it was a hybrid position. Nevertheless, he turned out pretty good.

I’m down with that. I wish there were some Rueben Foster like player coming out this year. But Emunds looks like he’d fit the bill. Of course Rashaan Evans from Bama is close. I sure hope Pace makes right and gets at least one Bama player again.

Hence the reason I like Edmunds for the pick. Although he’s slated as more an ILB I would think he could slide over and rush if need. And the point of this article, specifically about the OLB/Edge Rusher, is that the current 1-2 positions are occupied by players that haven’t played a lot due to injury in recent years in Floyd and Lynch. And apparently Lynch got hurt during the recent Spring workout session. There’s almost no doubt the ILB needs help so was just wondering if a hybrid ILB/OLB could be filled by someone like Edmunds. C. Jones was sorta that guy until he left.

Agree with most of the assessment. In fact because of it I'm now more aware how dire (perhaps) the OLB/Edge Rush position is. Although Fangio historically not known for blitz packages he could certainly use a true edge rusher besides Floyd (who is injury prone). I wonder if drafting Edmunds would make more sense in that although he is designated an ILB he could swing outside if Floyd or Lynch were suddenly unavailable? Agree that interior lineman could (and should) be addressed by the second round. In fact, I'd pin the choice in the second round. Scary to think they are already having to possibly consider drafting a replacement for Amos. I like what I'm seeing from him and suspect we'll be in a similar situation with him next year that we were this year with Fuller. That being said I LOVE the idea of current Alabama Fitzpatrick pairing up with Jackson...but probably not enough at 8.

In this interview it appears we’ll be seeing a lot of opportunities for audible calls from Trubisky. Something we’ve only heard or talked about in more recent iterations of the Bears offense. Having Howard in the backfield will certainly keep opposing defenses honest. The CBs will be playing loose off Gabriel and Robinson meaning we’ll probably be seeing some nice gains in the passing game. Something else we haven’t seen all that much of in recent years. Another takeaway from this interview is that you can tell Trubisky is excited for what is about to come. That means a lot as a fan. Helps us to buy into what is about to happen. BEAR DOWN!

At least they’re adding bodies at positions the team needs them at. Would be nice to see them build up some bodies for oline tryouts.