jason

Oh really? If a FS like HHCD or Pryor were drafted in round one, that guy is almost guaranteed to start. If an ILB like Mosley were drafted, he likely becomes the starter at MLB. If a OT like Zach Martin were drafted he would started over Mills. If a DT like Donald were to have fallen to the Bears he would likely have started. If a NT like Jernigan (or for that matter, Nix in the 3rd) were drafted, he likely supplants Paea. Help could have been obtained this year. Period. And to be quite honest, I think the Bears are very close to title contention. There are only a few weak links at the current moment. I agree with your final sentence, however, it's not the way I think the draft would have best benefited the Bears this year.

I understood the point, but countered with a different point. The fact that the Bears have a coach on staff who coached on the college teams of HHCD and Pryor, respectively, certainly means they have links to the team and could ask intimate questions. I doubt, however, that anyone at Alabama or Louisville would say anything negative about either player. Further, it's not like Groh (WR coach) had daily coaching moments with HHCD, or Hurtt (DL coach) with Pryor. So, the most likely situation is, the Bears scouted all three players, had Groh/Hurtt get back with the team and do some digging on their respective link, which undoubtedly came back positive, and then made a decision to go with Fuller based on undoubtedly less information. Your final sentence is real point. I'm sure everyone thought/thinks Pryor and HHCD are going to be good (let's say 8 out of 10), but Emery et al. must think Fuller has the potential to be a 9 or a 10. I hope they're right.

C. All day. The hard thing is finding someone to trade with.

Ha! I didn't even consider the punter. You might be right. If Fuller starts over Jennings, it will be a coup for the Bears. I just don't see how he could supplant an all-pro as a rookie.

Ditto. IDK where the opposite opinion comes from. If he were a real interior rush threat, it's likely Sutton wouldn't have Ben drafted.

By comparison to the previous year's OL, the combo of Paea and Ratliff are superb. When healthy, they are good enough that they are not a huge liability.

But do the Bears have a coach from VaTech? Sometimes it's better to choose the known evil over the unknown.

Stein rocks.

As usual, blow me. Just because it was a decent draft doesn't mean it was without flaw. I didn't like players based on others available, but I don't recall straight up saying I didn't like an individual player. Furthermore, I'm not a huge fan of ANY draft that fails to get a single starter (rotational/nickel doesn't count). I believe BPA should be balanced with need, and in doing so a team should find a day one starter somewhere. The only exception is a ridiculously loaded SB winner with minimal issues.

Sutton starting over Ratliff would shock me. BTW - Just to bust your balls, but how can we trust you on Arizona prospects when you were so wrong on Burfict?

The highlighted part is funny for me because I said the same about the offense for years, and all I heard from most was arguments about WRs, TEs, OCs, Cutler, etc. Lo and behold, the OL gets beefed up and the offense takes off. Sure, Trestman have a lot to do with offensive success, but it all starts with the line. Having said that, where I thought there was a difference was the DL, in my opinion, wasn't that horrible. Paea is solid, albeit unspectacular, and Ratliff is more than capable. This can be seen by the fact that they most likely will start in 2014, while Sutton and Ferguson backup. Counter that to what happened on the OL, where the talent was bad - despite some argument on this board - and two rookies immediately took over starting jobs without any sort of controversy. It would take monster offseason production and highlight reel preseason plays for Sutton or Ferguson to start in week 1. Meanwhile, Conte will still suck, and who the hell knows which cast-off is going to start at SS (Mundy?).

Predicting the starting defense on this team is a semi-difficult chore now. DE: Allen & Houston, Young and Izzy rotate DT: Paea & Ratliff, although I could see Ferguson taking Paea's starting gig and Sutton might have to start if Ratliff can't stay healthy. LB: I'm predicting SMC, DJ, Briggs, and like the depth with Bostic and Greene. CB: Peanut, Jennings SS: Mundy FS: Conte, but I hope Vereen turns out to be a huge steal When you look at all that, it's only the safeties that look bad. I just don't understand why more attention was not given to the position. The only possible beliefs are that the staff believe in those guys, and/or they believe safeties' production is almost completely contingent upon the front seven. Otherwise, the entire front seven looks a lot better, has good depth, and should help propel the Bears forward this year. If they are somewhere around the middle of the league in defense, I think we can expect them to challenge for the Lombardi Trophy.

Number one for me is obvious: HOU - Monster draft. Clowney is a stud. Su'a Filo is a stud. Both start day 1. CJ Fiedorowicz has a good chance of starting day 1. Same goes for Louis Nix. And for that matter, if this Savage kid has what a lot of people are saying, he might end up starting. If not now, maybe next year. The other 9, in no specific order: ATL - Very good draft. Matthews is a 10-year bookend, and Hageman is a DT with great upside. They needed speed in the defensive backfield, and Southward has it. I also liked Shembo in college. BAL - I don't care about the rest of their draft, but when they started Mosley, Jernigan, Brooks, it made that draft a winner. BUF - Young QBs need protection and weapons. Watkins, Kouandjio, and Richardson fill those needs. Ross Cockrell looks like a good value pick as well. CHI - I'm not enthralled for a variety of reasons, but it's hard to ignore the core of guys they got who will likely start next year. At least 1 (Fuller), and at most 4 (Sutton, Ferguson, Vereen). And Carey is a great backup RB for insurance. CLE - Probably dumb of them to pass on Watkins considering their current problems (they had to know), but Gilbert is a shutdown corner, Manziel might be the best QB in the draft, and Bitonio is a versatile OLineman who can play multiple positions. JAX - I like what the Jaguars did. They made a quick committment to Bortles, then gave him two big-time weapons in Marqise Lee and Allen Robinson. Then they protect him with Brandon Linder. The Jags' offense could be something to look for in a year or two (especially if Blackmon comes back). NO - Cooks will be a big weapon for them. Stanley Jean-Baptiste will make a big impact in a year or two. If Fortt and Sunseri stay healthy, I expect them to be solid starters in a few years. PIT - Like Baltimore, Pittsburgh is a team that always seems to have a draft I like. Shazier is a stud, Tuitt is very good, and I think Zumwalt will contribute. Add in a potential monster NT in McCullers, and all that says they're restocking their 3-4. Getting two huge upside guys on offense (Dri Archer and Bryant) doesn't hurt either. STL - Their draft was like Baltimore: huge start, tapered off. Robinson is a great pick for them. Getting Donald with their second round pick made their DL the best in the NFL. Bonus: TEN - I think people are confused about their draft. Lewan will start for them for years, and their OL is now young and solid. Sankey won't dance - what TN fans hated - and will get good yardage. And Zach Mettenberger might have been the steal of the draft in the 6th round.

Forte now has bulletin board material as motivation http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap200000034...00-players-list A pissed off Forte is something that makes me happy.

I like that draft better overall.

Agreed. Woulda liked a different order that started with FS.

Exactly.

Yes. Incredible. Maybe the best 3-4 front in the NFL immediately.

Houston is having an absolutely NASTY draft. Holy shit.

I don't give a shit. PICK NIX. Unless he has an injury that's nasty, and everyone knows, pick him.

freak. First Jernigan and now Brooks, both just a few picks before the Bears.

Meh. Again. Nix seemed like a smarter pick at that point. I sure hope Emery is right.

The Ravena continue to show why they are one of the best drafting teams.

What were they going to say? Of course it's going to be positive externally. I bet if twitter were going when Benson were drafted you would have seen a lot of "welcome to the team" BS, but when training camp started they all like TJ and didn't like Benson much.

I think you misunderstood me. I think their connections should give them more ability to pick winners, but since their relative success percentage is lacking (Polian quotes that 50% is great), then their picks should be questioned. Of course, all of what you mentioned increases their chances of success as the draft goes on, and decreases the average person's success. We simply don't have the video, personnel, time, etc. to look into as many players as they do. The big rub to all of this is, many people like me, who watch tons of games, go to several, watch all the video that can be grabbed, etc., have just as good of a shot as picking winners in the first 2 or 3 rounds as they do. I mean, who couldn't talk about just about every one of the guys that got drafted last night? A true draft fan, who has devoted as much time as I have to research, surely can. 4th and 5th rounds? Not so much. As I've always said, just because they're in that position doesn't mean they are all knowing, will make correct selections, or will even have a greater success percentage than someone like you and I on a message board. There is a reason the saying "can't see the forest for the trees" exists. I said for years that I would have done a better job of selecting than Angelo. Now that he's gone, I'm certain the Bears would have been better with me making picks. I don't have a way to support it other than to say who I liked each year based on what the Bears needed and which players I liked. But I had a better hit percentage than he did over his tenure. That's fact. Emery gets a pass right now, because I like the way he has operated for the most part. I really liked his draft last year, once he was rid of Lovie. Based on your position, there is an oddity here. At a certain point, if all the pundits that you so strongly trust are surprised by the Bears' pick (almost all had us going ILB, DT, or S), then you have to question Emery's decisions (unless his "reaches" turn into studs like Long). If he hits, then you have to stop trusting the pundits so much. If he misses, then it reinforces the pundits' opinions, and likely costs Emery his job.