jason

I think the individual surprise will be Edwards. He'll come out of nowhere and put up good stats. I also think the team surprise will be how poorly the defense plays, and that the offense will be forced to carry the team for a change.

This something numerous people brought up, and it goes back to before Fields even. But the retort is always something like, “Yeah, they’re NFL coaches and you’re not,” even though any fool can see and understand why play action would benefit a young, mobile QB. But these genius coaches think they’re smarter than the history of football, and that their system is the best.

I think 6.5 is about right, and wouldn't be shocked to hit the under.

That's an amazing website with a great layout! Have you found a player that the Bears have drafted in the past few years that has measured up well or shown some very favorable comparisons?

Summary post: Monty would be much better behind an OL that blocks consistently and with an accompanying passing game that scares anyone. I don’t love the draft, but I understand it. MasterT is trash. He will probably get cut before the season. I hope the Bears have one more down year to take advantage of having a full draft at a good spot. The WRs are WEAK, and a flyer should have been taken on Justyn Ross before someone else grabbed him. That type of talent was worth a 7th round throwaway pick. He should have never gotten to UDFA territory.

Then again, the Patriots are a franchise that has found winner after winner. Maybe they’re smarter than the Rams here?

I think what I would like to see is a Bears team that moves into the current century in the offensive side of the ball, and tries to build an offense that exploits the NFL’s offensive-leaning predilections. Instead, the Bears respond to what other teams are doing. It’s reactionary rather than causing others to fear the Bears. And that’s frustrating considering last year’s selection of a talented QB who is currently the face of the franchise, but is not being supplied the necessary ingredients to excel.

May as well at this point.

??? Different GM. Different Coach. Same Bears. How in the world they didn’t use at least one of the second round picks on OL or WR is baffling, especially with the ridiculous WR depth this year. And now there has been a crazy run on WRs and the Bears will end up picking a much lesser guy. So much for protecting the face of the franchise and giving him weapons.

Those WR assumptions are only true if Poles accepts those guys as starters. Lord knows the Bears have wasted FA moves and money on guys who had no chance of being the main man on the team. We saw it with the Mike Glennon getting a 3yr deal just before the Trubisky draft fiasco. Or maybe you remember Adam Shaheen getting laughably over-drafted and then battling for the 3rd TE spot with the likes of Brown and Braunecker behind Sims and Miller. Then he got injured, came back, and the Bears signed Trey Burton anyway. If Poles were to draft two WRs like the ones we've been discussing, then St. Brown and Pringle could potentially sit the bench, and Newsome/Coulter fight for a roster spot or get cut. I'm fine with that idea. Hoping dudes like EqStBrown and Pringle suddenly emerge is a riskier proposition than rolling the dice on one or two of the young studs.

Why? Monty has shown he's got talent if he is ever given a chance to get out of the backfield. It just happened so infrequently because the OL took turns deciding who would suck and let a defender come flying through unmolested. In my eyes, drafting a RB is a waste for this team.

I hate the compensatory picks. Makes no sense to me. So a team loses a great player because the team got great collectively, and they can't pay all their great players, so the NFL rewards them by giving them more draft picks to increase that team's odds of filling the hole and remaining a great team? WTF is that? Meanwhile, a team like the Bears that hovers around mediocrity never gets compensatory picks because they so rarely have a situation where they aren't trying to fill holes. Therefore, the good players they lose are negated by the obligatory FA spending in order to field a serviceable franchise.

Same as the others. For 96? Hell no. For a combo of picks (i.e. 2nd/4th or 3rd/3rd), absolutely. This draft is deep in the 2nd and 3rd.

Yes please.

It's amazing that each year this is a realistic exercise. 2nd - Phidarian Mathis (DT) Alabama 2nd - Jalyn Armour-Davis (CB) Alabama 3rd - John Metchie (WR) Alabama 5th - Brian Robinson (RB) Alabama 5th - Jahleel Billingsley (TE) Alabama 6th - Emil Ekiyor Jr. (OG) Alabama I don't think Mathis fits the new scheme, and I don't think the Bears should draft a RB or a TE this year, but I'd still be somewhat excited about that draft for no other reason than the Bears finally got through a draft without picking a dude from SE Louisiana State (which admittedly didn't happen last year).

I like the Thayer Munford pick. With a name like that, you have to be tough, and it reminds me of Tom Thayer.

The WR, WR, WR stretch gave me Detroit Lions vibes, but it's incredibly interesting. Throw a bone in the middle of the room and see which dog wants to eat.

Three dudes from Baylor, a Running Back (even if it is Bama), and three small schools (NDSU, Montana St., and Tulsa) players in the first three picks? No thanks.

I actually kind of love this draft. I'm not a big fan of picking dudes out of places like North Dakota State - the lesson has been learned too many times on this team - but otherwise the draft is solid. Double-up on OL, double-up on WRs with tons of potential, and double-up on secondary. Near perfect in my opinion.

Agree. It's baffling to me. They can't be content with the team as is. Agree. Too early and you overpay. Wait until after camp starts and you have a learning curve. Wait until after the draft - assuming a LT isn't drafted - and you lose leverage. This timeframe right now feels like a real sweet spot since camps are starting and the first few waves of FA have passed over.

I'd love to see that breakdown per team. I'm guessing the worse teams have higher numbers, and the great teams have lower numbers, thus creating a misleading average.

You won’t think that when you see Burrow’s progression this year. He’s going to explode when he gets a ton more time.

Alex Cappa Ted Karras La’el Collins Burrow did well last year. Wait until the league sees what he does this year. This is EXACTLY what the Bears should do for Fields.

Agree. Pace would have just said, “I trust my gut that it’ll work out.” Poles is not that guy, and I like it. The era of buying a cracked bucket and hoping it holds water is over.

Ogunjobi failed his physical!!