Stinger226

Just listened to Tom Thayer on the SCORE. The great ND player, suggests we take R. Smith even if Q. Nelson is there. He stated that out of the 24 OGs that started in the playoffs last year, 2 was first round picks, 8 were UDFA. He thinks you can find a OG later in the draft and let HH develop him. I trust his opinion.

Do you think Edmunds starts from day one and makes an impact? I highly doubt it. This is Paces type of guy, physical freak with upside, but there are all pros sitting there while we take a developmental player, not very smart. The best thing to do is watch tape, I am not very smart, but when 50 experts think R. Smith turns into Ray Lewis, or Pat Willis, I am not going to argue and try to find tape to prove me right. We need a plug and play, impact player now. not a 2 year developmental player with high upside. When a player plays with a better team, your stats are always down because you have more talent around you.

My guy: Nelson , Nelson , Nelson , the BP in the draft and fits a need. second choice: R. Smith/ILB he has been compared to Pat Willis and Ray Lewis, same size as both. A plug and play, several pro bowls. 3rd choice: Fitzpatrick/DB plays everywhere and is play maker. Makes everybody around him better. Plug and play 4th choice: Edmunds, a developmental player with huge upside. He will take 2 years to develop , my other choices will be making pro bowls. 5th choice: H. Landry, I think he is the second best pass rusher in draft, probably on a trade back for value.

we dont need to complicate things. no brainier: Chubb/OLB or Q. Nelson/OG next in line: Fitzpatrick-R. Smith-D. Ward Pace probability: Emdmunds or trade down grabbing for need: Davenport or Landry Total surprise: Barkley, Vea/5T or J. Jackson/CB We need a plug and play not a developmental player.

it is just someones opinion. The problem is there is no expert that evaluates the players the same way. Then each team has a board not listed the same. It is just a crap shoot.

He could be in play at 8 but Pace said he had a list of 8 and I would suspect he is 5 or 6 on that list.

I just read that Ereck Flowers the LT that Solder will take over for is available for trade. He is 24 but graded out bad his first three years as a LT. I read his draft profile and he was looked at for both OG and OT positions. I wonder if they would take a 4th pick in a trade for a player they are moving on from. Plug in into LG position and let HH work with him. He was a #9 draft pick in the year he was drafted.

We do not know what Pace will do but that makes the drafts interesting. Edmunds will be used both on inside and outside, they will move him around to take best advantage of his traits.

It is hard to know what teams really think of players. All of the draft gurus guess at values. When a player is moving up draft boards, that just means draft gurus are just finding out what teams truly value a player. Its all a crap shoot.

Edmunds would not be a liability but will take a few years to develop and we do not know what he will turn out to be. We can always say he will be good because he is a physical freak, Floyd is going into his third year and has yet to prove what he is and had higher expectations than Edmunds. I think the top 10 pick needs to be a plug and play not a developing player. Fitzpatrick , Ward, Nelson, R. Smith.

Forget the needs , we have to draft the BPA at 8. If we add a Fitzpatrick, he upgrades Amos with a play maker. If we draft Ward. he upgrades Prince at CB. If we draft Edmunds, he takes Lynches place. The point is , you need to draft play makers no matter what position, it makes the D or O better. Amos or Kwiat are starter quality players in the NFL but they are not difference makers, we need to upgrade any position that makes us better.

For me, as the post title stated, drafting in the top 10 needs us to grab a player than can start in year one and become a all pro type. Barkley-Nelson-Chubb-Fritzpatrick-Ward- R. Smith all fit that type. Next you have James-Edmunds-Vea-Davenport-Landry may become those players. There is no guarantee for any but usually the best players have less risk. So do we draft on potential or draft a less risk player? We all project what we want someone to be because of needs the team have. I think we need to take the BPA even if its not a fill a need. Chubb is a no brainer, will not be there. Nelson is a no brainer , probably will not be there. Barkley is not a need but if there, puts us in a better position to trade back. Fritz and Ward or R. Smith should be available for us, so we should just grab the BPA at that spot. We all have different opinions but if you look at all information available, the top 6 non QB player have been consistently listed through out the process. Edmunds has moved up since the beginning of the process because he is a physical freak, but is he really a top 10 player type. So many times players look good at the combine and everybody values them more, I want the best football player, not the top physical stud..

If we move back Mike McG could definitely be a target. He plays RT this year and can eventually move to LT. Another thought is drafting Connor William and play him at left guard and switch to RT next year. Let Morgan develop for one more year and take over the LG spot. I like the first 5 and Nall as a RB

I am pushing for R. Smith to be our first pick. I listen to some podcasts today and have now the opinion if Nelson is gone, our choice will be between Nelson , Fritzpatrick, or Edmunds. Because of Paces love of high upside physical studs, it will probably be Edumunds. Nelson is the pick if he is there, but Fitzpatrick comes in the picture as a defensive play maker that could be played at 5 spots on the defense. I still would not mind seeing R. Smith, but do not think Paces has him in his top 4 or 5.

He will start on inside. He does not have ideal size for the OLB but since the Bears are in the nickel package 60 to 70% of the time, he is a LB left on the field. He has pass rush ability, coverage ability.He can slide out there is specific packages. Edmunds has idea size for OLB, but my whole point is if drafting Smith, you have a plug and play LB in the Patrick Willis mode and Fangio would put him in a position to contribute on the field. Last year he had 5.5 sacks and 13 QB hurries. Not the primary pass rusher but could easily get 4 to 6 each year from an inside rush. Linebackers are asked to do a lot in today’s NFL in coverage and being good at any one of those things isn’t enough. Smith is good at all of them. He can cover man to man, shut down plays in front of him in zone, and – critically – make an impact on deeper zones and routes that develop behind him. This last aspect of coverage may be the hardest to master but, move the needle the most at the next level. Luke Kuechly is one of the best linebackers in the game because he is more of a factor on those plays than anybody else, able to squeeze passing windows like few other players. Twitter Ads info and privacy A perfect example of this kind of playmaking from Roquan Smith came against Auburn this past season. On 3rd and 16, he was able to read the route combination quickly, spot the crosser and stay with it to the back corner of the end zone and deflect the pass away. This is elite level coverage and while it came early in this game when it was still a one-score encounter, this is the type of play that Jones was making last season to end games in victories for Atlanta. Obviously, Smith isn’t perfect, and you can find plays on tape where he gets beat, just as you can for any other player. The key question is how many are there and how often do they come? Smith’s bad plays are few and far between, and the number of good in between them is what makes him such an excellent prospect. Also, the fact that the negatives don’t appear to present any kind of specific pattern of weaknesses, rather simply represent the bad reps that every player has in his game somewhere. Edmunds and Vander Esch may both top 250-pounds and stand at least 6-foot-4. They each have multiple inches on Smith when it comes to wingspan and all of those measurables have many people salivating over the potential that each player possesses. Both have graded well at PFF during their college playing time, but not in the same ballpark as Smith has. Some may have Smith below those players on their draft boards because of the potential that each player possesses, but the bottom line is that they would need to realize most of that potential to overcome the gap in production to Smith. If they’re lucky, both Edmunds and Vander Esch each have the potential to become as good as Smith, but if I was drafting I’d take the guy who already is Roquan Smith, and may quickly become one of the game’s best coverage linebackers and a true mismatch weapon on defense. 2018 NFL DRAFT

I think if they add a RB in the draft it will be someone a little bigger to be able to handle a full load. Cannon is not very big. We still have Taquan Mizzell on the roster, the scat back type. http://www.nfl.com/draft/2017/profiles/taquan-mizzell?id=2558716 He was a very productive college player. He has 4.36 speed

Nathan Shepherd/DT Fort Hayes State had a visit with the Bears 6'3 3/4" 315

Edmonds can play any LB position but Smith is limited to a specific role? Read the player profiles? He is a stud with versatility. I would have no problem with either choice, I think Smith will have an instant contribution and Edmonds will take time. Edmonds has great potential but Smith has leadership characteristics, cover ability, and passrush skills. He will have more pro bowls over his career than Edmonds.

I think Fitzpatrick would be an excellent pick but If Nelson is there, they take him. Everything going forward is to build around Tribusky. Protecting him will be a priority. Fritz can play all 5 DBs spots. Also blitzer and leader of the defense. He gives us insurance at any of those positions plus play making ability. Fangio would love to play chess with him.

First round at 8 only has one option of value in Q. Nelson. I think if we move back in the draft, C. Williams (at OG), Hernandez, Wynn, M. McGlinchey are in play. I think there is a chance one of those drop into the second plus in play as a pick is Daniels, Price, Corbert, and T Crosby. I think a couple wildcard sneeky picks that could go at 2 are Frank Ragnow/OC and Branden Smith/OG. A sleeper for later in the draft is Skyler Phillips/OG/Idaho State. I watched several games for him and he knocks a lot of people on the ground.

If Nelson is not there, do not sleep on us potential drafting either Landry or Davenport at that spot. If Pace is sold on a pass rusher, you could listen to the argument they both would be better than Edmunds in that skill. I think Nelson is a no brainier also I think R Smith and Fritzpatrick, possibly Ward are all in play as first choices. Those 3 have an instant impact in the first year. Edmunds has upside but is more like Floyd that it will take a few years to develop. Instant impact players I think has to be consider is Vea, teamed with Hicks and Goldman.

Edmunds will take a few years to develop but then it is not certain he is a star. He has great measurables but will be switching to the outside from his normal position. Smith is a day one starter and impact player. Team leader , I was all on board taken Edmunds but not think R. Smith has more of an impact on the team.

Who in this draft is going to be a blue chip player from day one and makes us a better team now? Chubb could be the guy but will not be there. Barkley could be consider that type of player, but he will not be there in almost any scenario. Next will be Nelson, a potential instant all pro type. He would give us strength at a key need and push the O in his first year to be better. Now we are at players we probably have the best shot at . Fritzpatrick can be used all over the field at any DB spot and be a playmaker we badly need. A prime candidate if available . R. Smith would instantly make out defense better. a Luke Kuechly type that improves the players around him. Ward could be the same type with being a playmaker as Lattimore did last year for NO. NO sucked before they got him and he transcended them to a descent D in one year. Another player I believe could have instant impact is if we took Vita Vea for the 5T spot. He would make our DL one of best in the league. Players that would take development past the first year: Edmunds,Ridley, James, Davenport or Landry would be able to do that immediately. I think our pick should be out of Nelson-R. Smith-Fritzpatrick-Ward-Vea in that order. Whoever is available at 8, trading back gets us a good prospect but not a day one plug and play star.

I see no way we move up. Chubb is the only one worth the move, but we dont have enough draft capital to do a move up to 4 to get Chubb. that would take our 2nd, both 4s and a high pick next year. He may go at 2 but I do not see him sliding past 5 at worst case. He traded up for the the 2 most valuable spots. We have a QB now and a pass rusher. He will stay at 8 to pick, Nelson, Fritz, R. Smith, or Edmunds. He could move back and still get Davenport or Landry. I see in a move back that would could draft Connor Williams and play him at OG, or M. McGil to replace Massie.

Read where Whitehair has been at the OC spot in OTAs. I think they end up leaving him there. I think it is possible, if we trade back that we could draft Connor Williams at OG. He was the highest rated OT going into the college year and had a bad year. I have read,. a lot think he could easily be places at OG.