Defensive draft challenge

[jason]

In one of the other threads I mentioned something similar to the old-school Washington+Traylor combo. The reason that worked so well is that they basically set up a wall and said, "You either have to run around wide, or pass." It was pretty effective in that regard. What if the Bears did something similar in the near future?

 

The way I see it, you need 2-3 components with this idea:

1) The stout DL, obviously

2) Athletic LBs, to chase outside, cover gaps, and go into pass coverage

3) A decent secondary

 

So here is my challenge:

 

Choose a combination of 3-4 ILB, and/or 3-4 OLB, and/or 3-4 DE that realistically could fall into the Bears draft position. Could be DE, DE, ILB. Or maybe ILB, DE, OLB. Whatever. Give the reason for your picks and the players being replaced.

 

[ASHKUM BEAR]

In one of the other threads I mentioned something similar to the old-school Washington+Traylor combo. The reason that worked so well is that they basically set up a wall and said, "You either have to run around wide, or pass." It was pretty effective in that regard. What if the Bears did something similar in the near future?

 

The way I see it, you need 2-3 components with this idea:

1) The stout DL, obviously

2) Athletic LBs, to chase outside, cover gaps, and go into pass coverage

3) A decent secondary

 

So here is my challenge:

 

Choose a combination of 3-4 ILB, and/or 3-4 OLB, and/or 3-4 DE that realistically could fall into the Bears draft position. Could be DE, DE, ILB. Or maybe ILB, DE, OLB. Whatever. Give the reason for your picks and the players being replaced.

 

I will give this a try.

1-Jaylon Smith ILB - the Bears get shredded up the middle by the RB or TE. Smith will take the reins of leading and help solidify the carousel. He will line up weak side, so Shea gets re-signed to man the strong

2-Shawn Oakman DT- Oakman has the size and strength to anchor one of the edges. Long arms to snag RBs or knock down passes. Oakman, Goldman, and Jenkins will start, with Sutton, Ferguson, Washington mixing in.

3-James Cowser OLB - Cowser reminds me of Clay Matthews with maybe a little more speed. 6-3 260 and 4.65 speed. He will start off as a situational pass rush and eventually replaces Young/Houston. He then will be the Jack

 

[jason]

I will give this a try.

1-Jaylon Smith ILB - the Bears get shredded up the middle by the RB or TE. Smith will take the reins of leading and help solidify the carousel. He will line up weak side, so Shea gets re-signed to man the strong

2-Shawn Oakman DT- Oakman has the size and strength to anchor one of the edges. Long arms to snag RBs or knock down passes. Oakman, Goldman, and Jenkins will start, with Sutton, Ferguson, Washington mixing in.

3-James Cowser OLB - Cowser reminds me of Clay Matthews with maybe a little more speed. 6-3 260 and 4.65 speed. He will start off as a situational pass rush and eventually replaces Young/Houston. He then will be the Jack

 

I like it. And Oakman...yikes (Walter Football has him 3-5 rd)

[jason]

I actually think Young has come on as of late as an OLB. Maybe he just needed to get the OLB experience? I don't mind seeing him and McPhee as the starters at OLB. That has my needs as ILB and DE.

 

Here are the two realistic scenarios I like the most, or that I can see off the bat.

 

1. Reggie Ragland, ILB, Alabama

2. Scooby Wright, ILB, Arizona

3. Shawn Oakman, 3-4DE, Baylor

In this one, Ragland is the thumper, and Scooby is the 100% hustle player who goes sideline to sideline.

 

1. Robert Nkemdiche, 3-4DE, Ole Miss

2. Scooby Wright, ILB, Arizona

3. Cassanova McKinzy, ILB, Auburn

In this one, I honestly think Nkemdiche could potentially drop, but let's say he doesn't. I don't like this one as much.

 

[ASHKUM BEAR]

I like it. And Oakman...yikes (Walter Football has him 3-5 rd)

Great blue north had him as the 33rd prospect

Cbs sports has him at 64th.

Maybe a 2nd to a 3rd value?

[ASHKUM BEAR]

I actually think Young has come on as of late as an OLB. Maybe he just needed to get the OLB experience? I don't mind seeing him and McPhee as the starters at OLB. That has my needs as ILB and DE.

 

Here are the two realistic scenarios I like the most, or that I can see off the bat.

 

1. Reggie Ragland, ILB, Alabama

2. Scooby Wright, ILB, Arizona

3. Shawn Oakman, 3-4DE, Baylor

In this one, Ragland is the thumper, and Scooby is the 100% hustle player who goes sideline to sideline.

 

1. Robert Nkemdiche, 3-4DE, Ole Miss

2. Scooby Wright, ILB, Arizona

3. Cassanova McKinzy, ILB, Auburn

In this one, I honestly think Nkemdiche could potentially drop, but let's say he doesn't. I don't like this one as much.

I think Ragland would make a great strong side ILB. Not sure if i would take him at pick ten or better though.

[AZ54]

Here's my plan:

 

Rd 1) Ragland. Since the focus of this is run defense I'm choosing the best ILB for that right now. In FA I re-sign SMC and I sign Trevathan. Let the three compete to see who starts but we'll have the depth we need.

 

Rd 1a) I'm trading Martellus Bennett and swapping our 2nd Rd pick to move backup into the 1st RD to take DeForest Buckner. He falls a bit because of concerns about his pass rushing but he's a 2-gap run-stopping stud with the length and agility to improve his pass rushing skills with proper coaching.

 

Rd 3) Kyler Fackrell. He's a 6'5" 250lb OLB with the edge quickness we don't have in our current mix of OLB. He has the length to get off blocks well in the running game but needs more strength. In the meantime, he's more of a 3rd down specialist as he learns the game and, since this is about fixing our run defense, that means our better run defending OLB get some rest for 1st and 2nd down. Fackrell can run and cover in the open field as well, something we really don't have among our OLB.

 

There aren't many highlights on Fackrell and in some cases you can't even find his name but I'm betting by the time we hit the draft he'll be better known because he's a good athlete. CBSSports has him listed at 113 overall but before his knee injury in 2014 he was looked at as top 60 prospect. Before the 2014 season, and his knee injury, Kiper had him as the #18 prospect overall.

 

As a side note, I was about 10min into researching him before I realized he went to high school with my kids and led their football team to the state championship. He played QB, RB, WR, DB, KR, and PR. First time I can remember watching someone play a lot of high school games and then seeing him come back around for the draft.

 

 

 

 

[scs787]

I brought up going after Damon Harrison, so I'm obviously a fan of getting big up front.

 

Goldman has played the 5 in college, and I'm fairly certain he's lined up there this year as well. He's shown to be a pretty solid pass rusher this year as well, so he's more than just that anchor NT.

 

You pair Goldman with Harrison, and youre simply not running that way.

 

Still think Trevathon is a must.

 

In the draft...

 

1. DeForest Buckner- I don't think there's anyway he makes out of the top 12. Goldman-Harrison-Buckner is just scary.

 

2. Su'a Cravens ILB- Cravens has played all over for USC, mostly safety, but scouts think his home in the NFL will be at linebacker. Obviously brings some cover skills as a former safety. McPhee-Trevathon-Cravens-Young/Houston looks pretty solid.

 

3. Tony Conner S- Fast, rangy safety to pair with Amos. Ole Miss has lined him up everywhere, so he's not afraid to mix things up in the box either.

 

 

[Chitownhustla]

I actually think Young has come on as of late as an OLB. Maybe he just needed to get the OLB experience? I don't mind seeing him and McPhee as the starters at OLB. That has my needs as ILB and DE.

 

Here are the two realistic scenarios I like the most, or that I can see off the bat.

 

1. Reggie Ragland, ILB, Alabama

2. Scooby Wright, ILB, Arizona

3. Shawn Oakman, 3-4DE, Baylor

In this one, Ragland is the thumper, and Scooby is the 100% hustle player who goes sideline to sideline.

 

1. Robert Nkemdiche, 3-4DE, Ole Miss

2. Scooby Wright, ILB, Arizona

3. Cassanova McKinzy, ILB, Auburn

In this one, I honestly think Nkemdiche could potentially drop, but let's say he doesn't. I don't like this one as much.

 

Either of these would be great!

[ASHKUM BEAR]

Well look at this. Jason did you write this up?

 

http://thedraftwire.usatoday.com/2015/12/2...he-first-round/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Stinger226]

I actually think Young has come on as of late as an OLB. Maybe he just needed to get the OLB experience? I don't mind seeing him and McPhee as the starters at OLB. That has my needs as ILB and DE.

 

Here are the two realistic scenarios I like the most, or that I can see off the bat.

 

1. Reggie Ragland, ILB, Alabama

2. Scooby Wright, ILB, Arizona

3. Shawn Oakman, 3-4DE, Baylor

In this one, Ragland is the thumper, and Scooby is the 100% hustle player who goes sideline to sideline.

 

1. Robert Nkemdiche, 3-4DE, Ole Miss

2. Scooby Wright, ILB, Arizona

3. Cassanova McKinzy, ILB, Auburn

In this one, I honestly think Nkemdiche could potentially drop, but let's say he doesn't. I don't like this one as much.

 

[Stinger226]

I actually think Young has come on as of late as an OLB. Maybe he just needed to get the OLB experience? I don't mind seeing him and McPhee as the starters at OLB. That has my needs as ILB and DE.

 

Here are the two realistic scenarios I like the most, or that I can see off the bat.

 

1. Reggie Ragland, ILB, Alabama

2. Scooby Wright, ILB, Arizona

3. Shawn Oakman, 3-4DE, Baylor

In this one, Ragland is the thumper, and Scooby is the 100% hustle player who goes sideline to sideline.

 

1. Robert Nkemdiche, 3-4DE, Ole Miss

2. Scooby Wright, ILB, Arizona

3. Cassanova McKinzy, ILB, Auburn

In this one, I honestly think Nkemdiche could potentially drop, but let's say he doesn't. I don't like this one as much.

I would love the first choices, I see Scooby Wright end up being the best LB drafted this year. His injury caused him to slide to the second round or he would be a top 15 pick.The slots fit right on your picks on everything I have read so far.

Ragland is Alabama's defensive leader so we need someone to add leadership to our defense.

We have so many needs, we could go many different directions.

OL needs help, I think we need to get a starter at RG which we may be able to find with our 4th or 5th round picks.

I think Grasu puts on some weight and adds strength where he will be ok at center going forward because he hasnt played well so far.

I think we need to move Long to LT and just leave him there and Fabuluje ends up being our RT going forward.

We still have a problem at S and hopefully grab a SS in Free Agency.

If we end up getting one of the stud ILBers in Free Agency then my first round pick would fall to DeForest Buckner or Emmanuel Ogbah.

 

 

[Stinger226]

I brought up going after Damon Harrison, so I'm obviously a fan of getting big up front.

 

Goldman has played the 5 in college, and I'm fairly certain he's lined up there this year as well. He's shown to be a pretty solid pass rusher this year as well, so he's more than just that anchor NT.

 

You pair Goldman with Harrison, and youre simply not running that way.

 

Still think Trevathon is a must.

 

In the draft...

 

1. DeForest Buckner- I don't think there's anyway he makes out of the top 12. Goldman-Harrison-Buckner is just scary.

 

2. Su'a Cravens ILB- Cravens has played all over for USC, mostly safety, but scouts think his home in the NFL will be at linebacker. Obviously brings some cover skills as a former safety. McPhee-Trevathon-Cravens-Young/Houston looks pretty solid.

 

3. Tony Conner S- Fast, rangy safety to pair with Amos. Ole Miss has lined him up everywhere, so he's not afraid to mix things up in the box either.

Cravens is a good player but at 222 lbs will never play LB in the NFL, SS will be his position at the next level.

[jason]

Cravens is a good player but at 222 lbs will never play LB in the NFL, SS will be his position at the next level.

 

Nonsense. 222lbs is just a tiny small, but could be overcome with speed and instincts if his strength is lacking. Or, he could just be really strong and have great leverage. And with NFL weight training, would it be that hard for him to gain 10lbs?

 

Navarro Bowman - 240

Larence Timmons - 234

D'Qwell Jackson - 242

[jason]

Well look at this. Jason did you write this up?

 

http://thedraftwire.usatoday.com/2015/12/2...he-first-round/

 

HA! I think any of us could have written it. Ragland, Buckner, Stanley...same players we are all discussing with our first pick. ILB, DL, OL, it doesn't take a genius to see that we have issues in all three places. I do like that Ragland was listed first.

[Stinger226]

Nonsense. 222lbs is just a tiny small, but could be overcome with speed and instincts if his strength is lacking. Or, he could just be really strong and have great leverage. And with NFL weight training, would it be that hard for him to gain 10lbs?

 

Navarro Bowman - 240

Larence Timmons - 234

D'Qwell Jackson - 242

Time will tell, those are all 18 lbs, 12 lbs and 20 lbs more that Cravens. Could he be a stud,maybe, but likely not in the same class as those three. Odds are against him and would rather have A Ragland type than take a high pick on someone small. We need closer to sure things than risky picks.