Forecasting Bears draft needs and offense looks thirsty

[ASHKUM BEAR]

I know most Bear fans like me cannot wait until the Bears dedicate building the D back into the Monster we have seen. The current roster situation seems to dictate at least one more trip to the well for offense. There will be defensive additions but I forecast offense early in the next draft. My forecasted needs as of now will be OLT, CB, WR, DT, and LB.

 

RD1- OLT - this depends on how well Charles Leno Jr performs on his final year under contract, but his mediocre performances may sway Pace to find a superior blindside protector for his prize QB. For Trubisky to be his best, he will need a clean pocket. Names to watch: Mike McGlinchey ND, Connor Williams Tex, and Orlando Bloom Okl.

 

RD2 -WR/CB - depends on bpa.

At WR the Bears only have Kevin White and Markus Wheaton under contract (besides Tanner Gentry and Seales) past this season. The rest of the corp are on one year prove it deals.

At CB the Bears only have Marcus Cooper and Cre'von LeBlanc (also depends on what they do with D Hall) after this season.

Both positions are important and equally needed for success, hopefully we have some luck and land a Tillman or Jeffery.

 

RD3- no pick

 

RD4- DT -Unless we re-sign Hicks, we will be down to Goldman, Bullard, and RRH under contract. I project it will get done but finding another body to rotate will be a need.

 

RD4- CB/WR - depends on what we do in round 2, have to nail the other need here.

 

RD5-CB - doubling down on the CB. No more cast offs or udfa's. Time to draft and groom our own.

 

RD6 -WR Austin Proehl NC -Ricky Proehls son anda familiar target for MT.

 

RD7- ILB - We have Freeman, Trevathan and Kwitkowski for a few more years but Timu, Anderson, and Jones will be FA.

 

My very early Fanspeak mock draft:

1- Mike McGlinchey OLT ND

2-Courtland Sutton WR SMU

4-Michael Hill DT OSU

4- MJ Stewart CB NC

5-Shaq Wiggins CB LSU

6-Austin Proehl WR NC (Jake Wieneke SD ST)

7-Keishawn Bierra ILB WAS

[AZ54]

If ever there was a GM who followed the JAG (Just Another Guy) philosophy it is Pace. Heading into his 3rd year as GM he has no concerns handing out 1yr deals for these type of players and seemingly finds another one the next season if that one didn't work out. So yeah, at this point the roster has all sorts of question marks. Despite the question marks on numerous starting positions I think he's been successful building much better depth. For example on the Dline: Howard, Goldman, Hicks, Bullard, Jenkins, RRH, and Unrein. Oline similarly now has some quality depth at OG but of course lacks it at OT.

 

I think 2018 Rd 1 OT is most likely (doesn't have to be LT) given the investment in Trubisky. Beyond that, it's a roll of the dice. We know that if he sees someone he views as a solid starting LT coming into draft range he'll trade up to get him.

[Stinger226]

If ever there was a GM who followed the JAG (Just Another Guy) philosophy it is Pace. Heading into his 3rd year as GM he has no concerns handing out 1yr deals for these type of players and seemingly finds another one the next season if that one didn't work out. So yeah, at this point the roster has all sorts of question marks. Despite the question marks on numerous starting positions I think he's been successful building much better depth. For example on the Dline: Howard, Goldman, Hicks, Bullard, Jenkins, RRH, and Unrein. Oline similarly now has some quality depth at OG but of course lacks it at OT.

 

I think 2018 Rd 1 OT is most likely (doesn't have to be LT) given the investment in Trubisky. Beyond that, it's a roll of the dice. We know that if he sees someone he views as a solid starting LT coming into draft range he'll trade up to get him.

He is going to have to trade up in the draft because we will not be in the top 15 drafting this year. My point is, we are going to have a winning record this year, at worst 8-8. That is not the normal narrative in all of this but:

 

QB will easily show more production out of this group over the emergency effort we had last year.

 

RB with one of the established better RBs in the league, we also added scheme production with the likes of Cohen and maybe Cunningham.(although I think he may not make the roster)All of this will push more production out of Langford.

 

WR how can anyone say our group this year does not have more upside than last year. Ashton had a mediocre season, our best WR. We will have two WRs with better production than he had last year.

 

TE Other than a injured Miller, Paulson was our next best TE? Shaheen is a future all pro, Miller with less snaps will stay healthy and Sims not only gives us stability but helps the running game substantially .

 

OL we improved dramatically last year and this year only gets better. Long hopefully stays healthy all year and much added depth at all positions. Massie will be average and Leno will be a improved below average LT. With the two TE scheming we will do , this will be one of our strengths.

 

DL If we stood pat, a healthy Goldman and improved Bullard would have been great improvement but we added a starter in quality starter in Howard and good depth in Jenkins and RRH. a top 10 defensive front.

 

LBers With Trevthan coming back and McPhee being healthy again, major upgrade but you add a second year of Floyd that will reach double digit sacks and Houston and Skatu in the mix, big thumbs up. I predict we lead the league in sacks this year.

 

CBs just by numbers it has to be better, but with Cooper, Prince, Banks, Webb, and the improvement of LeBranc and Calahan, a giant step forward.

 

Ss Demps will lead the team in Ints, you add Jackson that will be an all rookie candidate, the switch of Hall and Amos fighting for a roster spot, major improvement.

 

Overall, barring injuries, we will have a winning record. That looks like an ridiculous statement from this side of the season, but stay tuned, it will happen.

[ASHKUM BEAR]

If ever there was a GM who followed the JAG (Just Another Guy) philosophy it is Pace. Heading into his 3rd year as GM he has no concerns handing out 1yr deals for these type of players and seemingly finds another one the next season if that one didn't work out. So yeah, at this point the roster has all sorts of question marks. Despite the question marks on numerous starting position he's been successful building much better depth. For example on the Dline: Howard, Goldman, Hicks, Bullard, Jenkins, RRH, and Unrein. Oline similarly now has some quality depth at OG but of course lacks it at OT.

 

I think 2018 Rd 1 OT is most likely (doesn't have to be LT) given the investment in Trubisky. Beyond that, it's a roll of the dice. We know that if he sees someone he views as a solid starting LT coming into draft range he'll trade up to get him.

He has done a fine job at filling needs without hurting the long term outlook with this philosophy. That gives him a lot of flexibility when the draft comes to find special talents or move up to get a need like qb like he did this year. Hopefully his way works. Since OTs rarely hit the fa market, they will most likely target one early. If the draft fails to produce that position, it is possible Kyle Long slides over as he will start getting accumulated to playing on the left side this season. The rest of the needs will be a crap shoot but it is highly likely CB and WR are regarded.

[Alaskan Grizzly]

I'm thinking Dion Sims will be this years Akiem Hicks. Why?

 

http://sportsmockery.com/2017/03/adam-gase...tole-dion-sims/

[Stinger226]

I'm thinking Dion Sims will be this years Akiem Hicks. Why?

 

http://sportsmockery.com/2017/03/adam-gase...tole-dion-sims/

Another one to consider is Marcus Cooper, Bruce Arians was upset they lost him. I think Pace takes chances on players he thinks is about to breakout. Another canidate to have a very good year is Jaye Howard. He got a good contract from KC last year when his breakout year was in 2015.Then the injury disrailed him. His upside year will be this year on a prove it contract.

I can see our DL having 20 sacks between him, Goldman and Hicks. It could put us in the position to lead the league in sacks.

[Alaskan Grizzly]

Another one to consider is Marcus Cooper, Bruce Arians was upset they lost him. I think Pace takes chances on players he thinks is about to breakout. Another canidate to have a very good year is Jaye Howard. He got a good contract from KC last year when his breakout year was in 2015.Then the injury disrailed him. His upside year will be this year on a prove it contract.

I can see our DL having 20 sacks between him, Goldman and Hicks. It could put us in the position to lead the league in sacks.

 

Yeah I'm actually a huge fan of both Cooper and Sims based on highlights I've seen on both. And the fact Pace paid them both multi-year deals tells us he's a believer too.

 

I'm still not sure on Paces draft strategy but so and for the most part I have liked his FA acquisitions. Well there is the matter of Sanchez. ?

[lemonej]

With Pace's background in pro scouting, its not surprising that he can target some decent young pro prospects on other rosters.I too wonder about his draft approach but,I'm willing to be patient. 2 years in a row he has made what some consider a bold move when he traded up for Floyd last year. With a tweak in Floyd's tackling technique he looks like a player on the rise. He just got to keep the head up when tackling.

[ParkerBear7]

He is going to have to trade up in the draft because we will not be in the top 15 drafting this year. My point is, we are going to have a winning record this year, at worst 8-8. That is not the normal narrative in all of this but:

 

QB will easily show more production out of this group over the emergency effort we had last year.

 

RB with one of the established better RBs in the league, we also added scheme production with the likes of Cohen and maybe Cunningham.(although I think he may not make the roster)All of this will push more production out of Langford.

 

WR how can anyone say our group this year does not have more upside than last year. Ashton had a mediocre season, our best WR. We will have two WRs with better production than he had last year.

 

TE Other than a injured Miller, Paulson was our next best TE? Shaheen is a future all pro, Miller with less snaps will stay healthy and Sims not only gives us stability but helps the running game substantially .

 

OL we improved dramatically last year and this year only gets better. Long hopefully stays healthy all year and much added depth at all positions. Massie will be average and Leno will be a improved below average LT. With the two TE scheming we will do , this will be one of our strengths.

 

DL If we stood pat, a healthy Goldman and improved Bullard would have been great improvement but we added a starter in quality starter in Howard and good depth in Jenkins and RRH. a top 10 defensive front.

 

LBers With Trevthan coming back and McPhee being healthy again, major upgrade but you add a second year of Floyd that will reach double digit sacks and Houston and Skatu in the mix, big thumbs up. I predict we lead the league in sacks this year.

 

CBs just by numbers it has to be better, but with Cooper, Prince, Banks, Webb, and the improvement of LeBranc and Calahan, a giant step forward.

 

Ss Demps will lead the team in Ints, you add Jackson that will be an all rookie candidate, the switch of Hall and Amos fighting for a roster spot, major improvement.

 

Overall, barring injuries, we will have a winning record. That looks like an ridiculous statement from this side of the season, but stay tuned, it will happen.

 

I agree with Stinger's assessment as there is no doubt this team has more depth and talent than we have had in years. And it is also much more balanced than the Lovie years when the defensive was the predominant unit and where resources where highly invested to the detriment of the other phases of the team. Pace has done an excellent job of bringing younger talent, more depth and creating financial flexibility! I'm excited about the Bears!

[AZ54]

Yeah I'm actually a huge fan of both Cooper and Sims based on highlights I've seen on both. And the fact Pace paid them both multi-year deals tells us he's a believer too.

 

I'm still not sure on Paces draft strategy but so and for the most part I have liked his FA acquisitions. Well there is the matter of Sanchez. ?

 

Sanchez was not brought in to throw passes. He was brought here to help the young QBs work through the ups and downs of life in the NFL. I don't have a problem with him as our 3rd QB. You either have an experienced veteran who failed as starter in this role or a promising young QB. With two promising young QBs (varying amounts of promise) we can't afford to have a 3rd inexperienced player in the film room with them. I'd love to have Josh McCown in this role.

[ASHKUM BEAR]

Sanchez was not brought in to throw passes. He was brought here to help the young QBs work through the ups and downs of life in the NFL. I don't have a problem with him as our 3rd QB. You either have an experienced veteran who failed as starter in this role or a promising young QB. With two promising young QBs (varying amounts of promise) we can't afford to have a 3rd inexperienced player in the film room with them. I'd love to have Josh McCown in this role.

Exactly. Sanchez shouldn't take much time to get the system down and then he can shift back to the 3rd string. He is more so the mentor. If something happens to Glennon early on,, then I'd expect him to jump to the 1st string.

[lemonej]

Before the OTAs, last mini camp and Training camp I have a preseason list of 25 guys I will be watching at the beginning of the college season whatever way I can to see if they are prospects that can help the Bears. I will also try and make a list of FBS and small school prospects since everything is on the table with Pace.