Combine Thread

[adam]

Anything going on of interest?

Looks like we have the fastest WR group (ever) with a ton of guys at 4.4 and below. I doubt Olave drops to 39 but some other guys around him surprised with some fast numbers.

[Mongo3451]

Yes, good speed from WR's mode very well for us.  Something else that is a good sign, is that the QB's have impressed.  That will move more WR and QB into the first round and potentially let an OL slide to us that we didn't expect.  And with so many WR running well, one of them should be available in the second or third.

Fatties are working out today!

[Stinger226]

I liked Chris Olave, that's pretty obvious but I thought Alex Pierce and Christian Watson were pretty impressive. Both shouted be there at 39. 

[Mongo3451]

Also, Alec Pierce ran an unexpected 4.33.  He's almost 6'3.  He needs to hit the weight room, but we need that speed.

I got that from the Sporting News.  NFL Network has him at 4.41 and over 6'3

Edited March 4, 2022 by Mongo3451

[Mongo3451]

2 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

I liked Chris Olave, that's pretty obvious but I thought Alex Pierce and Christian Watson were pretty impressive. Both shouted be there at 39. 

You beat me by 30 seconds on Pierce, lol...

[Chitownhustla]

1 hour ago, Stinger226 said:

I liked Chris Olave, that's pretty obvious but I thought Alex Pierce and Christian Watson were pretty impressive. Both shouted be there at 39. 

With Watson running a 4.3 do you guys think his 2nd to 3rd round projection will hold true. Playing in 1AA could help with him not moving into the 1st. I just see 6'4 and 4.3 speed with a 38 inch vert and think someone will take him in the 1st. His highlight reel looks impressive too. 

[Stinger226]

7 hours ago, Chitownhustla said:

With Watson running a 4.3 do you guys think his 2nd to 3rd round projection will hold true. Playing in 1AA could help with him not moving into the 1st. I just see 6'4 and 4.3 speed with a 38 inch vert and think someone will take him in the 1st. His highlight reel looks impressive too. 

I went through the rated top 6  WRs by many publications and it generally doesn't include these two. That will change now but that means someone else drops. Maybe Jahan Dotson or a Treylon Burks. I would take any of them. Sky Moore would be a good get ,  a #1 WR will be there.Alex Pierce is my choice.

[AZ54]

14 hours ago, Chitownhustla said:

With Watson running a 4.3 do you guys think his 2nd to 3rd round projection will hold true. Playing in 1AA could help with him not moving into the 1st. I just see 6'4 and 4.3 speed with a 38 inch vert and think someone will take him in the 1st. His highlight reel looks impressive too. 

Too many WR ran too fast for all of them to go in Rd 1.  It's funny because it wasn't too long ago DK Metcalf ran a 4.33 and the draftniks went crazy over him and as raw as he was he went in Rd 1.  

Tomorrow the Edge rushers run the drills and there will be a lot of 1st Rd hype for many of them.    At this point it's already clear there will be players with 1st Rd grades drafted well into the 2nd Rd.  Players like Watson will still be behind them.  The biggest weakness so far is the QBs but as always the demand is there so whenever they start moving late 1st early 2nd we'll see a bit of a run.  That'll pushing some very good players toward 39. 

In an ideal world someone just behind us a few spots really covets someone and we can trade back just a few spots say Atlanta at 42.  That's enough to get us a 4th Rd pick and still be confident a player we want is still there for us.   

After watching the Oline drills I'd be ecstatic if Trevor Penning fell to us but after today I can't see him lasting into the 2nd Rd.  It's not just the raw numbers he moved well in all of the drills.  He may need time but he has more than enough raw talent to be really good for a decade.   Raimann looked really good too but his arm length is a bit of an issue.  

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/trevor-penning/32005045-4e36-8721-c716-03d03a853c33 

There are several good interior options including Zion who looked good overall.  Given how well he performed at C during the Senior Bowl week and what he said about enjoying making the protection calls and getting everyone aligned, plus his versatility along the interior he'd be really good pick for us.  I still remember the Sean Payton philosophy about making sure the middle of the Oline was good because it meant the QB could always step up if needed to avoid edge rush.   There are a few other options at C that looked good too including Zach Tom but I don't like the fact he skipped the bench as strength/power is a concern.  Since we're apparently moving toward a zone blocking scheme his athleticism fits well. I see him as a possible 4th Rd pick.   Beef Jurgens anyone?  Athleticism through the roof,  and a physical style of play that matches Jenkins, but after watching a bit of film it seems to me he doesn't know how to use his talent.  He's just trying to push people around using his strength with little or poor technique.   He's not ready to start or fans would be asking to bring Mustipher back, but he is a depth option on day 3 if the coaches think he can learn how to harness his ability.      

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/zach-tom/3200544f-4d13-1680-d84b-a813971a836d

[Stinger226]

A lot of speed in the LB group.

[adam]

It feels like this has become a really deep draft. If Olave or Johnson are not available at 39, I would love to see Poles trade down.

To get back a late 2nd and a 3rd, Poles would need to trade back to between 54-57 (NE, ARZ, DAL, and BUF) who all still have their 3rd rounder in the same range.

It would be 39 for 54 & 85 (NE), 55 & 87 (ARZ), 56 & 88 (DAL), or 57 & 89 (BUF). 15-18 slots seems a little steep but it would give the Bears 3 picks in the top 90. 

For a 2nd and a 4th, Poles can go with CLE at 44/117, BAL 45/118, IND 47/121, or LAC 48/122.

Without a 4th, it almost makes more sense to see if you can move down in one of the second group scenarios (say BAL who has 3x 4th rounders) to end up with 45, 71, 118, 148, and 150 in the first 5 rounds. 

Another scenario is keeping 39, then moving down from 71 in the 3rd to recoup a 4th. If you move down in the 2nd, it's about 5-8 slots for a 4th. In the 3rd, it's about 9-11 slots which seems like a slightly better value. The Bears could slide back to HOU 80/136, IND 82/121, or PHI 83/123. Philly looks like a great candidate as they have a ton of picks.

The best scenario would be trading back with 39 AND 71. That could yield something like this: 45, 83, 118, 123, 148, 150 in the first 5 rounds. Very few teams get 6 players in the top 150.

If some trades went thru, I would also not be opposed to moving back from 123 or 150 and picking up another late 5th or 6th rounder since the Bears don't have a 7th rounder.

[Stinger226]

If a prize is there at 39, keep it , do what you stated, trade 71.

[Mongo3451]

1 hour ago, Stinger226 said:

If a prize is there at 39, keep it , do what you stated, trade 71.

Agreed for the most part.  If there's a dream scenario where someone wants to move up a couple spots and nobody between is targeting your guy, take the win.

[AZ54]

8 hours ago, adam said:

It feels like this has become a really deep draft. If Olave or Johnson are not available at 39, I would love to see Poles trade down.

To get back a late 2nd and a 3rd, Poles would need to trade back to between 54-57 (NE, ARZ, DAL, and BUF) who all still have their 3rd rounder in the same range.

It would be 39 for 54 & 85 (NE), 55 & 87 (ARZ), 56 & 88 (DAL), or 57 & 89 (BUF). 15-18 slots seems a little steep but it would give the Bears 3 picks in the top 90. 

For a 2nd and a 4th, Poles can go with CLE at 44/117, BAL 45/118, IND 47/121, or LAC 48/122.

Without a 4th, it almost makes more sense to see if you can move down in one of the second group scenarios (say BAL who has 3x 4th rounders) to end up with 45, 71, 118, 148, and 150 in the first 5 rounds. 

Another scenario is keeping 39, then moving down from 71 in the 3rd to recoup a 4th. If you move down in the 2nd, it's about 5-8 slots for a 4th. In the 3rd, it's about 9-11 slots which seems like a slightly better value. The Bears could slide back to HOU 80/136, IND 82/121, or PHI 83/123. Philly looks like a great candidate as they have a ton of picks.

The best scenario would be trading back with 39 AND 71. That could yield something like this: 45, 83, 118, 123, 148, 150 in the first 5 rounds. Very few teams get 6 players in the top 150.

If some trades went thru, I would also not be opposed to moving back from 123 or 150 and picking up another late 5th or 6th rounder since the Bears don't have a 7th rounder.

My best case scenario is that we get two legitimate starters out of this draft.  Preferably at Oline, WR, DB, LB.   Depth players are always available in FA albeit more expensive than a rookie.  With that, I'm hesitant to just trade back for the sake of adding picks and depth.  I feel like our best trade scenarios are the less aggressive ones (i.e drop back 1-4 spots) where you absolutely know one of your top players is still on the board.  That of course doesn't yield much in terms of additional picks but gives us a chance to add cheap developmental depth day 3.     

I don't think there is any scenario where I'd want to drop back out of the top 50.   That feels like we drop way back expecting at least one of 5 targets will remain on the board but they won't be there because other teams had the same 5 targets.  At 71 the grades usually flatten out and trading back here is less of a concern.  OTOH this draft has some crazy good depth and there is likely a cliff somewhere in the 3rd RD grades. 

[Mongo3451]

Every year players stock rises and falls at the combine.  Who y'all got?

[Stinger226]

2 hours ago, Mongo3451 said:

Every year players stock rises and falls at the combine.  Who y'all got?

WRs.....Watson, Pierce, Jahan Dotson, George Pickens, Calvin Austin, Skyy Moore. Ones that should be available at 39 or 71.

[Mongo3451]

43 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

WRs.....Watson, Pierce, Jahan Dotson, George Pickens, Calvin Austin, Skyy Moore. Ones that should be available at 39 or 71.

Good list.  David Bell may slip to the middle after running a 4.65.  He might be a good fit in the 3rd/4th round if we draft a fatty first.

[adam]

12 minutes ago, Mongo3451 said:

Good list.  David Bell may slip to the middle after running a 4.65.  He might be a good fit in the 3rd/4th round if we draft a fatty first.

Man if we got Zion AND Bell, that would be sweet.

[Mongo3451]

14 minutes ago, adam said:

Man if we got Zion AND Bell, that would be sweet.

At first, I said no to Zion, as I read various articles that his athleticism was limited.  He did very well for himself this week.  GM's loved him in the interviews.  I still contend LT is priority one, but after that any good OL prospect will make us better.

[adam]

On 3/6/2022 at 7:52 PM, Mongo3451 said:

At first, I said no to Zion, as I read various articles that his athleticism was limited.  He did very well for himself this week.  GM's loved him in the interviews.  I still contend LT is priority one, but after that any good OL prospect will make us better.

It would be nice to have at least one vet tackle, someone like Armstead, who would be a top quality LT for the remainder of Fields rookie deal (next 4 years). We need to have a good mix of guys at different points in their careers, otherwise, they all pop at the same time and you lose 2-3 guys.

[Mongo3451]

1 hour ago, adam said:

It would be nice to have at least one vet tackle, someone like Armstead, who would be a top quality LT for the remainder of Fields rookie deal (next 4 years). We need to have a good mix of guys at different points in their careers, otherwise, they all pop at the same time and you lose 2-3 guys.

I would love to add Armstead.  He was a guest on GMFB yesterday.  They showed a clip of Sean Payton taking about him and talking about his leadership.  Lemon stated in another thread that he is an injury risk.

Say we fork out 16 mil a year to Armstead, then we can draft BPA with our two second round picks.  We could really upgrade our receivers and secondary quickly.  This is also a great draft for edge rushers and you can never have enough of those.  

Or what about Eric Fisher?

[Stinger226]

Armstead will get more than 16. I figure 20 but maybe it's tied to his number of games played.He made 13 mil last yr, and there are 11. LTs  making over 15 mil, other than Bakhtiai and Trent Williams, hes better than 9 of them.

[Mongo3451]

10 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

Armstead will get more than 16. I figure 20 but maybe it's tied to his number of games played.He made 13 mil last yr, and there are 11. LTs  making over 15 mil, other than Bakhtiai and Trent Williams, hes better than 9 of them.

He is, but his injury history would be a big concern paying him huge bucks.

[killakrzydav]

Wouldn't you love to sign a premier LT worth the Mack savings?

[AZ54]

24 minutes ago, killakrzydav said:

Wouldn't you love to sign a premier LT worth the Mack savings?

This is scary stuff for someone over 30 who is asking for a big contract:  

https://www.si.com/nfl/saints/news/terron-armstead-offseason-knee-surgery-report

On the other hand, Armstead has never made it through a full season, with his highest participation being in 15 games from the 2019 season.

[Stinger226]

I think any contract has a games played stipulation if they acquire Armstead. Personally I would not bring in an injured player just because you need players to play. I would rather have Duane Brown at 37 with little injury history.