2023 NFL Draft Redo - What would you change?

[jason]

Here's your chance to say what you would have done now that you have 20/20 hindsight. The rules are

• No removing the trades
• No extra trades
• Players can only be selected if they went at or after the Bears picks

 

[Mongo3451]

This is fun since I did way too many mock drafts.

Skor, but love Wright - I wanted a trade down, but Poles read it Wright.

Tuli, but love Dexter.  Tuli projects to be a 3T, while Dexter can play 1 through 7.

Stevenson great trade up.  Stud pick for BPA.

Ika, but love Pickens

Abanikanda over Johnson

Oluwatimi over Scott

 

Not going past 4th.  In Lord Poles I trust.  I've had a man crush on him since he was vetted by my football God, Bill Polian.  I'm so thankful the family realized they know nothing about football.

[BearFan PHX]

5 hours ago, Mongo3451 said:

Not going past 4th.  In Lord Poles I trust.  I've had a man crush on him since he was vetted by my football God, Bill Polian.  I'm so thankful the family realized they know nothing about football.

amen!

[Alaskan Grizzly]

Curious to see how these picks meld with the team.  I was a bit skeptical last year with their picking a lot of defensive players early on but they were able to contribute (especially Gordon) as the season wore on. Really pleased with how Brisker worked out. 

I have a hard time getting excited about any lineman picks so I'm most intrigued to see how Roschon Johnson comes along.

Speaking of linemen...only change I would've like to have seen would have been C Luke Wypler picked up.  I'm guessing the team thinks they have the solution with Whitehair, Patrick or Kramer. 

[dawhizz]

I'll try to be as honest as possible and regardless of where these guys ended up going based on what I think I would have done:

10) Broderick Jones, OT, Georgia - Wright is the better RT right but if you're spending a top ten pick on an OT, I would have taken the guy who projects as a potential better LT but can still be an upgrade right now at RT.

53) Tuli Tuipulotu, DE, USC - Given the run on DEs, I would have snagged my last potential impact guy (who ended up going right after this pick).

56) Adetomiwa Adebawore, DT, Northwestern - He ended up going much later than most expected.  I would have certainly taken him here (though I would have strongly considered Darnell Washington too, not knowing about his injury concerns).

64) Clark Phillips, CB, Utah - A guy I really liked going into the draft who also seemed to slide quite a bit.  This would put him in the slot and Gordon on the outside (whereas the Stevenson pick likely puts him outside and Gordon in the slot).

115) AT Perry, WR, Wake Forest - Another guy who went much later than I figured.  I would have strongly considered him in the third and definitely would have taken him here.  

133) Luke Wypler, C, Ohio State - Ended up going in the 6th but I would have gladly taken him here to compete at C or at least backup at G.

148) Antonio Johnson, S, Texas A&M - Another guy who wasn't really on my radar but I would have taken here to be the 3rd safety.

165) Cory Trice, CB, Purdue - Another guy I liked going into the draft that apparently other teams didn't, but he's got great size and skill for press coverage.

218) Andre Carter, Edge, Army - Went undrafted but the Bears need pass rushing and he's worth developing (and hearing his name called).

258) Sean Tucker, RB, Syracuse - I have my pick of guys I like at the end of the draft at RB but he edges out Keaton Mitchell and Xazavien Valladay.

I'll have to remember to come back to this thread in three years to see how I did . . . 

[Stinger226]

14 minutes ago, dawhizz said:

I'll try to be as honest as possible and regardless of where these guys ended up going based on what I think I would have done:

10) Broderick Jones, OT, Georgia - Wright is the better RT right but if you're spending a top ten pick on an OT, I would have taken the guy who projects as a potential better LT but can still be an upgrade right now at RT.

53) Tuli Tuipulotu, DE, USC - Given the run on DEs, I would have snagged my last potential impact guy (who ended up going right after this pick).

56) Adetomiwa Adebawore, DT, Northwestern - He ended up going much later than most expected.  I would have certainly taken him here (though I would have strongly considered Darnell Washington too, not knowing about his injury concerns).

64) Clark Phillips, CB, Utah - A guy I really liked going into the draft who also seemed to slide quite a bit.  This would put him in the slot and Gordon on the outside (whereas the Stevenson pick likely puts him outside and Gordon in the slot).

115) AT Perry, WR, Wake Forest - Another guy who went much later than I figured.  I would have strongly considered him in the third and definitely would have taken him here.  

133) Luke Wypler, C, Ohio State - Ended up going in the 6th but I would have gladly taken him here to compete at C or at least backup at G.

148) Antonio Johnson, S, Texas A&M - Another guy who wasn't really on my radar but I would have taken here to be the 3rd safety.

165) Cory Trice, CB, Purdue - Another guy I liked going into the draft that apparently other teams didn't, but he's got great size and skill for press coverage.

218) Andre Carter, Edge, Army - Went undrafted but the Bears need pass rushing and he's worth developing (and hearing his name called).

258) Sean Tucker, RB, Syracuse - I have my pick of guys I like at the end of the draft at RB but he edges out Keaton Mitchell and Xazavien Valladay.

I'll have to remember to come back to this thread in three years to see how I did . . .

I would have  taken Tuli instead of Dexter too and AA. Poles clearly thinks Dexter turns into D Buckner or Chris Jones. I think Poles knew he was getting Travis Bell late and rates him a AA clone. If he hits on those 2 DTs , this will be an awesome draft. 

Brugler had Scott rated as a top 50 player in this draft. (48). Wright will be an all pro one day and Johnson will be eventual starter. A lot of experts have Stevenson rated high and Terrell Smith isn't far behind. If Sewell had come out a year earlier, he would have been a first round pick. He had a great 2021 year. 

As far as OC, he felt comfortable with vets maning the center position. With a young OT, A rookie and a young Jenkins, he clearly thought another rookie would hold down the growth of the OL. I agree, 4 young players and Davis would take longer to jell. Had he drafted JMS or Joe Tippmann, he may have changed that philosophy but he needed those high picks to get DL.

In one off-season, he made the back 7 defense one of the best in the league. Added WR help, OL, and Rbs. Another target with Tonyan. Poles has did an outstanding job. Plus draft capital in the future.

[ASHKUM BEAR]

20 hours ago, jason said:

Here's your chance to say what you would have done now that you have 20/20 hindsight. The rules are

• No removing the trades
• No extra trades
• Players can only be selected if they went at or after the Bears picks

 

Looking at the draft round by round, I have a hard time going different. Maybe because I learned about our picks and like what I read. If anything, I'd tale Zack Kuntz TE over Bell but Bell intrigues me too.

1. Darnell Wright OT- same

2 . Getvon Dexter Sr DT- Tuli Tuipoluto DE? I'm good with Dexter even though i liked Tuli. Tuli didn't score a RAS, maybe that made a difference. Poles said DTs make DEs better, we will see.

3. Tyrique Stevenson CB- Same

4. Zacch Pickens DT - Same

5. Roschon Johnson RB

6. Tyler Scott WR

7. Noah Sewel LB

8. Terrell Smith DB

9. Travis Bell DT- Zack Kuntz TE

10. Kendall Williamson S

 

[AZ54]

I started this but I realized it's more challenging than I thought in part because now I know things about a few players that I didn't know beforehand. Darnell Washington looked pretty attractive with one of the 3rd Rd picks but then you learn he (reportedly) has medical concern with his knee.  The other challenge for me is that I simply didn't do that much work on the day 3 prospects this year, especially DBs. 

With that caveat I can really only talk about the first 4 rounds.  After looking over the draft picks about all I'd have done differently is that I'd have taken Dexter  and then Pickens.   I assume Stevenson would have been off the board by 64 so went with Riley Moss.  

10.  Darnell Wright.  he was my target going into the draft even if Carter was on the board as I preferred the much higher floor and RT was a critical need position equal to 3T.  

53.  Gervon Dexter.  I often had him late 2nd or early 3rd in my mocks but the way things went with the heavy emphasis on Edge so early he was easily best available and at a top need position.

56.  Zacch Pickens.  I wouldn't have grabbed the CB here given the dire need for Dline help.  

64. Riley Moss CB   felt he was a good fit for our scheme  and I'd overlook the negative that he went to Iowa.  

115. Tyler Scott.  WR.  Going into Day 3 I wanted a WR to hedge our bets against Velus/ESB/Pettis and also in case contract stuff doesn't work out with Claypool or Mooney.  He was one of my top 3 targets with AT Perry and Xavier Hutchinson but I think he was the best fit among those 3, really the perfect replacement for Mooney should we decide to move on.   Reality is that it's easier to find a Mooney type WR versus a Claypool type and if the two are even in performance in 2023 I'm keeping Claypool because he's the better redzone threat.  

133. Chase Brown.  RB   I didn't do much work going into the draft on RBs but I like Chase

148.  Luke Wypler.  C    no way I'd have skipped Wypler to take a LB here

after that I just don't know enough about the prospects.  

 

 

 

 

[Stinger226]

Actually Tyler Scott was the value pick. Rated 48th best player by Brugler, that's a steal on a deep threat. That's what Velus was supposed to be. I think the reason Poles didn't take  Wypler is we have the same player on the roster in Doug Kramer. Very similar in all their traits. Like you, I liked Brown but Poles took Johnson instead. I really trust Poles until he makes a big mistake with a draft pick.

Last years picks only Ebner looks like a mistake.

Robinson, Carter, Kramer, and Velus Jones still could turn into good players. Hicks is a good special teamer already , which is good for the 7 th round. Zach Thomas was sto!en by LA and got starts last year.

I like what Poles is doing, it seemed flawed last year but it's falling into place. I think this year we win more than we lose. If we can make the playoffs in his second year with 2 first round draft picks staring us in the face. We have a fun next 5 years coming.

I know I'm being very optimistic but it looks very promising to a lot of people, not just me. 

[AZ54]

We have several key players who are rookies (RT, DT, DT) and a relatively new WR corps with DJ Moore an to a lesser extent Claypool still learning the offense. Expect some bumps in the road early in the season but hopefully we'll see some splash plays as a good sign of things to come.  

[Stinger226]

I've been watching a lot of podcasts and don't remember which football guy said it but one of our UDFAs, Thyrick Pitts/ WR from Delaware  , he predicted to make the 53 player roster.

6'3" 200 with 4.37 speed. 

That would be very interesting considering our WR room as it stands.

[dawhizz]

8 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

I've been watching a lot of podcasts and don't remember which football guy said it but one of our UDFAs, Thyrick Pitts/ WR from Delaware  , he predicted to make the 53 player roster.

6'3" 200 with 4.37 speed. 

That would be very interesting considering our WR room as it stands.

Sounds like he was called by a handful of teams but the Bears expressed the most interest and started calling him during Round 6. 
 

https://www.insidenova.com/sports/the-chicago-bears-showed-the-most-interest-in-forest-park-graduate-thyrick-pitts-jr/article_043ede30-e9ad-11ed-89b8-63d26d1e8207.html

[ASHKUM BEAR]

9 minutes ago, dawhizz said:

Sounds like he was called by a handful of teams but the Bears expressed the most interest and started calling him during Round 6. 
 

https://www.insidenova.com/sports/the-chicago-bears-showed-the-most-interest-in-forest-park-graduate-thyrick-pitts-jr/article_043ede30-e9ad-11ed-89b8-63d26d1e8207.html

6-3 4.37, I like this kids size and speed. Hope he shows enough that we can stash him on the PS

[Stinger226]

On 5/3/2023 at 10:51 AM, AZ54 said:

We have several key players who are rookies (RT, DT, DT) and a relatively new WR corps with DJ Moore an to a lesser extent Claypool still learning the offense. Expect some bumps in the road early in the season but hopefully we'll see some splash plays as a good sign of things to come.  

Actually Fields has been spending time with Claypool and Moore. I think the only targets he needs to  adjust to is Tonyan and Scott. Also Velus got in the group practice also. I think the transition is smoother than we imagine. They are all on the same page and work to be successful. They hit the ground running. The nice thing is the running game will allow the passing to progress easier. Top 5 running game and top 10 passing offense. 30 points a game? 

Am I to optimistic?

[killakrzydav]

I wanted a center. I wasn’t a big fan of the seventh round swings. I probably would’ve swung at the edge from famu in the seventh

[Stinger226]

I thought Cody Mauch would have been a good get but he went to high. Otherwise they brought in Stromberg from Arkansas. They clearly only saw Tippmann, JMS and Stromberg as up grades, so they didn't draft one. Wypler got a lot of attention but clearly the NFL didn't view him the same as so called draft experts.

[adam]

6 hours ago, killakrzydav said:

I wanted a center. I wasn’t a big fan of the seventh round swings. I probably would’ve swung at the edge from famu in the seventh

I think we go after one next year. They drafted Kramer last year, and still have Whitehair and Patrick on the roster. If they were planning to cut one of them, then yeah, add one, but the more I thought about it, you can only have so many guys at one position and a rookie could easily flame out. At least they know what they have in Whitehair and Patrick.

[ASHKUM BEAR]

1 hour ago, adam said:

I think we go after one next year. They drafted Kramer last year, and still have Whitehair and Patrick on the roster. If they were planning to cut one of them, then yeah, add one, but the more I thought about it, you can only have so many guys at one position and a rookie could easily flame out. At least they know what they have in Whitehair and Patrick.

Seen Kramer missed Mini-camp this weekend.  

[adam]

15 hours ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

Seen Kramer missed Mini-camp this weekend.  

Looks like he is still recovering from injury. This was the rookie minicamp and technically optional for him. So we will see. 

[Stinger226]

We also need to remember that Dieter Eiselen has had reps at OC. He keeps being kept on the roster.  At 6'4" 320 bigger than most OCs in the league. Maybe they groomed him to eventually take over at OC. Next year as Whitehair and Patrick leave, Kramer may fall into that role but Eiselen keeps hanging around. They will draft one and have a competition  at the spot. 

[Bill]

3 hours ago, Stinger226 said:

We also need to remember that Dieter Eiselen has had reps at OC. He keeps being kept on the roster.  At 6'4" 320 bigger than most OCs in the league. Maybe they groomed him to eventually take over at OC. Next year as Whitehair and Patrick leave, Kramer may fall into that role but Eiselen keeps hanging around. They will draft one and have a competition  at the spot. 

Eiselen.  He's been on the roster going on three years?  Have not seen him in a game.  I believe he got reps in preseason.  I have read  a lot about so many loveing him.  

[Stinger226]

He got in a couple of games when Jenkins was having some health issues at RG. He was pretty raw when first signed. I think he will stay as a backup but if he is developing, I can see him getting some more reps at OC. 

[ASHKUM BEAR]

4 hours ago, Bill said:

Eiselen.  He's been on the roster going on three years?  Have not seen him in a game.  I believe he got reps in preseason.  I have read  a lot about so many loveing him.  

He is strong as an ox and pretty smart.  He graduated from Yale on their National Honor Society.  He played LG in college, maybe they can transform him into a Center since he knows how important studies and film are. He is one of those kids you root for.