you have to have a quality backup at OG when you are devoted to Jenkins (injury) and Davis (disinterest) as your starters

Poles prioritized him a year ago but the Bills surprisingly matched the offer...and then moved him from starter to backup.

A fifth seems a high, seeing what they paid for a similar guy in Feeney last year. If a backup lineman is worth a fifth, how is Fields not worth much, much more?

That series of late round draft pick lineman from Poles' first draft looks to have fizzled, although he did hit big with Braxton Jones. I don't know why people are so eager to move from Jones.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

He's the hedge at center too.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Because other teams don't have much interest in him because he struggles with the forward pass?

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I think Jones is fine, similarly to how Leno was fine.

That profile at the most important spot on the line doesn’t throw off warm & fuzzies. I’d be fine with them going tackle at 9 if somehow Alt makes it that far and using Jones as a depth guy.

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His draft position shapes fan perception of him.

If he were a first round pick who was all rookie and then showed what he showed after recovering from injury in year 2, we'd be saying that we are set at the position for 10 years.

Compare him to how we consider Darnell Wright.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I think Jones is better than Leno was. It's difficult to fully evaluate him, though, since he was playing hurt through much of the year. That said, it seems highly unlikely he'll ever be a top-tier left tackle. At one point, there were rumors that Poles might want to shift Jones to RT, move Wright to guard, and draft a LT. It's an interesting idea, but I doubt he'd want Wright to shift to the interior just yet.

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A 5th rounder for a backup?

I don't think we need a top 5 guy at every position. Jones is reliable and an above average LT. He's still getting better.

Wright doesn't strike me as a gut that you can ask to do a lot of different things. You may have to occasionally remove crayons from his mouth.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Every team talks about finding a lineman who will make them set for the next decade. That is exactly what Charles Leno was, 10 year starter in the league at LT.

I'm very comfortable with Braxton Jones at that spot. Just like Leno, he's good enough that you keep kicking the can down the road, at least until the end of his first contract. We have limited draft resources and plenty of other higher priorities.

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Poles loves his guards who also play center in a pinch but who play center as a starter for the Bears.

Its time to get that position corrected

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

A top 5 guy at every position? Do we have a top 5 guy at any position? Maybe corner?

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Poles seems to place a lot of value in interior linemen who are flexible enough to show they’re below average at a lot of different things.

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I think he will, but he doesn't want to going into free agency and the draft with nothing.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

He likes Bates. You MUST have a quality third guard option if you are going to roll with Jenkins.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Poles paying draft capital for a player that most likely would have been waived.



This is why I still have questions about Poles, in a deep OL draft like this you probably could have drafted a better player with that 5th.

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If the rule you followed lead you to this, of what use was the rule?

I think Jones is better than Leno. This Bates move kinda signals that he's the LT. You're not moving Jones inside or moving him a swing tackle.

_________________
Be well

GO BEARS!!!

You don't go into free agency with a could in your pocket. A veteran guy who can play 3 positions was worth the 5th. Besides, you know he'll trade down enough to get that draft capital back.

_________________
Be well

GO BEARS!!!

He’s a backup guard. There will be plenty of those to pick from when the season opens -not worth a 5th round pick.

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If the rule you followed lead you to this, of what use was the rule?

funny story, I was an usher at a Jerry Falwell fundraising event in 01. It was a dinner where everyone was sitting at round tables eating and there was some sort of programing after dinner. At the time Liberty had one of the better debate teams in the nation. Jerry got up and was bloviating about stuff I wasn't paying attention but he told this room of a 1000 people "Our debate team is full of master debaters" I was sitting all the way on the other side of room but caught the eye of my buddy who was also working it and as quietly as I could, busted out laughing. one gentleman sitting closest to me turned around and he must of also thought it was funny because he had a shit eating grin on his face.