Why not both? The Bears are currently in need of an upgrade at strong side LB. They also need to upgrade the pass rush. Mc Clellin has played plenty of strong side LB in his career and, in fact, played the position at the Senior Bowl. Also, I don't think he is big enough or prepared to be a 3 down DE as of yet. So, let him learn the SAM position for running downs. Idonije is good against the run and would be fine to hold down position on running playes. On passing downs, bring in Roach, who is strong in coverage, move Idonije inside and move Mc Clellin to end.

I don't trust Lovie to be able to maximize the strengths of a rookie but I believe this would be the best situation for the player and team.

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

Then you got the thought put out there by Hub that he will be the replacement for Urlacher in a couple years.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Special Teams Gunner

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No. I would like him to eventually develop into a three down DE. He needs to put on weight, muscle and learn to play the run better from that position, which isn't going to happen in year 1. Anyway, Mc Clellin will be working on his second contract by the time Urlacher retires AND the Bears are going to sign Burfict as an UDFA, who will take the snubbing at the draft as a wake up call and become the player at MLB he clearly can be.

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

Could work and he has the right type of body to do it, but drafting a SAM in the first round for this system is kind of weird. He just needs to be a body that mucks things up for the other linebackers. There's value in that but if that's who he ends up being that is disappointing. He needs to have value via the pass rush, and more than just as a Mark Anderson type.

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Fire Phil Emery

Wasn't he 265? He doesn't need to add that much weight. Adding 10 to 20 pounds is more than enough. That can be done over the coming months

He's already put on 15 pounds since January.

He's going to lose a little speed with a beer belly.

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You know me like that.

Doesn't need to be all fat. He doesn't need to look like Idonije but he can maintain his speed (possible get quicker) while adding a few pounds.

He is currently 260. He played at 245. That is already a big weight gain so a greater increase will become difficult. He will have a lot of learning to do until training camp and won't be able to bulk up as much as you would like. Maybe year 2.

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

It shouldn't be much fat. Every report is that the guy needs more muscle

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

It's just a start to get him on the field and fill two team needs at once. The Bears and I both want an every down DE out of him in the future

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

Upper body strength. Henry Melton can't be more than 270 and he uses his speed to dominate on the inside and outside. If he strengthens his core and improves his upper body strength the weight won't be that big a deal. They're not counting on him playing 60% of the reps.

Melton is 295 and small at that weight. Mc Clellin needs to get to about 280

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

I'm shocked that Melton is listed that high. He doesn't look like he's 300 pounds. I'm sure they've added a few pounds to his actual weight. It's probably not healthy or realistic to add 20 pounds of muscle in the next 3 months. I'll wait to see him on the field but it really would be nice to have a good pass rusher opposite Peppers. Idonije just doesn't get it done for me. Maybe Melton will continue to improve (even though he seemed to plateau last season) and give the Bears the interior pass rush that Lovie needs for his defense to work.

Emery was pretty insistent on playing him at DE and went so far that playing him at LB would be a bad idea, so I don't forsee them shuffling him around. That doesn't mean he won't line up at end and occasionally drop back in coverage.

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Special Team Grinder.

So white sox fans should love him.

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Even Peppers dropped back on occasion

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