-everyone keeps saying it was a safe draft. I don't find the two DT safe picks. I think both have loads of untapped talent that are great picks if you can reach them. If not, that was a position from which you needed producers in year 1. We'll see. I'm pretty hopeful on both of them. The same is true for Stevenson. Also, if character is your big thing, he's had his run ins with the law. I think the second round should produce starters, not possible starters. We got possible starters.

-The rest of the draft is solid. That Minnesota secondary was quietly a lock down group but none of the players were highly rated. Maybe they just played great team defense but I'm happy to take my chances that there is underrated talent.

-It's pretty obvious Poles doesn't like Jack Sanborn as much as everyone else seems to. He prioritized every phase of the off season getting him off the field.

-Can we just marvel a bit at the transformation at WR over the past calendar year? Really, the entirety of the skills positions has either developed or gained talent to the point that I think they are poised to be a great offense next year.

-I know they are in really good shape at TE for next year. However, that is a position you always have to be thinking 2-3 years down the road about because it takes so long to develop players. They should have taken someone. Kuntz was there later in the draft and he was a guy who seemed like a perfect developmental player. I know Poles likes Kmet, but they are now pretty much locked in to having to give him a contract

-ok, the nfl didn't like the center position as much as I did in the draft. I know Juice Scruggs went far too high and it caught Poles by surprise. Was he really the only guy they liked?

-are we really that sure that Jackson is going to be 100% to start the season? Even if he is, he's probably in his last year. S was a mid level need here.

-Wright was a fine pick. I trust him being the starter for the next several years much more than Braxton Jones. I just think he's a Leno type, where he so far exceeded his draft position that we equate it with being great among the general population of LT. Then he will be just good enough that they'll prioritize other positions of need as he sits there at LT through a second contract.

-I still think our DL is going to be a mess next year. They are better everywhere else, but there isn't one position on that line that I feel is buttoned up.

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

Not taking a TE and a interior lineman just blows my mind. Kuntz would have been a great add late in the draft. No clue why they took a developmental DT when they could have added him.

I have been reading a lot on the 2 DTs taken earlier. It seems several people are really high on them and there is no doubt a ton of potential in them.

As always we will see.

I am really happy with the Wright pick and the WR pick.

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

The DT picks were reaches resulting from Poles' inability to find players at those positions over the past 15 months.

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Why did Bears fans think they were going to draft a center? They made it clear they would like to see what Whitehair can do at center again. And they aren't going to admit their mistake and cut Lucas Patrick, they will give him one more year. Patrick and Whitehair will battle it out for center and then one of them will slide over to guard for Jenkin's annual 3-6 week injury. And they also seem to like last years 6th rounder, Doug Kramer.

They heavily scouted Scruggs. He was projected lower and I think they had him pegged as their first pick in the 4th. Someone took him in the second.

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

They also had no fewer than five coaches and scouts taking a look at Tippmann.

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Jets were Jetting all over the early draft. They didn't have a lot of picks and, just like with Rogers, it seemed they fell in love with players they needed to have no matter their relative value.

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

Hypothetical, if Braxton Jones shits the bed, is Darnell Wright capable of sliding over and playing left tackle?

Yes, but he looks so much better at RT. Jones wasn't just adequate at the end of last season, he was really good. He doesn't have an anchor either. He could be great if he gets one of those.

_________________
Be well

GO BEARS!!!

You must have missed the game late in the season in which Lions rookie linebacker(6th rounder) James Houston ate his lunch

Also my point is it's very easy to find right tackles. It's pretty damn hard to find a really good three technique.

I've heard many players say a really good/great 3T isn't a must. We'll see. I would have loved to have Myles Murphy or Nolan Smith, but I'm not worried about Jones sucking. I'm happy Fields has ZERO excuses if he doesn't play well. The offense around him is legitimately solid to really good.

_________________
Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Grab the under 7.5 for Bears season win total before the books drop it to 6.5

Hot take: local boy and Polish Hammer, Andre Szmyt beats out Cairo Santos. If we couldn't have Skoronski, at least we got Szmyt

Edit: he's Russian, fuck it, cut him today

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

It seems like Poles was pursuing dual paths here:
- get enough offensively (including Moore and Claypool) to give Fields a fair assessment next year, and
- stockpile enough so that if Fields just can't be a solid passer even with an improved line and improved receivers that he still has draft capital to get a QB early in next year's draft.

The cost of that is that the defense may get torched from time to time next year. But a 7-10 record where Fields establishes himself but loses some shootouts is ok and sets up an extension conversation. Because if with 2 new receivers, 2 new lineman, and a new #2 TE the offense falters and they go 4-13 and Fields looks like shit, then everyone will know that it's time to move on from him.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

If Stevenson isn't starting on Day 1, alongside Johnson and Gordon, that's alarming. Vildor is awful and is not a starting CB. He really should be fighting for a roster spot.

Sanborn is really a backup after the free agent moves. He'll play 20-25 snaps a game based on rotations/formations, but the 3rd LB won't play nearly as much as a 3rd CB in that defense.

DL has some possible rotational pieces and now younger players they can develop into dependable starters for the next 5-7 seasons, but this is going to be a multi-year effort. I would expect them to add another veteran edge rusher (if available) in free agency, but it's just a mishmash of average to below average players currently. It's going to need another 1-2 drafts of higher round draft pick hits to get this beyond average.

I think the strong side is still his position to lose.

_________________
Be well

GO BEARS!!!

I think the Bears back 7 on defense may be pretty good. It's just a matter of how bad the DL will be and how much that impacts the LB's.

Fields will be expected to take a big step next season. Outside of injuries and some depth issues on the OL, this offense should take a major step next season.

It will be his position to lose, but it's not as crucial to this defense.

Correct

_________________
Be well

GO BEARS!!!

after next year is the decision on his 5th year option

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

If Braxton Jones regresses next season (or doesn't improve), they will have to prioritize that position.

Wright may be athletic enough to move to LT, but the Bears have given Jones repeated votes of confidence this off-season by not replacing or moving him. They think they have their LT and did grade out fairly well in Year 1. Still room to improve, but it's fair to be optimistic on him.

I don't want a second rounder who starts just because everyone else sucks.

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

Well, if he didn't start, that would be alarming, but he also grades out to handle taller WR's and allows Gordon to stay in the slot. Smart move and definitive move to plug in a highly regard, Day 2 starter.

Watched a bunch of Dexter stuff and he a big raw kid, could be a beast with NFL level coaching and strength training. He was slow off the ball at times and his technique is sloppy, but despite all of that the regularly either stood up the guard in the hole, or collapsed the pocket, he should be solid against the run from day one. Pickens is similar, expect both guys to be in the DT rotation for the next several years.

You have your RT position filled for the next 10 years, it is kind of like the Moore acquisition, added talent which provided much needed depth, allowing you push guys that started last year into backup roles.

The LB group that started at the end of the year last year was brutal, teams were already exploiting Sanborn in the pass game, see Sewell contributing immediately on special teams.

They have quietly build a solid secondary, it was the first area Poles attacked last year and that group looks to be solid.

The two most interesting guys are Johnson and Scott, both likely get plenty of playing time and could flourish in the zone run game, could see a wildcat package involving former QB Johnson, and former RB Scott, but if Johnson can catch the ball and make the first guy miss you have a crucial element that has been missing in this offense.

You have forced yourself to sign a veteran DE, that group was terrible setting the edge last year and even worse at rushing the QB, will it be Clark, Floyd, Clowney, or Ngakoue.

and then take the over after the drop...

_________________
An unjust law is no law at all--St. Augustine of Hippo

Cause tried and true
I see the light in you
Oh, can you dig in my soul?
Could you smell my whole...
life?--Gener and Deaner

It's going to 6.5 anytime soon.
The over7.5 is juiced.
There is Bear mania/hype out there. Look at the ridiculous prices on MVP and Coach of the Year.

Thanks gd & Midget. I was out and about most of the weekend and didn't get to really follow any of the draft. This thread was a much appreciated recap.

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I may have changed my opinion on Johnson, he's definity faster than Herbert

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kka8C8tZhMk


And if Herbert hasn't learned to pass block this offseason he will for sure take his job.