2022 Bears draft

[Lake Shore Drive]

Just came across this article, which might serve as a reminder that nothing's ever assured when it comes to draft picks:

Raiders had 3 1st-round picks in 2019, didn't pick up 5th-year option on any of them

The Raiders were excited for their 2019 draft class.

sports.yahoo.com

Now don't get me wrong, I ain't got nuthin' against 1st round picks and damn well wouldn't mind seeing us one day with three of them in a single draft. But no matter what, from the 1st round thru the 7th round, the draft will always be part science and part crapshoot.

 

[BearsWillWin]

Grading players that haven’t played a professional down yet is absurd.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Grading players that haven’t played a professional down yet is absurd.

We all know that, but we do it anyway. It's why I call them paper grades. They're meaningless, but fun to evaluate regardless.

 

[Jiddy]

More never means better but when you have a lot of camp slots to fill it makes sense to buy more lotto tickets and see if you hit.

Pretty much...

Been reflecting on this draft and past offseason a bit now that the main stuff is mainly done. I don't see us making up ground fast enough to be competitive in 2023 with how this offseason has gone. Even if Fields is the goods, it's gonna be a rough 2 years minimum. I know FA can change a lot and supposedly we'll be big players next offseason, but it looks like we're beyond a 1 season/2 offseason recovery. I know that things can turn around pretty quick in the NFL so I hope I'm wrong, but we're gonna get clobbered so hard this season that it's hard to believe we'll magically turn around the following.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Pretty much...

Been reflecting on this draft and past offseason a bit now that the main stuff is mainly done. I don't see us making up ground fast enough to be competitive in 2023 with how this offseason has gone. Even if Fields is the goods, it's gonna be a rough 2 years minimum. I know FA can change a lot and supposedly we'll be big players next offseason, but it looks like we're beyond a 1 season/2 offseason recovery. I know that things can turn around pretty quick in the NFL so I hope I'm wrong, but we're gonna get clobbered so hard this season that it's hard to believe we'll magically turn around the following.

Agree with you about next year, but disagree about '24. Not necessarily saying we'll be playoff bound for certain by then, but I'll give them at least a 50-50 shot at it. The foundation is already being laid and as you even agreed, things can turn around pretty quickly in this league. I'm guessing Poles is going to take a similar approach to next year's draft - probably not as drastic, but look for him to continue adding to the numbers. And we'll have bookoo cap space to help fill in areas of immediate need.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Pretty much...

Been reflecting on this draft and past offseason a bit now that the main stuff is mainly done. I don't see us making up ground fast enough to be competitive in 2023 with how this offseason has gone. Even if Fields is the goods, it's gonna be a rough 2 years minimum. I know FA can change a lot and supposedly we'll be big players next offseason, but it looks like we're beyond a 1 season/2 offseason recovery. I know that things can turn around pretty quick in the NFL so I hope I'm wrong, but we're gonna get clobbered so hard this season that it's hard to believe we'll magically turn around the following.

Agree with you about next year, but disagree about '24. Not necessarily saying we'll be playoff bound for certain by then, but I'll give them at least a 50-50 shot at it. The foundation is already being laid and as you even agreed, things can turn around pretty quickly in this league. I'm guessing Poles is going to take a similar approach to next year's draft - probably not as drastic, but look for him to continue adding to the numbers. And we'll have bookoo cap space to help fill in areas of immediate need.

Apparently, others also believe the Bears aren't gonna do much this coming season. There's already a 2023 mock draft by CBS Sports:

2023 NFL Mock Draft: Will Anderson Jr. goes No. 1, C.J. Stroud first of six QBs off the board in Round 1

It's time for our first look at next year's draft ... and it comes less than 48 hours after the end of this year's draft

www.cbssports.com

Now based on the above it's not so much who the Bears will take, it's more damning that this mock indicates the team will finish with the 6th worst record in the league, which probably equals somewhere around 4-6 wins. And TBH, it kinda makes sense. Pretty hard at this point picturing our boyz going beyond 6 wins next season. However, I think the Bears are going to be more competitive in a sizable number of those losses, ie close games and at times heartbreaking losses with a number of them.

 

[Jiddy]

Agree with you about next year, but disagree about '24. Not necessarily saying we'll be playoff bound for certain by then, but I'll give them at least a 50-50 shot at it. The foundation is already being laid and as you even agreed, things can turn around pretty quickly in this league. I'm guessing Poles is going to take a similar approach to next year's draft - probably not as drastic, but look for him to continue adding to the numbers. And we'll have bookoo cap space to help fill in areas of immediate need.

2 of our division opponents had better drafts than us simply because they had multiple first round picks each. The third, with one first rounder, probably had one as well. Maybe not, but odds are that they did due to sheer draft position. So likely we've gained little to no ground on our division opponents in this draft. We've lost ground on the division this offseason from where I'm standing honestly.

Next year's cap space/free agent signings will be a story in and of itself because after we get lambasted this upcoming season the pressure will be insane for Poles and Co. to hit and hit big....and those players signed will be expected to be "instant impact/upgrade" type signings with a lofty expectations.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

2 of our division opponents had better drafts than us simply because they had multiple first round picks each. The third, with one first rounder, probably had one as well. Maybe not, but odds are that they did due to sheer draft position. So likely we've gained little to no ground on our division opponents in this draft. We've lost ground on the division this offseason from where I'm standing honestly.

Next year's cap space/free agent signings will be a story in and of itself because after we get lambasted this upcoming season the pressure will be insane for Poles and Co. to hit and hit big....and those players signed will be expected to be "instant impact/upgrade" type signings with a lofty expectations.

I'm gonna trust that Poles doesn't feel he has to make it all up with massive splurges next year and subsequently burn out his cap space. As of now, according to Spotrac, we should have around $122m available. That number will likely change with additional cuts, signings, probable Roquan extension, etc. Still, there's nothing in the books that says he has to spend this massive cap all in one offseason. I for one would like to see him spread it out over a few years, grabbing key FAs as each following year will dictate. My take tho is this is the year when the Bears bottom out. The arrow starts pointing upward after that and I see a pretty sharp trajectory with aiming that arrow.

 

[BsGenius]

Most likely we have to hit bottom to rise to the top. I don't see how this team has any meaningful foundation set. We still don't know if Fields is the guy. Good lord if he isn't. We have no oline. By 2024 our aging dline will also need to be replaced. Good luck finding a stud dlineman w/out a top pick. Yes, idiots anything is possible but I like to live in reality.

A foundation being set is we have young guys on both lines that have promise and a young QB who isn't a flop. We have neither so far. I don't know what "foundation" we're talking about here. Unless you start grading on a curve like David Montgomery being "elite".

 

[Jiddy]

Most likely we have to hit bottom to rise to the top. I don't see how this team has any meaningful foundation set. We still don't know if Fields is the guy. Good lord if he isn't. We have no oline. By 2024 our aging dline will also need to be replaced. Good luck finding a stud dlineman w/out a top pick. Yes, idiots anything is possible but I like to live in reality.

A foundation being set is we have young guys on both lines that have promise and a young QB who isn't a flop. We have neither so far. I don't know what "foundation" we're talking about here. Unless you start grading on a curve like David Montgomery being "elite".

Why wouldn’t we have a top pick? We’re gonna be top 5 bad this upcoming season.

 

[BsGenius]

Why wouldn’t we have a top pick? We’re gonna be top 5 bad this upcoming season.

You have no idea how bad we will be. We could be 7-9 limbo for years and never hit rock bottom.

 

[wood20ks]

You have no idea how bad we will be. We could be 7-9 limbo for years and never hit rock bottom.

Win 7.....eh,more like 4......

And we will likely finish last in our division....

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

This will be a tough season to figure, wins-wise. I can see the Bears winning as few as three games, I can see them hitting the .500 mark, altho with the latter guess just about everything would have to go right. Believe it or not, I think with an offseason highlighted by the draft, I think the Bears actually got more talented, but the problem is the talent increase is largely untested. And in this league more often than not experience rules. I think I'm gonna stick with my previous opinion that the Bears will overall look better, but in a number of close games they'll end up losing, with that lack of experience often being the deciding factor.

 

[BsGenius]

Win 7.....eh,more like 4......

And we will likely finish last in our division....

Keep guessing idiot.

 

[richig07]

This will be a tough season to figure, wins-wise. I can see the Bears winning as few as three games, I can see them hitting the .500 mark, altho with the latter guess just about everything would have to go right. Believe it or not, I think with an offseason highlighted by the draft, I think the Bears actually got more talented, but the problem is the talent increase is largely untested. And in this league more often than not experience rules. I think I'm gonna stick with my previous opinion that the Bears will overall look better, but in a number of close games they'll end up losing, with that lack of experience often being the deciding factor.

Our division isn't going to be very good. Should help them with the win total. Honestly, it's all Fields. If he bursts onto the scene - they could be competitive. Make things more interesting than most anticipate. Despite losing Mack, Hicks, etc. I expect the D to be solid under Flus. If Fields looks like last year, though, or only marginally better? Yeah, we're going to very, very bad.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Our division isn't going to be very good. Should help them with the win total. Honestly, it's all Fields. If he bursts onto the scene - they could be competitive. Make things more interesting than most anticipate. Despite losing Mack, Hicks, etc. I expect the D to be solid under Flus. If Fields looks like last year, though, or only marginally better? Yeah, we're going to very, very bad.

Hard to argue with this take. There's little doubt that any improvement by the Bears as a whole will pretty much have to be spearheaded by Fields. I'm very much on the side believing he's going to show some marked improvement over last year, altho that in itself is not a high standard by which to measure. I don't know.......glass half full until proven otherwise.

 

[wood20ks]

Keep guessing idiot.

We were a 6 win team last year........and I do not see us being a 7 win team.......

We did not get any better in the two big areas where needed on offense.....
Our def will not be any better.......

So how are we better than a 6 win team......?

Detroit may just be Detroit all over again,but Minnesota and GB are still better.....

Houston-Atl-Det-Giants and the jets are winnable games.....and thats thinking we dont implode in those games......which will happen in one of them.....
Same as one of the other games we should lose,so best I see is 6....

So I actually do see us at the bottom or very close at the bottom of the divion.......

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

One tidbit of 'did you know' information I learned on the Bears website was that with Poles drafting 4 OL, this was only 5 fewer than the total number of OL drafted by the Bears in the previous 7 years. I think it's fair to say this man will be taking the OL and hopefully the DL while we're at it, very seriously in the years to come.

 

[richig07]

Pretty much...

Been reflecting on this draft and past offseason a bit now that the main stuff is mainly done. I don't see us making up ground fast enough to be competitive in 2023 with how this offseason has gone. Even if Fields is the goods, it's gonna be a rough 2 years minimum. I know FA can change a lot and supposedly we'll be big players next offseason, but it looks like we're beyond a 1 season/2 offseason recovery. I know that things can turn around pretty quick in the NFL so I hope I'm wrong, but we're gonna get clobbered so hard this season that it's hard to believe we'll magically turn around the following.

A QB being "the goods" can change everything as soon as this year... for anyone. Turnarounds happen very fast in the NFL when your young QB bursts onto the scene. See this past year's AFC champs. When you're QB has a breakout season. All it takes is a few other pieces to click into place for you to compete. NFL is a quick turnaround. The whole narrative about the Bengals going into 2021 was how bad of a team Burrow had around him. It's amazing how many things fall your way when your QB lives up to his billing, though.

2023 better be a year where they compete or it's time to move on already. We're definitely on "schedule" given our cap space next year. Just a matter of if we can execute in FA/the draft, if Fields is for real, and if Flus is a good HC. More than enough time before 2023 if all those things fall into place. The issue isn't the time we have. It's just matter of whether or not those three (maybe only two if one is Fields being really good) things can happen.

Going into 2018, I repeated the mantra "The whole thing comes down to Mitch". Now, it's the same thing, but with Fields. The team will go how he goes. Not rocket science when you have a 1st round QB you're trying to develop.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

It's of course way too early to start a 2023 Bears draft thread, so I thought the article below was fitting for here, being we just recently completed the '22 draft:

Chicago Bears Projected To Pick In Top 10 Next Year

Most people don't expect the Chicago Bears to compete in 2022. So how bad will it get? ESPN has an idea of where they'll draft.

www.sportsmockery.com

I've seen projections range anywhere from us a having a #3 pick to a mid rounder next year. However, most, like this article have us somewhere around 5th to the 8th. Here's what scares me:

7. CHICAGO BEARS

JORDAN ADDISON, WR, PITTSBURGH*

ADDISON ENTERED THE TRANSFER PORTAL, SO WHERE HE’LL BE SUITING UP THIS SEASON IS STILL UP IN THE AIR. HE WAS AMONG THE BEST RECEIVERS IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL LAST SEASON WITH 100 CATCHES FOR 1,593 YARDS AND 17 TRIPS TO THE END ZONE. THE BEARS OPTED TO WAIT UNTIL ROUND 3 TO DRAFT A RECEIVER (VELUS JONES JR.) AND STILL NEED A LEGITIMATE OUTSIDE STARTER OPPOSITE DARNELL MOONEY.”

I know that no previous pick ever indicates how future drafts will turn out, but I just have really bad vibes about taking a WR with a top 10 pick, considering the last two times we went early with a WR (with an 8th and 7th, respectively) we ended up with David Terrell in '01, then Kevin White in '15. Both total, absolute busts. We can however go back to '93 where we selected Curtis Conway with our 7th pick. He at least went on to a decent career primarily with the Bears and Chargers. But 30 years will have passed since that draft. I don't like our track record since. I'm sure we'll have a number spots of need not called WR when our number is called next year, regardless of where we land in the draft order.