Off-season: Draft and Free Agency

[Beengay fudgepackers]

This upcoming draft is a vital one for the bears. We have pieces to make a good team, but still have holes to fill. I have a feeling a hole or two will be filled in free agency, since Cutlers contract will likely come off the books leaving us with money to spend. I will start by listing what I think this team needs that could be addressed in the draft.

Offense

QB: Matt Barkley isn't the answer. Brian Hoyer isn't the answer. Jay Cutler s probably gone. I think we will draft a QB this draft. It might not be in the first round, but QBs that could be available here are Kizer out of ND, Trubisky from UNC I believe, and Watson from Clemson. I don't see a bonafied superstar here and hope we can pick another position.

OT: Our best Tackle is playing LG and likely will stay there. All other OTs on this team are subpar. Therefore we should make acquiring an OT a priority this season. I have heard this draft is short on first round OT talent. I think this is another position that we can wait on. Maybe we can address it in a later round.

WR/TE: Kevin White looks like a bust to me. Unless AJ comes back, we will need another weapon to utilize in the passing game. Miller is decent, but if a playmaking TE is available after the first round, it might make for a nice selection. We will know more if AJ is brought back or not.

Defense

DB: We have a good group of guys at Safety and Corner, but no one that really jumps out. With this pick I would be ecstatic if we ended up with Jabrill Peppers. He probably won't be a shut down corner, but I do believe he could be a playmaker at CB or Safety.

DE: I think our front 7 is already relatively strong. Our Linebackers have probably the strongest depth of any position on the team. I am listing DE here mostly because the 2 best players in this draft are DEs. If Garrett or Allen slides to us at 4, it makes our decision very easy.

Odds are we go defense first in this draft. If we can shore up these positions, this team could take a major step next year. I'm not so sure the answer at QB is going to be available this offseason, but if Hoyer and AJ coming back, and we are able to continue to build the defense while adding a prime LT, this team could win a lot more games next year.

 

[anotheridiot]

There are two first round Tackles this year. Honestly, I think the best plan is to trade down to 12-14 if we can pick up a 18-20 and get both Mike McGlinchey and Cam Robinson, winner in camp plays left tackle, loser plays right tackle. No quarterback is going to succeed with these tackles. I have not been impressed with Sitton, McCarthy is alot like Bellicheck, he knows when its time to cut someone loose. I think Cody Whitehair would have been a pro bowl left guard if he was allowed to stay there. Whether its Grasu or someone else in the middle, you would be looking at a Dallas type line, young, hungry and powerful.

The Trevathan injury is a week 8 deal next year, so Kwiatkowski has one more game to prove he can be more consistent and more importantly, cover someone. But in all honestly, he looks like a middle 4-3 guy.

Corners are the biggest hole on defense. If these kids can learn pro technique and not watch the receiver until they see them catch the ball, they might work out, but I dont see much. Just get me someone to replace Porter unless you plan to move him to the nickel.

CAm Merideth is our best receiver option going into next year. White cant be looked at to carry the offense, but the offense should be getting Howard 30 touches a game. You need better deep threats and possession short guys as receivers.

So its drafting a QB early and watching him be destroyed by sacks, or finding the next Wilson or Prescott, I choose 3-4 round.

The Tackles are on Alabama and ND so they know pro systems, at least we should be able to see the alabama kid two games.

 

[Beengay fudgepackers]

There are two first round Tackles this year. Honestly, I think the best plan is to trade down to 12-14 if we can pick up a 18-20 and get both Mike McGlinchey and Cam Robinson, winner in camp plays left tackle, loser plays right tackle. No quarterback is going to succeed with these tackles. I have not been impressed with Sitton, McCarthy is alot like Bellicheck, he knows when its time to cut someone loose. I think Cody Whitehair would have been a pro bowl left guard if he was allowed to stay there. Whether its Grasu or someone else in the middle, you would be looking at a Dallas type line, young, hungry and powerful.

The Trevathan injury is a week 8 deal next year, so Kwiatkowski has one more game to prove he can be more consistent and more importantly, cover someone. But in all honestly, he looks like a middle 4-3 guy.

Corners are the biggest hole on defense. If these kids can learn pro technique and not watch the receiver until they see them catch the ball, they might work out, but I dont see much. Just get me someone to replace Porter unless you plan to move him to the nickel.

CAm Merideth is our best receiver option going into next year. White cant be looked at to carry the offense, but the offense should be getting Howard 30 touches a game. You need better deep threats and possession short guys as receivers.

So its drafting a QB early and watching him be destroyed by sacks, or finding the next Wilson or Prescott, I choose 3-4 round.

The Tackles are on Alabama and ND so they know pro systems, at least we should be able to see the alabama kid two games.

I like your idea on trading down, but that is rarely an option. Who would teams trade up to get in this draft? If they want Allen or Garrett, they would probably trade for a top 3 pick. Maybe Jabrill Peppers?

Best case scenario, I think we end up with one of those tackles.

 

[beardown07]

Our best o-lineman played Center this year. A position he had never played until this year.

 

[beardown07]

I think LT and Cornerback(not necessarily in that order) are our biggest needs.

 

[beardown07]

Go back and watch the last game against Washington. The worst player on the field that day(aside from Tracy Porter) was Charles Leno, Jr. by a landslide. Barkley gets the heat, but Leno was behind every pick.

 

[anotheridiot]

We watched the Titans go for the quarterback first, what happened. They got their left tackle and look where they were going. Then the ex patriot backup shits the bed against the Jags.

Seems like there is something to learn from this.

 

[beardown07]

I won't pretend to know what they'll do. Hell at this point, the possibility of Cutler returning may be a real one. I sure wish we could find that young stud in the draft.

 

[anotheridiot]

My whole problem though is if cutler is back, it pretty much rules out any competition for the QB spot. The backups just do not get any reps with the starters. There is never any chance for them to win the position unless he in injured, then there is always a dead time frame during games where the backup has no chemistry, and I mean all the way down to cadence for snap counts. It gets down to basics and the D Line ends up getting jumps to the ball.

 

[Beengay fudgepackers]

The only QB I wouldn't hate taking in the first round is Mitch Trubisky. That could change over time though.

 

[anotheridiot]

I guess this is the thread that is going to keep going, so I read that John Fox is going to be coaching in the senior bowl, so he should get a good feel of who he wants to use that third, hopefully not a terd pick on.

 

[Beengay fudgepackers]

I guess this is the thread that is going to keep going, so I read that John Fox is going to be coaching in the senior bowl, so he should get a good feel of who he wants to use that third, hopefully not a terd pick on.

There are a lot of QBs that will be taken in the later rounds playing in that game too. I'm not sure of the QBs that will be playing, but hopefully that gives Fox a clue as to who will be the best to take late.

I have also been hearing rumors that Pace has a serious hard on for Brad Kaaya. He seems like he could be very good in the NFL. His biggest knock is his mobility. If he can improve his footwork, he should be a good starter, but a lot of people have him pegged as a back up. I wouldn't mind taking him in the third round. I'm not so sure about the second round. Pace has also scouted Trubisky, which means he could be an option at the third pick.

 

[Great Dayne]