Bears 2024: 5.0 It's Caleb Williams time

[fleet]

Almost as much as anything else, the Bears have to come out with a high potential interior lineman in this draft. It would be hard to pass on a #1 wideout, but the Bears can get a #3 later after a trade down. Obviously they can’t solve every hole in one season, but I would prioritize working on that Oline and D line during the buildup phase. That’s classic.

[dice]

Almost as much as anything else, the Bears have to come out with a high potential interior lineman in this draft. It would be hard to pass on a #1 wideout, but the Bears can get a #3 later after a trade down. Obviously they can’t solve every hole in one season, but I would prioritize working on that Oline and D line during the buildup phase. That’s classic.

this is year 2 of the buildup. every hole should be reasonably filled heading into the season

[fleet]

Almost as much as anything else, the Bears have to come out with a high potential interior lineman in this draft. It would be hard to pass on a #1 wideout, but the Bears can get a #3 later after a trade down. Obviously they can’t solve every hole in one season, but I would prioritize working on that Oline and D line during the buildup phase. That’s classic.

this is year 2 of the buildup. every hole should be reasonably filled heading into the season

Poles said it would take 3 years, and I am giving that to him. Despite whatever mistakes were made. And I expect mistakes. I only want them to be based on sound practices.

[dice]

Almost as much as anything else, the Bears have to come out with a high potential interior lineman in this draft. It would be hard to pass on a #1 wideout, but the Bears can get a #3 later after a trade down. Obviously they can’t solve every hole in one season, but I would prioritize working on that Oline and D line during the buildup phase. That’s classic.

this is year 2 of the buildup. every hole should be reasonably filled heading into the season

Poles said it would take 3 years, and I am giving that to him.

weren't you ready to axe him halfway through last season and it was me making that argument?

anyway, this will be the third season. i certainly don't think he meant it would take a 4th offseason as GM

[fleet]

this is year 2 of the buildup. every hole should be reasonably filled heading into the season

Poles said it would take 3 years, and I am giving that to him.

weren't you ready to axe him halfway through last season and it was me making that argument?

anyway, this will be the third season. i certainly don't think he meant it would take a 4th offseason as GM

Never was axing him. He disappointed me for going away from his program with his draft pick trades. And I pointed out mistakes like Nate Davis and his wide receiver drafts. I tell it like I see it, and don't whitewash anything if it makes me wrong. And I have repeatedly said he should get his 3 years.

[fleet]

IMO, Poles has:

- Moved on from Fields. Gone to Caleb Williams. Elite potential at quarterback Satisfactory

- Built a slightly above average O-line. Unsatisfactory. Work to be done, only elite lines win Superbowls plural unless the quarterback is an alien.

-Built a semi- satisfactory D line with a big hole in it. Work to be done. Unsatisfactory.

Built an elite secondary, and good linebacker unit. Satisfactory

- Skill positions, satisfactory.


It’s still the O-line and D line where the Superbowl hunt will be addressed for Poles going forward. If this draft was all linemen, I would applaud.

[nomorezorro]

i know Winning The Draft on draft day doesn't matter, and media perception of a prospect's value doesn't align with how teams value prospects, but man...if we are targeting murphy, he would feel so much better to me as a trade down guy than he would if we picked him straight up at 9

[El Ridda]

i know Winning The Draft on draft day doesn't matter, and media perception of a prospect's value doesn't align with how teams value prospects, but man...if we are targeting murphy, he would feel so much better to me as a trade down guy than he would if we picked him straight up at 9

I get this and I’m kind of with you. It’s kind of how I felt about Wright last year. But quickly I got excited about him and he mostly delivered.

Also- I made a few draft prop bets on Murphy, and will win about $1K if he goes to the bears at 9. So that will be a sweetener.

[Dresden]

Almost as much as anything else, the Bears have to come out with a high potential interior lineman in this draft. It would be hard to pass on a #1 wideout, but the Bears can get a #3 later after a trade down. Obviously they can’t solve every hole in one season, but I would prioritize working on that Oline and D line during the buildup phase. That’s classic.

I agree we need work on both lines. Need a starting Edge, could use another DT to replace Jones, likely another Edge as backup, and at least one IOL, if not two. Any sort of injuries and we could really be crippled by lack of depth on either line. Still a lot of work to be done.

On the positive side, we're pretty well set every where else, other than WR3, and even there, Scott or one of the others we have on the roster might due.

I'd say we need one more draft after this one to really be good, top to bottom.

[dice]

IMO, Poles has:

- Moved on from Fields. Gone to Caleb Williams. Elite potential at quarterback Satisfactory

- Built a slightly above average O-line. Unsatisfactory. Work to be done, only elite lines win Superbowls plural unless the quarterback is an alien.

-Built a semi- satisfactory D line with a big hole in it. Work to be done. Unsatisfactory.

Built an elite secondary, and good linebacker unit. Satisfactory

- Skill positions, satisfactory.


It’s still the O-line and D line where the Superbowl hunt will be addressed for Poles going forward. If this draft was all linemen, I would applaud.

secondary has a lot to prove still. might well come together quickly though

[NecessaryEvil]

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[fleet]

A little curious how the NFL media is going to deal with Pivot/Caleb. It might be rough.

[JockItch43]

A little curious how the NFL media is going to deal with Pivot/Caleb. It might be rough.

He and we better get used to it. He's going to be the guy people love to hate... especially if he's good and remains relevant.

[JockItch43]

i was in the minority about artie after the vuc and derozan acquisitions as well. i was in the minority about ryan pace during the 2018 season. i'm used to it. but if caleb is the real deal poles will get unwarranted praise based on dumb luck for years to come


by using the word unicorn you're inherently referring to his varied abilities compared to the usual TE. obviously he's not a unicorn pass catcher in general


the modern NFL doesn't value them nearly to the same degree as WRs! because they simply aren't expected to produce as much

there are 20 or so WRs who are paid more than the highest paid TE

drafting bowers is realistically hoping or perhaps even expecting that he can be the #2 target on a good offense. drafting odunze means you're hoping for much more


if everett hadn't been signed bowers would have been more palatable. even then...

here's an exercise for you or anyone else who wants to draft bowers: assume we take him at #9 and divvy up 5600 passing yards (a new NFL record) amongst the bears receivers, RBs included

And he led the entire Georgia offense in receptions, yards, and recieving touchdowns.

he should if he's even a 1st round talent!

Everett is on a 2 year contract, he'll obviously be here this upcoming season, I don't know the specifics behind the contract and the feasibility of cutting him loose after the first year.

similar cap hit both years. he'd have to be traded for peanuts

Regardless, even if he's here for two years, Waldron has also been known to run 3 TE sets with 13 personnel.

which obviously would be rare given the swift signing

this is just an example of people bending over backwards to come up with scenarios where taking bowers wouldn't be wasting/diluting resources to some degree

Your point is irrelevant about divvying up yards on the offense.

you JUST said he could easily top 1000 yards. so show your work!

the reality is that bowers can't be featured to the degree necessary to justify his selection at 9 w/o both a highly optimistic projection of offensive output AND diluting the roles/value of others

yes, folks, there is such a concept as too much of a good thing when your resources are limited. if caleb is the real deal, bears fans should not at this point and moving forward be settling for seasons like 2018

You really think all of Allen, Moore, Swift, and Kmet will all accumulate the same or more receiving yardage as last season in addition to a guy like Odunze or Bowers matching those receiving numbers of Moore and Allen?

no! which is why i think poles's strategy sucks. he's made splashy offensive offseason signings which will create excitement but be less than optimal for winning

If either Odunze or Bowers accumulate 700-800 yards next year with all these weapons we have, would you consider that a fail at the 9th pick?

not if it's odunze at WR3 and the plan is to let allen walk at season's end. but it was always my preference to sign a younger WR who could fulfill either the #2 or #3 role depending on whether odunze was available. that's clearly not keenan allen. so we're left with a less than ideal situation at #9 regardless...at least in the short term

The defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs got by with an aging TE as their number one producer and receiving target. The team they played in the Super Bowl had a TE as their 2nd receiving producer. If you think Bowers has potential to be at that level, you strongly consider it regardless of typical conventions.

as i said, bowers should be expected to be the #2 guy at #9. the bears should be thinking bigger

and the chiefs are a kinda unicorn situation, no?

Bowers could easily develop into the number two or even the number one guy, that's the whole point of taking him! And I don't know what you're talking about regarding "show your work!". You clearly missed my point entirely. He could rack up over 1000 yards next year, that shouldn't surprise anyone. Someone could get hurt, he could just be featured more due to ability... the point was, like you alluded to in a pervious post, there's only so much of the ball to go around. Bowers racking up that much yardage likely means one of these other guys role is reduced a bit. He could also put up 700 yards next year like Kmet did last year and I'd still consider that a success. And while there's only so much of the ball to go around, there's also only so much these defenses will be able to cover with all these options. Now that we will have a QB who can actually take advantage and has the ability to spread the ball around, that's the immediate short term benefit of a move like this for another receiving weapon. That... and it mitigates quality depth issues should a guy like Allen, Moore, Kmet, etc go down for a bit.

All of this can be said for a guy like Odunze, Nabers, or MHJ as well. This move should be viewed less about short term redundancies and needs and more about a great opportunity to acquire an impact player and a long term fit for your franchise QB. This may be our last opportunity to grab a clear blue chip prospect in very long time, and that's why you go for it! Same could be said if Poles drafts any other WR or LT at 9.

[NecessaryEvil]

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[sco]

https://www.sportsmockery.com/chicago-bears/big-espn-bombshell-could-drastically-impact-chicago-bears-draft/

Says ATL could forfeit their 1st.

[Charlesareed]

It be nice if the bears could trade future picks to get a 3rd 1st round pick in the draft one could only dream maybe trade 9 to Minnesota for 11&23

[Chicago-Bull-E]

The Bears haven't used a top 30 visit on Byron Murphy. They haven't used it on any DT, and have used it on 5 DEs.

I agree with Infante this is about the time that the Wright stuff started swirling, but Murphy seems strange. I thought Dexter was really solid last year, and this team doesn't have a starting DE across Sweat. Now if they think Murphy is a superstar and there isn't a superstar DE out there, than take Murphy, fine. And maybe thats it.

[Jeffster81]

Almost as much as anything else, the Bears have to come out with a high potential interior lineman in this draft. It would be hard to pass on a #1 wideout, but the Bears can get a #3 later after a trade down. Obviously they can’t solve every hole in one season, but I would prioritize working on that Oline and D line during the buildup phase. That’s classic.

You go for an IOL if you trade down. I'm not sure Poles wants to trade down. I think he either trades up for MHJ or take Rome (if there) at 9. If neither happens, then I would down for an IOL around 14-17 range.

[TheSuzerain]

IOL in 1st is just not good business. Take a toolsy IOL later in the draft if you must.

If we're trading down to 14-17, grab a pass-rusher or Mims.