Ongoing roster evaluation/Future Needs

[heir_jordan22]

Defensive Tackles:

Overall the entire group was really good at rushing the pass. Pretty string group. Paea really bad a breakout year. I think each of these guys showed versatility.

[heir_jordan22]

Linebackers:

Bostic: flashes the ability to be a star. Overran the lanes consistently, is that a coaching problem? I think so because others did this a lot as well, just not as often as Bostic.

Jones: emerged as our best linebacker this year. Has a bright future.

Briggs: looked like a defensive tackle. Done.

McClellin: looked lost most of the time. However, when. We was sent to rush the passer, sit in a spy, or covered the flat, he looked pretty good. Definitely not comfortable covering the field or reading rush lanes. Best fit for a 3-4 OLB pass rushing role.

Sharpton - filled in well and played well on special teams. Definitely a guy to consider keeping around for depth.

[heir_jordan22]

Our DTs are definitely the strength of our defense. With them and Houston I think switching to 3-4 is a no brainer. McClellin would finally play his natural role, Young and Allen would switch to OLB so they can get more free looks at the QB. Draft a NT and another pass rushing OLB to make Allen and McClellin backups

[heir_jordan22]

We also need to consider moving Jermon Bushrod to the RT position because he has been getting burned by speed rushers consistently since we signed him.

Trade down to 12 and 19.
If Stanley/Flowers/Peat is there at 12, draft him.
19: top pass rusher (Fowler/Beasley/Dupree)
2nd round: top coverage safety (hopefully Holliman is there)
3rd: top cover corner (Peters or Ekpre-Olomu)
4th: ILB (Jake Ryan or Paul Dawson)
5th: WR/PR/KR (hopefully Tyler Lockett)
7th: NT

If one of those LTs isn't there at 12 then just slide everyone I mentioned up one spot (pass rusher at 12, Holliman at 19, etc). Then we can grab some OL depth at the end of the draft.

[heir_jordan22]

If we do manage to get a LT and a pass rusher in round 1, but Holliman isn't there for us in the second round then my top choice would be Anthony Harris. He racks up a lot of tackles (108 this year) and is a ballhawk. 16 passes broken up and 10 interceptions in the past two seasons combined.

After Holliman and Harris it's between Drummond, Smith and Grant. But the first two are far better than the last three.

[heir_jordan22]

It's unlikely we get 12 and 19 for the 7th pick. So trade it for 12 and Cleveland's pick in the 2nd (maybe we can get a 6th as well) and stick to the board the way I mentioned above.

With this scenario we won't be able to get a LT but if an ILB or a WR/KR that we really like is there when we use Cleveland's 2nd rounder (Perryman/McKinney/Kendricks/Thompson or Montgomery/Diggs) then we will take them there.

[heir_jordan22]

If we sign a defensive minded HC it should be
12: pass rusher (Fowler/Beasley/Dupree)
2nd: FS (Holliman/Harris)
2nd: ILB (Perryman/McKinney/Thompson/Kendricks)
3rd: CB (Peters/Ekpre-Olomu)
4th: WR/KR (Lockett)
5th: OL
7: NT

[heir_jordan22]

If we sign an offensive minded HC or Toub it should be
12: pass rusher (Fowler/Beasley/Dupree)
2nd: FS (Holliman/Harris)
2nd: WR/KR (Montgomery/Diggs)
3rd: CB (Peters/Ekpre-Olomu)
4th: ILB (Ryan/Dawson)
5th: OL
7: NT

I think this is the most likely scenario, as we will probably sign Ballard, Toub, bring in a OC with balanced offense that uses a lot of play action, and a DC that will transition us to 3-4 defense.

[patryk7754]

General Manager: Chris Ballard
Head Coach: Dave Toub
Offensive Coordinator : Brian Callahan
Defensive Coordinator: Steve Spagnuolo

Free Agents
Ndamukong Suh, DT
Darrelle Revis, CB
Tashaun Gipson, S

Draft
RD 1: Randy Gregory, DE
RD 2: Brett Hundley, QB
RD 3: Eric Kendricks, ILB/OLB
RD 4: Jake Ryan, OLB
RD 5: A.J. Johnson, ILB
RD 6: Tyrus Thompson, OT
RD 7: Brandon Vitabile, C

Undrafted FA
Devin Smith, WR
Andre Debose, WR
Noah Spence, DE
Josh Shaw, CB

[RedBulls23]

General Manager: Chris Ballard
Head Coach: Dave Toub
Offensive Coordinator : Brian Callahan
Defensive Coordinator: Steve Spagnuolo

Free Agents
Ndamukong Suh, DT
Darrelle Revis, CB
Tashaun Gipson, S

Draft
RD 1: Randy Gregory, DE
RD 2: Brett Hundley, QB
RD 3: Eric Kendricks, ILB/OLB
RD 4: Jake Ryan, OLB
RD 5: A.J. Johnson, ILB
RD 6: Tyrus Thompson, OT
RD 7: Brandon Vitabile, C

Undrafted FA
Devin Smith, WR
Andre Debose, WR
Noah Spence, DE
Josh Shaw, CB

IMO, Bears should try and add a speed reciever to go with Marshall and Alson to take the top off the defense. A guy like Johnny Knox. You can probably find a guy like that in the 5th or 6th round.

And in general, I would look to move down the the 1st round and get another 2nd round pick so you can maybe draft a safety as well.

[patryk7754]

General Manager: Chris Ballard
Head Coach: Dave Toub
Offensive Coordinator : Brian Callahan
Defensive Coordinator: Steve Spagnuolo

Free Agents
Ndamukong Suh, DT
Darrelle Revis, CB
Tashaun Gipson, S

Draft
RD 1: Randy Gregory, DE
RD 2: Brett Hundley, QB
RD 3: Eric Kendricks, ILB/OLB
RD 4: Jake Ryan, OLB
RD 5: A.J. Johnson, ILB
RD 6: Tyrus Thompson, OT
RD 7: Brandon Vitabile, C

Undrafted FA
Devin Smith, WR
Andre Debose, WR
Noah Spence, DE
Josh Shaw, CB

IMO, Bears should try and add a speed reciever to go with Marshall and Alson to take the top off the defense. A guy like Johnny Knox. You can probably find a guy like that in the 5th or 6th round.

And in general, I would look to move down the the 1st round and get another 2nd round pick so you can maybe draft a safety as well.

I can see us getting a speed receiver in the later rounds. If we do trade down and get an extra second, I'd like to see us get Donte Fowler or Shaq Thompson in the first then get Hundley and derron smith. Getting thompson in the 1st would allow us to pass on Ryan or Johnson and go after a receiver like Antwan Goodley

[heir_jordan22]

I think Tyler Lockett would be netter than Goodley. Similar production in a less explosive offense with a much less talented qb. Plus he's a top special teams contributor. Hopefully he flies under the radar and falls to 4 or 5.

[clancyphile]

Is Shea still starting?

Had three tackles, one for an 11-yard loss.

Honestly, he's been misused. He's a good third-down pass-rush specialist, maybe also a decent SLB.

My thoughts for the draft:
Bears trade #7 overall pick to Cleveland for #12 and #19 overall picks.

Draft:
1A. MLB/FB Shaq Thompson
1B. CB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu
2. CB Marcus Peters
3. SS Jaquiski Tartt
4. FB Jalston Fowler
6. G Matt Rotheram
7. C Jake Smith

Why do you want to draft Ekpre-Olomu AND Marcus Peters when we already have one of the best young CBs in the game?? Plus at least one of them will be available in the third round. Peters was kicked off his team and Ekpre-Olomu tore his ACL. One of them may realistically fall to day 3 of the draft. We need to solid our front 7. All of our LBS are below average to average, two of our defensive ends had serious leg injuries (torn acl and torn Achilles) and our third is old.

I went by CBSSports.com predictions, which had both at 1st or 2nd round levels. PLUS, I am assuming that the Bears keep Tillman and put him at safety (they do a Woodson with Tillman). But I don't trust Jennings, and Tillman's time as a CB is done. Good CBs will help the D-Line.

As for the front 7, I stick with a 4-3. Move Houston to DT with Paea as a starter. Allen, Young, Bass and Washington as DEs. McClellin in as a pass-rush specialist. I bet Allen will rebound from 2014 (no pneumonia). Shaq Thompson has the type of athleticism that Urlacher had - and is the Next Great Bears MLB.

Then I get a young strong safety (Tillman starts at FS, Conte becomes a backup with Vereen and Mundy).

[clancyphile]

It's unlikely we get 12 and 19 for the 7th pick. So trade it for 12 and Cleveland's pick in the 2nd (maybe we can get a 6th as well) and stick to the board the way I mentioned above.

With this scenario we won't be able to get a LT but if an ILB or a WR/KR that we really like is there when we use Cleveland's 2nd rounder (Perryman/McKinney/Kendricks/Thompson or Montgomery/Diggs) then we will take them there.

Why would it not be likely get the two firsts?

[heir_jordan22]

Had three tackles, one for an 11-yard loss.

Honestly, he's been misused. He's a good third-down pass-rush specialist, maybe also a decent SLB.

My thoughts for the draft:
Bears trade #7 overall pick to Cleveland for #12 and #19 overall picks.

Draft:
1A. MLB/FB Shaq Thompson
1B. CB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu
2. CB Marcus Peters
3. SS Jaquiski Tartt
4. FB Jalston Fowler
6. G Matt Rotheram
7. C Jake Smith

Why do you want to draft Ekpre-Olomu AND Marcus Peters when we already have one of the best young CBs in the game?? Plus at least one of them will be available in the third round. Peters was kicked off his team and Ekpre-Olomu tore his ACL. One of them may realistically fall to day 3 of the draft. We need to solid our front 7. All of our LBS are below average to average, two of our defensive ends had serious leg injuries (torn acl and torn Achilles) and our third is old.

I went by CBSSports.com predictions, which had both at 1st or 2nd round levels. PLUS, I am assuming that the Bears keep Tillman and put him at safety (they do a Woodson with Tillman). But I don't trust Jennings, and Tillman's time as a CB is done. Good CBs will help the D-Line.

As for the front 7, I stick with a 4-3. Move Houston to DT with Paea as a starter. Allen, Young, Bass and Washington as DEs. McClellin in as a pass-rush specialist. I bet Allen will rebound from 2014 (no pneumonia). Shaq Thompson has the type of athleticism that Urlacher had - and is the Next Great Bears MLB.

Then I get a young strong safety (Tillman starts at FS, Conte becomes a backup with Vereen and Mundy).

Even if Tillman and Jennings are both abducted by aliens tonight, we still have Fuller. But you want to use 2 top picks on CBs, one of whom will be a backup. And then get a safety in the third and start him over 3 veterans.

[heir_jordan22]

And you also have our first round pick listed as a FB, yet you draft another FB in round 4. Keep in mind, Rosario played pretty well as our Swiss Army Knife guy and did so while also lining up in the backfield.

[heir_jordan22]

And Tillman has said publicly, several times, that he'd rather retire or play for another team than play safety for the Bears. For several years.

Nothing you're saying makes sense.

[clancyphile]

And you also have our first round pick listed as a FB, yet you draft another FB in round 4. Keep in mind, Rosario played pretty well as our Swiss Army Knife guy and did so while also lining up in the backfield.

Shaq Thompson is normally a linebacker who got pressed into service as a RB during this college football season.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr- ... 10015.html

I'm saying that while he is primarily a linebacker, he can be used on offense as well. He's being projected to go in the 11-15 range in terms of picks.

[heir_jordan22]

Honestly we should just go best player available. There's no reason for us to rule out any position in the first except for DT and WR. And even at those positions if Leonard Williams or Amari Cooper is the best player on the board, they're probably the best player on the by BY FAR. They'd be hard to pass on as well

[heir_jordan22]

If there are two or three players with very similar grades, all at different positions and you feel comfortable with the fit to the organization for each, then sure maybe lean a little toward the guy who fills a bigger need. But we need to just draft best player available and quit pigeon holing the roster