Bears overall draft grades

[RedBulls23]

http://www.chicagobears.com/news/article-1/Bears-earn-good-grades-for-draft-haul/495b7446-ceec-4ef9-8781-17586c241486

Bears pretty much received high marks across the board.

What would the rest of you give them?

[fleet]

http://www.windycitygridiron.com/2016/5/4/11590270/nfl-draft-grades-chicago-bears-are-the-salutatorians-2016-class

Here are some grades and quotes from draft gurus around the net.

"I love the value of Daniel Braverman late. Could be a stud in the slot. Good draft overall," said ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr who gave the Bears an A-.

"No team did more with less over the first two days of the draft than the Bears," according to CBSSports' Rob Rang, "who aggressively moved up to acquire the most explosive edge rusher in the draft in Leonard Floyd, nabbed one of the toughest and most versatile offensive lineman in the country in four-year starter Cody Whitehair in the second and scooped up run-stuffing base end Jonathan Bullard -- who will prove a steal -- in the third." Rang gave the Bears an A-.

CBS Sports' Pete Prisco gave the Bears an A, saying "Fourth-round safety Deon Bush is a great pick. He is a player who can run and can hit."

"Bullard and Kwiatkowski are exactly the right types for the middle of their defense," says Sporting News' Vinnie Iyer, who also gave the Bears an A. He added, "Whitehair is the best guard prospect in this class."



You Grade The Chicago Bears Draft Class

Rotoworld's Evan Silva gave the Bears an A- saying, "In addition to reeling off consistent value picks, Pace attacked needy areas on his roster and stockpiled quality football players who were productive in college." He was a fan of Chicago's new running back too, "A downhill bruiser at 6-foot, 230, it wouldn't shock me if Howard emerged as the Bears' lead ball carrier at some point this year."

Sports Illustrated's Doug Farrar said, "Watch out for the sixth-round cornerback Houston-Carson from William & Mary €”the small-school star has what it takes to succeed in the NFL." He gave Chicago a B.

SB Nations's Dan Kadar gave Pace's haul a B+ saying, "Chicago knew its needs in the draft, and targeted them with two trades in the first round rounds." In regards to top pick Leonard Floyd he said, "He's a movable piece who adds athleticism to the defense."

The fellas over at Football Outsiders takes all these grades then figures out the GPA, and the Bears checked in at 2nd overall behind the Jacksonville Jaguars' 3.71. Here's what FO had to say about the class.

2. Chicago Bears
GPA: 3.63
Highest Grade: A (Prisco, Iyer)
Lowest Grade: B (Farrar)
Comments: When John Fox and Ryan Pace took over last year, arguably their top priority was overhauling a defense built for a static 4-3 Tampa-2 scheme to better align with Vic Fangio's hybrid 3-4 concepts. This draft may be seen as the turning point in that rebuild, as the Bears earned praise for a trenches-heavy class which included five defensive additions. Both Prisco and Iyer believed that Leonard Floyd and Jonathan Bullard could become foundational front seven players, while Day 3 safeties Deon Bush and DeAndre Houston-Carson could push for starting roles in the secondary. Farrar thought the Bears reached a bit for Floyd in trading up to pick No. 9, but compensated through their work in the later rounds.

Last year, in Pace's initial draft class, FO had Chicago's GPA at a 3.03, good for 7th overall.

[TNBT]

It's really hard to say at this point before they've played a game at NFL level, but I'd say they deserve a B+ to an A.

We traded well and landed three guys who were rated by some as 1st round talents (Floyd, Whitehair and Bullard). We also filled a variety of needs, adding the athletic pass rusher we've been looking for, the best guard prospect in the draft to bolster the Oline, a versatile Dline addition, bulk help for the secondary, a slot receiver and probably the second best RB in the class as an absolute steal. You can't be unhappy with that draft haul.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

[RedBulls23]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000662004/article/2016-nfl-draft-class-power-rankings-teams-18?campaign=fb-nf-sf26199950-sf26199950

2. Chicago Bears

Score: 260 points (6 players)
The lowdown: The Titans might have toasted the Bears in terms of total points, but Chicago scored the largest haul of Hot 100 prospects of any team in the league. Whitehair figures to help anchor the Bears' offensive line for years to come.
The players (points):
No. 12: Leonard Floyd, LB, Georgia (89)
No. 43: Cody Whitehair, OG, Kansas State (58)
No. 47: Jonathan Bullard, DT, Florida (54)
No. 71: Jordan Howard, RB, Indiana (30)
No. 83: DeAndre Houston-Carson, S, William & Mary (18)
No. 90: Nick Kwiatkoski, LB, West Virginia (11)

Another view point talking about how the Bears did really well.

Apparently Bears have the most top 100 prospects in this draft.

[BullHeaded]

After this draft (and FA) it is hard to imagine the defense and special teams not getting 3 clicks better. I just fear the offense may have gotten a click worse. If we get a few breakthroughs on the OL from young guys like Whitehair and Leno and someone really breaks out among RBs, that will be huge.

I'm not as worried about Floyd because we have solid stopgap guys behind him in Houston and Young to pick him up until he gets going. Same with Bullard, I think Ego and Will Sutton showed enough last year where I'm not too concerned if he needs some time too. And the three secondary guys we drafted in later rounds, we have Ed Donnatel, one of the best DB coaches in the NFL, to develop them. On offense though, backfilling for Slauson, Forte and Bennett are no joke... especially Slauson and Forte.

One thing about the draft though. People tend to think the success of a draft falls on the scouts, evaluators and GM making the right picks. I'd argue that this is just the first phase of a successful draft. The rest depends on how you develop the talent which means having the right scheme, coaches, trainers and facilities to work them up to their potential. A guy like Paxton Lynch could be a hall of fame QB if picked into the right situation, or one of the biggest draft busts if picked into another situation. I think the Bears have the system in place to develop these guys, especially on defense. Offense, I worry.

[heir_jordan22]

I think parting with Forte may have been a huge mistake. Our #1 and #3 receivers (the only proven ones on the roster) only played in half the games. Our top 10 pick and #2 receiver played in 0. Cutler played extremely well, but Forte also played a HUGE role in keeping the offense going.

If the young RBs and OL can step up, we should be ok. If our offense stays healthy, we should be pretty good. Problem is, injuries happen. We don't have much experienced depth on offense outside of the interior line and QB

[fleet]

losing Bennett is more worrisome than Forte. Parting with Forte allows you to sign people like Akiem Hicks, Hoyer, Massie, Jerrell Freeman, and Trevathan. And more to come I'm sure. They've got to sign Long and Jeffery coming up. Production at running back can and should be filled as cheap as possible, and I love the decision. The offense will be fine. Even if it took a swtep back, the Bears filled other bigger holes overall, and this team takes a step forward when they don't make short sighted decisions like keeping Forte. And I always loved that guy the most.

[RedBulls23]

losing Bennett is more worrisome than Forte. Parting with Forte allows you to sign people like Akiem Hicks, Hoyer, Massie, Jerrell Freeman, and Trevathan. And more to come I'm sure. They've got to sign Long and Jeffery coming up. Production at running back can and should be filled as cheap as possible, and I love the decision. The offense will be fine. Even if it took a swtep back, the Bears filled other bigger holes overall, and this team takes a step forward when they don't make short sighted decisions like keeping Forte. And I always loved that guy the most.

I think Kevin White's impact could potentially negate the loss of Bennett.

IMO, the biggest concern on offense is the OL. While they could be good, they are over all in experienced with Grassu and Whitehair. Hopefully both guys really step up. Also, Leno continues to get better at LT.

Also, hopefully Kyle is ready for a leadership role. He always downplays being a leader, but he is definitely our best player the line and hopefully he can become more vocal.

[ChronicKerr]

I'm pretty happy overall w/ how the draft went. I have a sneaking suspicion we would have taken the tackle in the 2nd round from Indy over the guard and having GB jump 1 pick ahead of sucks a little bit to just gain another DB later on. It was a weak draft from edge rushers and I really don't know how Floyd will pan out. One worry I have is his size. I hope he isn't the next Aaron Maybin, Vernon Gholston, or Barkevious Mingo who flashes great athleticism but isn't a good football player.

[heir_jordan22]

I think Floyd will be Ok because he has proven to be an excellent player in coverage. Covered RBs and TEs, then they started using him on slot receiver all the time. Adding weight will be key but he has more than one valuable skill set.

[heir_jordan22]

I also think we wanted Spriggs. I definitely wanted him. Spriggs at LT and Slauson at LG, or even Ramirez or Larsen, looks much better on paper than Leno and Whitehair.

[fleet]

If the Bears hit on undrafted sub 4.3 return man, Kieren Duncan, that really bumps up the grade. If he wins that job, huge.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/TheHerd/status/714964898938118144[/tweet]

[clancyphile]

I think parting with Forte may have been a huge mistake. Our #1 and #3 receivers (the only proven ones on the roster) only played in half the games. Our top 10 pick and #2 receiver played in 0. Cutler played extremely well, but Forte also played a HUGE role in keeping the offense going.

If the young RBs and OL can step up, we should be ok. If our offense stays healthy, we should be pretty good. Problem is, injuries happen. We don't have much experienced depth on offense outside of the interior line and QB

Really, losing Forte takes the offseason down two letter grades.

It was a huge blunder. Would not have taken much, and the benefits outweigh the risks. If he has another injury-plagued year, the young backs get a chance to prove themselves. If he succeeds, you can flip him for some picks.

[CjayC]

If the Bears hit on undrafted sub 4.3 return man, Kieren Duncan, that really bumps up the grade. If he wins that job, huge.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/TheHerd/status/714964898938118144[/tweet]

Met him at Chick Filet downtown by chance. Great kid.

It'll be a hard time for him to make it though. It depends more on what the team value's. Fox or Pace(Can't remember which) had a philosophy that they'd rather play an unknown over a known average starter so with that in mind the bears took 7 WR's last year

Jefferey
White
Royal
Wilson(Probably will begin on the PUP list)
Braverman

I'm assuming they'll take a taller guy because Wilson might miss the start of the season, so probably Meredith. After that it'll be a mad dash for that last spot between Mariani, Duncan, Bellamy and Deonte Thompson. Whoever is the better Special Teams, utility guy.