I actually like Pickens. I liked him better than the other DT we took. WTF do I know. Going to bed angry tonight.
Fine. But hard for me to be ok with only 1 OL in the first 4 picks. Also we still need a pass rusher. I'm never happy with this team .
Let me try and focus on the positive first. He took 2 DT's. And i do actually like Pickens, allbeit as a potential trade up into the #90s kind of move. There. IMO Poles had a bad day 2. Im not gonna say butchered because its not like he went way off reservation and drafted a WR or TE or something. He took 2 DTs & a CB. But damn! This draft fell right for him to absolutely crush day 2 and im sorry to say he didn't. Dexter wouldn't have been my pick at #53, that felt a little early for a guy who is very long on talk about potential and very short on actual production. Not great but i can live with it. But trading up for a CB?! Hell no. For the rest of my days i will not understand how you can make that move up and not pick the Center JMS. Horrific whiff, but i told you guys he wouldn't do it. Day 2 all defense, C not taken till #103 onwards. Sadly predictable. And btw how puckered do you think the Giants were at that point. Huge need at C, they would've been praying JMS came to them only to see the Bears who also have a huge need at C, leapfrog them. That could've been an awesome sniping and for fans like me some fitting payback for the Fields fleecing. Fucking Poles.
Looking at pick #103 to kick off the 4th round and imo Poles has got himself a little out of sync now. He has huge need at C & Edge and one pick to use. Edge has very few options Surely this pick has to come down to either pats guy Adebawore at DE, who incredibly is still out there. Or Luke Wypler. Opinion seems very split on Wypler, i've seen him graded anywhere from mid 2nd round to late 4th round. He's a little undersized imo. He won't be there at #133, neither of them will. Andre Carter & DJ Johnson are also still out there at Edge. Do not be an arsehole and take a RB with this pick, Poles.
Yeah, hard to feel good about day 2. Poles overdrafting athletic freaks, which is kind of what a lot of us figured might happen. I just don't think we expected the "overdraft" part to be this significant. It feels like this draft has been all about trying to fix needs at positions that frankly were very thin in this draft, anyway, and overcommitting to some guys because you just needed to fill the position. I look forward to being wrong, but hard to feel good about anything other than an athletic profile of these guys, today.
I listened to Poles' presser at the end of yesterday, and he basically said what we all suspected. They're prioritizing players that are "bigger, faster, stronger", and believe in those players' having more production in their system than they had previously. For example, he said that, when looking at defensive linemen, "you've got to grade the flashes". Also, that you want a rotation of defensive linemen, so guys that can play at multiple spots / flash well even if they're inconsistent is ideal. He talked about Stevenson's physicality, and how he learned from some entitlement at Georgia before transferring to Miami. I think he overdrafted for positions of need, but I won't argue with having more bodies at DT and CB. I just wish the DT position wasn't so weak this year - using second and third round picks on guys that should be lower picks in other years. If these kids play up to their physical potential, that'll be great - I'm just skeptical they will.
Man is it hard to feel good about yesterday. Two DT’s and a corner. Hey if they all pan out I guess you can’t complain. Did we really need to give up the first pick in the 5th round to move up for that that guy? He better be ducking good. We have holes and we lack depth. Depth a high 5th round pick can offer. The fact that we had the best C prospect sitting right there for the taking and we said. “Nah we’ll pass” pisses me off. Can’t be too mad about the kid from NW. he’s still there. Luke Wypler is sitting there. He has some questions but his tape looks very nice and he’s a 2 year starter. Come on Poles. Redeem yourself. I’m my eyes anyway.
I feel you. THe three guys I wanted were taken the pick immediately after Poles made picks for the bears. Wanted Skoronski, Tuipolutu, and JM Schmitz, even though he's already 24. It's also beginning to bitterly confirm my suspicions, that "Cody Whitehair has lots of snaps at Center and we feel good about it" from months ago may in fact have been true all along. I think Ev brought up Luke Wypler, there's also OO and Alex Forscythe on the board. Get one. He should have been a top 2 rounds guy, but I'd chance it on him late--even though he's preinjured and may not be ready till mid-next season. But USC OL Andrew Vorhees is a guy I'd want to see drafted. Comp'd to USC OL taken a couple years ago Alijah Vera Tucker, except he tore his ACL at the combine and was also banged up last year. Panthers took DJ Johnson at 80 overall. I wanted him too. Adetomiwa Adebawore is still there--now I'm a NU guy through and through, and while I like my guys, especially after bad years--he struck me more mid rounds than early. It was when the discussion about him moving inside where he started getting top 30 visits. If not my guy, Mike Morris from Michigan was the only other name available I watched any film on that I'd feel good about taking--and he's not a pure pass rusher by any stretch (neither is Adebawore), meaning time to pay Yannick Ngokue to be the pass rusher. And we both agree about Ngokue. Lot of sacks for a guy wearing a different uniform every year. A RB is coming at some point. I'm at least thankful its not rounds 1-3. That, and DT was already crowded before the draft. Still had Justin Jones under contract, and I think most of us agreed in a rotation he's fine. Andrews Brown and Billings also signed. I thought the DT from Tennessee Demarcus Walker was there too, but espen has him listed as a DE. As for the CB, had a few guys on the board ahead of Stevenson, but I'm not complaining. He's taller than Clark Phillips, who I wanted. But I also don't get Stevenson's fit here. He's a sticky, press coverage specialist now going to Eberflus' 4-2-5 cover 3. But, JJ and Gordon also came from 3-4 defenses where CBs were in man/press often, and they've been successful (and disastrous) in the scheme.
Dline's been spitting truths about this all the way along. Physical profile is clearly hugely important to Poles, i would even say the most important tbh. At a fundamental level thats concerning to me. Like tuna said a while back, it lands you the pool jumpers, but it can cost you the football players. That really sums up the decision to pass on JMS to me. He's not considered to be an ideal physical traits guy and isnt the most mobile in the class, he just gets the job done play after play. Those are guys i want tbh. Please don't do something stupid Poles. You've got 2 picks in the 7th for that. Just do the right thing. C or DE, thats it.
Well. We will need to wait a little bit before Poles gets his next choice as we have dealt the 103rd pick for the 115th and the 165th.
Well then Poles officially doesn't like AA. Prob doesnt like Wypler either. Having done nothing at C or DE im not really a fan of this move.
So to move up 5 spots in the second round we now have the 115th pick and the 165th pick instead of the 103rd and 136th. I want to like you Poles. Make it make sense.
Hey we got that RB from Texas!!!! Wait aim being told he’s not THAT RB. Whatever. I don’t know why Inkeep letting him hurt me.
Really don’t hate this pick. Strong between the tackles runner that can catch and he can block like nobodies business.
Justin Fields will not make it through 2023 injury free. Between o-line not being prioritized after round 1 and Getsy still calling plays, it’s a certainty.
Going into this draft we knew… The Bears like Braxton Jones at LT. Jenkins is a starter because he was the Bears best OL last season. Nate Jones is a starter at guard. And Poles indicated the center job was probably Whitehairs. That left RT as a spot to fill and that business was taken care of. You don’t have to agree with the approach. I don’t. But the results so far in the draft can’t be too shocking.
The Bears were dead last in sacks last year by a margin. No DL had more than 3, a Safety led the team with 4. The only DE signing in FA was a rotational guy from the Titans who barely moves the needle. And here's Poles, not taken a single DE in this draft and continuing to neglect for RB3s & WR 4/5s. Absolute disgrace. Pass rush is gonna be a huge problem this season. Pat is right, they need to move heaven and earth to sign Ngakoue tomorrow.
