Just based off the tape I reviewed last year, Fashanu is a future franchise LT. I'm not necessarily saying you take him at #1, but he's worth a top selection (I reserve the right to change my mind after viewing this year's tape). Calvin Johnson was also a generational talent, and he won 0 Superbowls. That's all I'm saying. There is more talent on a yearly basis at WR in college than there is at QB, LT, or on the DL. You should draft accordingly, is my philosophy. If they're picking at 10, neither of the top two OT's will likely be there. And as BWW said, I think they go away from LT with Braxton Jones starting for cheap. DE or DT feels like the obvious need / value alternative, so that's what I'm figuring right now. If they were to go WR and then OL / DL with the two picks, I'd rather it be in reverse order - take an OT first, and WR second. but again, I don't want to see WR in the first round this year for Chicago. That simple, as of now.
The Bears would have a great offense if they picked Harrison Jr. and Brock Bowers. Sign some good FAs with your huge salary cap and the Bears will take over the NFCN
UPDATED 2024 DRAFT ORDER - PRE PLAYOFFS 1. Chicago Bears (from CAR) 2. Washington Commanders 3. New England Patriots 4. Arizona Cardinals 5. Los Angeles Chargers 6. New York Giants 7. Tennessee Titans 8. Atlanta Falcons 9. Chicago Bears 10. New York Jets 11. Minnesota Vikings 12. Denver Broncos 13. Las Vegas Raiders 14. New Orleans Saints 15. Indianapolis Colts 16. Seattle Seahawks 17. Jacksonville Jaguars 18. Cincinnati Bengals *19. Green Bay Packers *20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers *21. Arizona Cardinals (from HOU) *22. Los Angeles Rams *23. Pittsburgh Steelers *24. Miami Dolphins *25. Philadelphia Eagles *26. Kansas City Chiefs *27. Houston Texans (from CLE) *28. Detroit Lions *29. Buffalo Bills *30. Dallas Cowboys *31. San Francisco 49ers *32. Baltimore Ravens *=pick to be determined by playoff result
Unless they know a QB is the next big thing for sure and I don't think there is then they should stick with Fields. He has improved each year and a better team will help him become a top 10 QB. The thing is teams also value that a new QB resets the salary clock so they are inclined to move on for something shiny and new.
Fields all the way if they can land Fashanu or Alt in the draft. They could go from suspect line to a strength with that pick and successful injury returns on the line. I think Fields will shine with protection.
Whats clear to me is Poles has a myriad of opportunities and no rush to punch it just yet. He may have so many opportunities he's dizzy... great position to be in too. Id think he's also going to field a lot of calls on trades, picks and Justin Fields, gather all the data he can and then sit down with the annalist's he's comfortable with and try to discern the proper direction to go. Some say, move on from Fields, get what you can for him and draft a QB (Williams seems to be the consensus on a lot of mocks) at #1. Some say, keep Fields and still draft a QB at #1. Some say, draft O-line and then maybe a WR and keep Fields in the fold. Its all going to be fun and interesting.
Fields needs talent around him, and an offensive staff that knows their ass from a hole in the ground. That said, will that ever make him an elite QB? I can't say that for sure. He has elite athleticism - both in arm talent and on the move. That said, he also has shown an inability to process consistently, and his dropback footwork is slow and sloppy. Can that stuff be attributed to the talent and the staff? Probably. Can it be fixed? I don't know. CJ Stroud has been great his rookie year, but he's doing things that simply weren't on his film (or at least not evident) from college. Meanwhile, Bryce Young looks like a fish out of water. One guy has taken a step forward, the other hasn't. Both came out of college as "1A and 1B". I guess my point is, you need more than just the QB to get it right. The Bears don't have that now. Are they better off taking a new QB, and then adding the talent around him? Sure, but they've never successfully done that. Are they better off keeping Fields? I'm not sure that his ceiling is high enough, frankly. And that's my concern. Feels like a middling end either way.
I've seen you write on the Bears several times during the season and always meant to reply but could never find the time to reply. I think you see things re the Bears very clearly, at least in terms of what they should do, but that is often not at all the same as predicting what they will do. Getting the hang of this is kinda like patting your head, while rubbing your stomach, while scratching your arse. It requires you to train your brain in ways im still not convinced are good for you. The life of a Bears fan. Anyway, you are right the Bears should be looking to get a stud LT, many of us where on this last year. But like bww said, its not gonna happen and thats the "will do" part. God knows why but braxton Jones gets talked up far too much. Poles is gonna stick with him. The Bears have had some of the worst Center play in the league for years. This is something Poles should've taken seriously from the start and didnt, signing a backup C from the Peckers in FA who was predictably shit. His FA G signing last year, former Titan Nate Davis, is apparently getting paid $10mil a season to soil mattresses. Clearly Poles, the former NFL OL, doesnt know much about O-Line. You can also see this in his drafting three 2nd round DB's his first two drafts, because we as we know it all starts.....errr...at the back?.... Add it all up and you've got a QB who has taken an absolute beating, far too many sacks. Somehow it hasnt completely ruined his development, but imo it has severely stunted it. He could've been way more than this. His eyes now drop down too quickly when the pressure is on, which is understandable, but a bit worrying in terms of QB play. Can he still shine if they finally get serious about blocking? A year ago i said yes which is why i was never interested in going QB at #1. Now? Im more sceptical. He can still be a good QB on the right team, but i dont think that team is the Bears and i do think his ceiling has lowered over the years. Its sad really, cos i remember you and I discussing Fields specifically before the draft and agreeing that he was the 2nd best QB in the draft. Clearly the 2nd best even, which has been proven true. They should've been setup for the next decade plus, but they blew it. Its also why the position they're in right now should be the envy of at least half the league. Their draft power and cap space(and schedule next year) should be impossible to F up. But they've already made a start on that by keeping Eberflush.
Whatever happens, the smart thing for Poles to do right now would be to tell the league that everything is on the table. You can't hold that position too long, because if you are going to trade your current QB i think it needs to be handled probably before FA. Teams are going to want to know where they stand imo. But its a good starting point. As you move through Feb to Combine if i was Poles i would started heavily leaking that the Bears are seriously considering rolling with Fields and the #1 QB next season. I actually dont like that idea as a course of action, but i want a meaningful trade, however they go about it. The best way to leverage that is to play on the reality that there simply arent enough good QB's to go around. Poles has to try and drum up that sense of desperation. Some team is gonna be left high and dry, as the GM do you want it to be yours? You gonna go explain that to ownership? Maybe that sounds over-engineered, but i look at that draft order this year and cant help thinking Poles may find it hard to create as big a trade market as he was able to last year.
I agree with your last comment, but it sems to me there are a lot of QB needy teams in the top half of the Draft order and there are certainly not that many QB's to be had, so its imperative he (Poles) at least tries to hype Fields up if thats the route he takes in possibly dealing Fields. QB's that are going to be quick plug-n-play franchise types arnt falling off trees, so Fields should have added value in that regard. Fields is improving, maybe slowly, but as I can discern from the outside looking in, maybe things as far as coaching and 'help' around him havnt been the best either. My point is Fields needs to be marketed as a talented, worthy commodity and it doesnt have to be like putting makeup on a pig, he's got talent (and flaws), its just maybe not utilized properly. I envy Poles position this off-season, its like a smorgasbord of all and anything you need right in front of your face... hopefully as I stated previously he has some good people around him to help discern the proper moves or he'll be like I used to be at a smorgasbord, try to eat everything on the table and make yourself sick.
This is my take also. Conveying that should bring a few rings on the phone in that might bring even more opportunities for the Bears to consider. Its going to be interesting.
If the Bears are going to pick the top quarterback in the draft they should take the capital they get from trading fields and trade up for the number two pick and grab Harrison Jr.
The 2024 NFL Draft order is out. When the regular season concluded on Sunday, Jan. 7, the order for the first 18 teams was revealed. More teams continued to find their place in the draft after each week of the playoffs. Even after a 7-10 season, the Chicago Bears will own the No. 1 pick in this year's draft, via the Carolina Panthers. The complete order for the 2024 NFL Draft is below: Chicago Bears (7-10) (via Carolina Panthers) Washington Commanders (4-13) New England Patriots (4-13) Arizona Cardinals (4-13) Los Angeles Chargers (5-12) New York Giants (6-11) Tennessee Titans (6-11) Atlanta Falcons (7-10) Chicago Bears (7-10) New York Jets (7-10) Minnesota Vikings (7-10) Denver Broncos (8-9) Las Vegas Raiders (8-9) New Orleans Saints (9-8) Indianapolis Colts (9-8) Seattle Seahawks (9-8) Jacksonville Jaguars (9-8) Cincinnati Bengals (9-8) Los Angeles Rams (10-7) Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7) Miami Dolphins (11-6) Philadelphia Eagles (11-6) Houston Texans (10-7) (via Cleveland Browns) Dallas Cowboys (12-5)
A rookie having DJ Moore and MHJ to throw to. Not sure you can ask for a better way to start your career.
Just putting this out there again for any former GMO’ers looking to do a mock off-season. We could definitely use some more people. Virtual GM Sign-Up Thread | Forum
An offensive line to block for him? Not sure any QB could be successful with that interior. I don't think there's any hope of them taking a top QB and Harrison Jr. Even if they do trade Fields, he's not commanding that high a pick, so it'd have to be a Texans-style trade back into the top few picks by leveraging next year's selections, etc. Heck, you're probably not getting one of the top two OT's at #9, either, if you wanted to go that way. If I had to guess, they'll go QB at #1, trade back from #9 and take a DE / DT as well as a WR with the next picks. I don't think Mooney is here next year. But that's my "way too early, gut instinct only" reaction.
Yeah it's obviously just a pipe dream. I don't see any scenario where the Bears draft a tackle in the first round though. The interior problems on the line should be filled via free agency and later draft picks. You could package Fields with the #9 to move up and take MHJ. I don't think that's smart. But you could. But I do think you can outright rob a team right now by offering Fields because there are a lot of teams that are gonna be QB hungry with no path to getting one of the top guys in this draft.
If they get in early on the market (wouldn't be surprised if there were already some inside convo) then a two-team race for Fields would be all that's needed to convince someone of giving up more than what might be expected. Best case scenario would be Harbaugh taking over a team in need of a passer and willing to give up a very early pick to secure Fields as his quarterback. It doesn't get you MHJ, but there is a lot of receiver talent in this draft to put across from Moore.
There seems to be a lot of everything in this draft. Seems like a great time to have a load of picks.
The WR position may be loaded in the draft this year but MHJ is a generational talent with an outside chance at chasing down Jerry Rice. Not saying he will but he is one you could see making a run at him.
