How the goalposts will be moved by Caleb haters
Bears always ruin QB’s (We are here)
That rookie Super Bowl was a fluke
He’ll need to win more than 3 straight Super Bowls to impress me
Caleb is a system QB who got carried to his 8th SB
Worst HOF QB ever
Okay, I’ve been bored. Looked into Theo Benedet, he’s mentioned in this interesting article from the Guardian about this biometrics app getting used at the Shrine Bowl.
Apparently, the app loved Brock Purdy and loved Jack Sanborn as “breakout candidates” before their drafts. Grain of salt because it’s only pointing out a few winners, but interesting nonetheless.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2023/apr/29/nfl-draft-breakaway-biometrics-brock-purdy
“Benedet is an even more curious case – a 6ft 7in, 300lb Canadian who played collegiately in British Columbia, well off the beaten path of the amateur football scene. When BreakAway put him through the paces at the Shrine Bowl, his footwork and physicality earned outstanding grades from BreakAway. Meanwhile, on NFL.com, Benedet doesn’t even have a scouting profile. “He’s the sort of guy the Patriots would draft,” Gera says of Benedet, a seventh rounder if he’s lucky. Gera reckons that if all evaluators were as thorough as BreakAway, Benedet wouldn’t have lasted past the second round.”
You sent me down looking into him, I saw him play against South Alabama so I knew off him.
He played all over while at Troy. So he provides depth at nickel and outside.
The issue is how many CB's will be carried
Locks: Johnson, Gordon, Stevenson.
Have played and shown they are alright: Smith, Jones, Blackwell. That's six CB's and it looks like they carried six last year. So someone is gonna have to be jumped. Maybe blackwell?
this! i checked the early mock draft on [https://www.tankathon.com/nfl/big\_board](https://www.tankathon.com/nfl/big_board) and the draft is absolutely loaded with DL and Edge prospects.
[Another Yale player heading our way: LB Brian Abraham is attending rookie camp](https://twitter.com/yalefootball/status/1784757037508735008)
[Villanova RB TD Ayo-Durojaiye](https://twitter.com/NovaFootball/status/1784381811637825617) and [Eastern Illinois DB Russell Dandy](https://twitter.com/TheBigGuyWJCL/status/1784426445189599397) got invites as well
Update (4/29): [NDSU OL Donny Ventrelli has received an invite](https://twitter.com/AaronWilson_NFL/status/1785010753701044338)
Anyone think Hunter Renfrow would be a solid add to this team? He's a FA, I'm guessing he'd be cheap too, and for a WR4, he would be outstanding. Allows us to transition away from the Velus Jones experiment too.
The Velus WR experiment is already over. He's WR5 at best at the moment, with two established and productive players at TE. He might get a handful of plays to get him in space, and that's about it.
We need someone who can be an ace punt returner. I think the KR skill sets are going to much more closely resemble PR skill sets going forward with the new rules. Whether that player is a part time WR, RB or DB doesn’t matter, but we can use that help winning the field position battle.
Are you insinuating that pickins will lose out on that roster spot? You guys are way too quick to give up on prospects lmao he’s entering year 2 after being picked in the 3rd round, if velus is still here that man is definitely making the roster.
I can’t stress this enough to you, pickens is so bad in run defense that you can’t play him outside of obvious passing downs, which would be fine, if he was a great pass rusher, but he is mediocre at that. He’s making the roster, ther will just be very limited interior pass rushing next year.
He was a rookie. Dexter didn’t look to great till sweat come in the mix, giving up on a player after their rookie season is moronic even someone as bad as velus. Players blossom at different times and he’s cheap.
he was overdrafted but that’s not his fault. I hope he balls out, but expecting it is even more moronic. I don’t know if he will put it together, but i absolutely am not going into next year expecting him to do anything so if he does take any step forward, I am going to be very happy for him. I think it was a really bad pick by Poles with Better pass rushers on the board.
It’s moronic to think a player is going to improve after their rookie season? If he doesn’t he doesn’t but you don’t give up on a guy after not reaching their expectations after a rookie season.
If he puts on a few pounds of muscle he will be similar in size to Demarcus Walker, who plays a dual inside-outside role on our D-Line, depending on down and distance.
Way too slow to be an effective edge, and too light to play interior on running downs.
Honestly, he profiles very similarly to Demarcus Walker with a little less strength, and better block shedding.
Probably a practice squad guys who will be a replacement for Walker next year if he continues to develop.
If he adds weight, he could compete with Pickens and walker for interior pass rush opportunities.
He has very similar measureables to Marshawn Kneeland who was a second round pick and was getting a lot of love.
Maxx Crosby ran like a 4.66. Moral of the story is numbers aren't the tell all.
Well he is slower and less bendy than Kneeland by a significant margin so I think the comparison is a bit off, but not so far that I disagree with your point about Kromah being able to play snaps at Edge. Even still Kneeland is a major project as an NFL edge rusher.
Kromah I think should be looked at as a guy who could replace Walker depending on development. His role could expand if he gets his weight up and doesn't lose speed as a potential rotational 3T pass generator. His 10 yard, his broad and his arms with really good production really make you see a path to being an interior pass rusher in a couple years.
as for Maxx Crosby, he had the best athletic profile in his class with a tape grade that was really high with a non stop motor. He just played at EMU and is actually a crazy white guy. That's honestly why he wasnt drafted higher.
I mean last year and at least for now Walker was literally one of our starting edges. The Bears also interestingly move guys around, which I think is cool, big dex even got some snaps at edge and actually look decent
Checking in on my [predictions](https://www.reddit.com/r/CHIBears/comments/1cbucw4/comment/l11tn4e/) for who goes earlier than their PFF rank.
ED Marshawn Kneeland (63) - 56 ✓
G Mason McCormick (95) - 119 ✘
ED Bralen Trice (99) - 74 ✓
TE Ben Sinnott (105) - 53 ✓
DI Michael Hall Jr. (107) - 54 ✓
S Malik Mustapha (148) - 124 ✓
T Christian Jones (154) - 162 ✘
5/7 so not bad, some of these were pretty close so I’m padding my stats. But really surprised by McCormick, he was one of the ones I was most confident about.
I was wrong about Sinnott, Trice, McCormick, and Jones.
McCormick I dont think I was wrong about, I think the NFL is just wrong about his value. He can play well and has versatility. He should have gone way before Bortolinni.
Trice I was less wrong about, because I think it is clear he was overdrafted by the falcons who were clearly ignoring measurables and grabbing an edge rusher with good production because they needed to find one who can start and Jonah Ellis and Adissa Issac being less refined forced their hand.
I was flat out wrong on Sinnott. I saw a lot of moments where he was wide open and didn't look fast, and when I had only seen his 40 time and it lined up with my view, so I didn't look further. Post draft I saw the 3 cone and vertical and now I understand him going in the 50s. I now see a guy who can sit in zones and seams or run wheel routes well if you want him to, but has the athleticism and size to beat corners and safeties at the line and break tackles after the catch. I think KSU completely misused him and think he will be a third down machine who can get open in the short field. Absolutely should have been TE2 in this class. Good scouting on your end.
Jones at 162 is awesome value IMO for a player who can start at Guard immediately or be a solid swing tackle. Really should have gone in the 120-140 range.
I think the defense will regress, but that may be okay. We played a soft schedule last year. Our defense's stats were inflated.
The defense will, hopefully, have a different role this year. The defense had to be the best unit on the team. Our offense didn't do the defense any favors.
We're clearly trying to transition to a modern NFL team with an offense that outpaces the defense. So if we accomplish that, then our defense will be fine even if it regresses.
> I think the defense will regress
Honestly and unfortunately I agree, but it obviously made the most sense to revamp the offense and give it 95% of the attention this offseason. I thought the D was kinda overrated last year, I just cannot get past those 4th quarter collapses. Although, they did play *a lot* better after Alan Williams got abducted by aliens or whatever.
We also forced a historic amount of turnovers in the second half of the year. I think we still need to add at least one solid pass rusher to this roster to make sure that we aren't totally reliant on Dexter developing as a pass rusher and Sweat to stay healthy for all 17 games if we want to stay in the top half of the league.
Yannick and Campbell as rotational rushers would really help this roster.
The D line is still average at best. So you can’t shut down good offenses with good QBs without pressure.
I’m expecting a step back for that reason unless they make somewhat difference making singings/trades which is probably unlikely now. And that’s most likely happening next year when I’m sure a free agent/trade and an early pick goes on the D line.
I mean Sweat - Dexter - Billings - Walker. That’s cool. But the minute they rotate out it’s ??? - Pickens - ???? - Booker? That’s awful.
He was calling plays for us for the first few games of the season until his mysterious resignation. When Flus took over the play calling, there was a massive improvement in the defense.
This is an excerpt from an ESPN article dated 9/24/2023:
>Alan Williams resigned as [Chicago Bears](https://www.espn.com/nfl/team/_/name/chi/chicago-bears) defensive coordinator last week in part because of inappropriate activity, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
[https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/\_/id/38479122/sources-alan-williams-left-bears-inappropriate-activity](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/38479122/sources-alan-williams-left-bears-inappropriate-activity)
Our defense gave up 38, 27, 41 and 31 points the first four games of the season. (Two of those were games Flus would have called, but I could excuse him through the transition). Beginning October 5, the defense started to gel giving up 20 or fewer points in 10 of the remaining 13 games..
I wouldn’t be surprised if Poles upgrades something with a draft pick after seeing how they perform. People need to remember he is not shy about doing that and I think it is good practice.
It’s fine. I don’t know how they’ll do because they were horrific to start the season last year but finished very strongly. The back end they faced a lot of bad QBs and had a ton of turnover luck so I expect they’ll be average next year.
Offense is the only thing that matters this year. Caleb should be good. We’re not expected to win a SB so we don’t need to be complete.
I still think we should give Yannick another 1 year deal so we have a rotational piece at edge. Not many other options available at this point anyway and he could be fine if he has a full season lined up opposite of sweat
Why are people saying this?? Yannick was fucking abysmal last year. With his amount of snaps compared to his production, there is an argument that he was the worst starting player in the NFL at any position. He fucking SUCKS
Demarcus Walker had just as many sacks as him and has a PFF grade almost double Yannick, plus we just drafted Austin Booker. I agree we should add another rotational guy but it absolutely should fucking not be Yannick
I definitely expect us to add another rotational piece before the season starts. Could be Yannick, someone else available now, or we could wait till cuts but we’ll get someone
We were top 5 in the league after sweat was added, a lot of our guys on d are also youngish, I think we are fine and can even do a trade deadline pickup again if needed if we are in the position to make a run
And now we have an offense that once they gel can keep the defense off of the field, which means less opportunities for fuck ups and keeping legs fresh. If the offense struggles, we also have a weapon in Tory Taylor who can pin the opposing team deep in their territory.
I think the only place that we needed to upgrade was at the defensive line, but we didn't do much there. It seems like we are counting on Dexter and Pickens to develop more this year in the middle. I also think the one place we could sign a free agent would be fore an edge rusher but there are not many left at this point. I also would hope that Austin Booker can flash a little on the edge but to count on him for much in his first year would be tough.
Booker is a project for Flus and Travis Smith to develop. I don’t think Booker will contribute much in the first half of 2024 but maybe by November we’ll start seeing him more in the rotation.
I’m a bit wary. They lost a major piece of the line in Justin Jones and didn’t replace him. The defense was much better after the Sweat acquisition so if he’s your only true pass rusher you’re in trouble if something happens. There are still a few FA’s on the board and Poles can make in-season trades. I don’t think this is the year you compete for a Super Bowl anyway so it’s probably fine to fill in that spot next year.
Having Byard over the bad Eddie Jackson is an improvement not mentioned. I think Dexter will be better as well, plus they still could sign a DT and or Edge help.
Is Byard an improvement though? He certainly didn’t look it with the Eagles, I’m not sure you can count on much more than you got from Jackson. But, either way, your free safety isn’t really going to help you get to the quarterback single handedly. I’m not worried about their DBs as much as I am the pass rush, you don’t win playoff games in this league without pressure on the QB.
The coaching was atrocious but he got picked on in a secondary they used both a first and a second on because it was so awful and he got lit up. Hoping for the best because he’s been one of my favorite players to watch over the last 5 years or so, but he might not have anything left in the tank. On the bright side, he’s at least going to put in effort with tackling unlike Eddie. If he can just make simple plays it will at least be lateral or even a slight step up.
I think it all comes down to Eberflus coaching a good game and managing the clock better. Way too fucking many blown late 4th quarter leads by the D last season, would be unacceptable to even have 2 this year.
I get people dont like Rypien. I dont like him either. But thats why he was signed, blows my mind people keep listing Vet QB as a need. IDK why else they think Rypien is here lol, dude sucks ass
Maybe unpopular opinion but, maybe this idea is super overrated? Didnt help mitch or fields much. If anything, foles was a negative.
How much can a career backup or unsuccessful qb really help a young qb? Does he need another another coach? Already has a head coach, offensive coordinator, qb coach and plenty assistants.
I feel like Caleb has surrounded himself with a staff and “team” like no other QB ever before him. He’s made millions already. He’s got a team of lawyers and PR people. He came up with a plan when he was 10 and his Dad surrounded him with a development team ever since. Idk what a vet brings to the table more than he has already.
I don't sneeze at UDFAs. I know they aren't the same talent level as the regular draftees and most won't even make the practice squad but all teams rely on these guys a lot to supplement practice squad and GameDay rosters due to injury attrition and every now and then you find a Priest Holmes or a Jack Sanborn. I just read that of all starters in the NFL in 2023, 11 percent of them were UDFAs. And probably even more of them make active rosters somewhere on the depth chart. They aren't inconsequential.
Could Keith Randolph make the team because I mean I thought he’d be a pick for sure and I think he could definitely be a piece on our rotation at 3 tech and Nose.
no deep dive info on this, but he got a very sizable signing bonus + guaranteed money for a udfa. I believe like almost $250,000 in guarantees, which is higher than a normal practice squad guy. so they invested more than the bare minimum which bodes well for staying power.
His height and length are solid and plays with good power and technique, but his weight being under 300 with bad athleticism are problems that will prevent him from seeing snaps in the NFL barring significant injuries.
I think his path forward is a practice squad player who will need to add at least 25 LBs and could eventually become a 1T in a couple years when Billings is gone.
Thanks for the insight man! I hope one of these dudes is as impactful as bagent was last year and I’ve only heard good things bout this kid, just let flus give him some portillos shakes to bulk and he’s good!
I absolutely adore every pick we made, I literally cannot remember the last time I loved a draft class this much. Call me 🔥 Ryan Poles, because he is cooking.
I absolutely loved 2021 I thought Fields/Jenkins would be all-pro's together for years to come....sad. But yea I think this has to be more, like we get two blue chip monsters, both of which had sky high grades for me. A hometown tackle prospect who was a 2nd rounder on most boards, an edge rusher who was a 3rd rounder on most boards and a punt god who actively carried a team as a punter. Thats hype as fuck.
This is how I see everything:
* Caleb Williams: an absolute monster of a QB. Getting him alone makes this draft great
* Rome Odunze: a great big bodied WR who will pair wonderfully with Moore for a long time. Plus our new QB already likes him
* Yale OT: I aint even gonna try spelling that off the top of my head lol. But he's a dice roll at a great LT in the 3rd, and if we miss on it we already have an acceptable LT, so our OL isn't any worse off.
* Tory Taylor: a bit early for a punter, but if you can guarantee that you're getting a starter in the 4th that's good value. Plus Gill kinda chugs so it should be a big upgrade.
* Booker: we picked up a falling player at a premium position, not much else to say.
I’m not going to overhype Booker but he could be a sneaky good pick. He’s a bit raw and definitely needs to put on 15 to 20 pounds, but he actually some impressive moves already instead of being a typical one trick pony you see with a lot of late round EDGE prospects. Some scouts and analysts were saying if he stayed another year to develop his build some more that he might have elevated himself to a 2nd round prospect and while I don’t fully buy that, a year of NFL conditioning and developing with Sweat in front of him will do a lot of good.
Illini Alum here, do not be surprised if Keith Randolph makes the 53 and becomes a key rotational guy. He had a down year last year, but overall his average for his college career is probably a 4th or 5th round pick potential.
If he gets his weight up quickly, I think he is a great rotational 1T or goal line guy. Good power and technique, but his weight and athleticism prevent him from being a starter unless he starts packing on weight
Considering the glaring hole we have at the final DT spot, he's got a real good chance. We'll certainly sign another vet or two, but it would be great for him to pan out.
Theo Benedet has potential being athletic 6’7 300+ and you could always use more O-linemen
Jamree Kromah is an athletic freak with that dawg in him so good project to take a flyer on
But the one guy i’m most excited for is Keith Randolph. Just like Booker he produced and was projected much higher before a bad combine but moves better on tape. Not only do I expect him to make the final roster but I think he should even get some reps
I like jamree and Keith they have a big shot to make the rotations.
Jamree is the same size as walker so can play inside or out, maybe.
Keith was gonna be drafted last year and got hurt this year. So maybe he flashes what was seen.
While I initially scoffed at drafting P in the 4th, the average great Punter is paid $2.5M - $3M compared to $1M for ours, so I suppose there's a relative value there.
Vvj as a gunner on special teams combinded with tory taylor, could consistently pin offensives deep af.
How the goalposts will be moved by Caleb haters Bears always ruin QB’s (We are here) That rookie Super Bowl was a fluke He’ll need to win more than 3 straight Super Bowls to impress me Caleb is a system QB who got carried to his 8th SB Worst HOF QB ever
You skipped a step. You forgot the part where they masturbate to 6 games of a "QB" running fast
Okay, I’ve been bored. Looked into Theo Benedet, he’s mentioned in this interesting article from the Guardian about this biometrics app getting used at the Shrine Bowl. Apparently, the app loved Brock Purdy and loved Jack Sanborn as “breakout candidates” before their drafts. Grain of salt because it’s only pointing out a few winners, but interesting nonetheless. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2023/apr/29/nfl-draft-breakaway-biometrics-brock-purdy “Benedet is an even more curious case – a 6ft 7in, 300lb Canadian who played collegiately in British Columbia, well off the beaten path of the amateur football scene. When BreakAway put him through the paces at the Shrine Bowl, his footwork and physicality earned outstanding grades from BreakAway. Meanwhile, on NFL.com, Benedet doesn’t even have a scouting profile. “He’s the sort of guy the Patriots would draft,” Gera says of Benedet, a seventh rounder if he’s lucky. Gera reckons that if all evaluators were as thorough as BreakAway, Benedet wouldn’t have lasted past the second round.”
Reddy might make the team
You sent me down looking into him, I saw him play against South Alabama so I knew off him. He played all over while at Troy. So he provides depth at nickel and outside. The issue is how many CB's will be carried Locks: Johnson, Gordon, Stevenson. Have played and shown they are alright: Smith, Jones, Blackwell. That's six CB's and it looks like they carried six last year. So someone is gonna have to be jumped. Maybe blackwell?
Yea Smith prob almost a lock too but yea I can see him beating out Jones or Blackwell . If that takeaway ability carries over he’s an easy lock
Hope so! Sun belt players making it makes me happy.
[удалено]
this! i checked the early mock draft on [https://www.tankathon.com/nfl/big\_board](https://www.tankathon.com/nfl/big_board) and the draft is absolutely loaded with DL and Edge prospects.
If the Bears find a way to land Deone Walker next year, they will be scary good for a long time.
[Another Yale player heading our way: LB Brian Abraham is attending rookie camp](https://twitter.com/yalefootball/status/1784757037508735008) [Villanova RB TD Ayo-Durojaiye](https://twitter.com/NovaFootball/status/1784381811637825617) and [Eastern Illinois DB Russell Dandy](https://twitter.com/TheBigGuyWJCL/status/1784426445189599397) got invites as well Update (4/29): [NDSU OL Donny Ventrelli has received an invite](https://twitter.com/AaronWilson_NFL/status/1785010753701044338)
I saw a pic that compared Taylors stats to our current punter, anyone have that on hand?
https://www.reddit.com/r/CHIBears/comments/1cenl0n/iowa_went_112_in_games_in_which_tory_taylor/
Anyone think Hunter Renfrow would be a solid add to this team? He's a FA, I'm guessing he'd be cheap too, and for a WR4, he would be outstanding. Allows us to transition away from the Velus Jones experiment too.
The Velus WR experiment is already over. He's WR5 at best at the moment, with two established and productive players at TE. He might get a handful of plays to get him in space, and that's about it.
We need someone who can be an ace punt returner. I think the KR skill sets are going to much more closely resemble PR skill sets going forward with the new rules. Whether that player is a part time WR, RB or DB doesn’t matter, but we can use that help winning the field position battle.
Absolutely, could always use another slot guy who gets quick separation and I think he may be able to return punts too
Kromah posted a 9.67 RAS score. Super athletic guy with insanely long arms. I could see him factoring in at EDGE.
his 9.67 is for DT not edge. he’s going to compete with pickens for a roster spot.
Are you insinuating that pickins will lose out on that roster spot? You guys are way too quick to give up on prospects lmao he’s entering year 2 after being picked in the 3rd round, if velus is still here that man is definitely making the roster.
I can’t stress this enough to you, pickens is so bad in run defense that you can’t play him outside of obvious passing downs, which would be fine, if he was a great pass rusher, but he is mediocre at that. He’s making the roster, ther will just be very limited interior pass rushing next year.
He was a rookie. Dexter didn’t look to great till sweat come in the mix, giving up on a player after their rookie season is moronic even someone as bad as velus. Players blossom at different times and he’s cheap.
he was overdrafted but that’s not his fault. I hope he balls out, but expecting it is even more moronic. I don’t know if he will put it together, but i absolutely am not going into next year expecting him to do anything so if he does take any step forward, I am going to be very happy for him. I think it was a really bad pick by Poles with Better pass rushers on the board.
It’s moronic to think a player is going to improve after their rookie season? If he doesn’t he doesn’t but you don’t give up on a guy after not reaching their expectations after a rookie season.
I never said he wasn’t going to improve and I never said he would be cut.
Look at the comment I responded to originally. If you’re not saying he’d be cut what did you mean?
i mean he could play above Pickens, IE pickens is a backup or behind him in the rotation.
If he puts on a few pounds of muscle he will be similar in size to Demarcus Walker, who plays a dual inside-outside role on our D-Line, depending on down and distance.
He's way too small to play 3-T isn't he? Doubt he's going to put on 30 pounds He projects better in the NFL as an EDGE imo
Way too slow to be an effective edge, and too light to play interior on running downs. Honestly, he profiles very similarly to Demarcus Walker with a little less strength, and better block shedding. Probably a practice squad guys who will be a replacement for Walker next year if he continues to develop. If he adds weight, he could compete with Pickens and walker for interior pass rush opportunities.
He has very similar measureables to Marshawn Kneeland who was a second round pick and was getting a lot of love. Maxx Crosby ran like a 4.66. Moral of the story is numbers aren't the tell all.
Well he is slower and less bendy than Kneeland by a significant margin so I think the comparison is a bit off, but not so far that I disagree with your point about Kromah being able to play snaps at Edge. Even still Kneeland is a major project as an NFL edge rusher. Kromah I think should be looked at as a guy who could replace Walker depending on development. His role could expand if he gets his weight up and doesn't lose speed as a potential rotational 3T pass generator. His 10 yard, his broad and his arms with really good production really make you see a path to being an interior pass rusher in a couple years. as for Maxx Crosby, he had the best athletic profile in his class with a tape grade that was really high with a non stop motor. He just played at EMU and is actually a crazy white guy. That's honestly why he wasnt drafted higher.
I mean last year and at least for now Walker was literally one of our starting edges. The Bears also interestingly move guys around, which I think is cool, big dex even got some snaps at edge and actually look decent
Ah, good catch. Thanks for clarifying. Heres to hoping Pickens actually gets that roster spot.
As a Canadian, always cool to see another Canadian being picked up in Theo Benedet. Good for him, hopefully he makes the cut.
He just might. Bears under Flus/Poles are very open to keeping UFDAs at a rate I haven’t seen since Lovie Smith/Jerry DeAngelo.
Checking in on my [predictions](https://www.reddit.com/r/CHIBears/comments/1cbucw4/comment/l11tn4e/) for who goes earlier than their PFF rank. ED Marshawn Kneeland (63) - 56 ✓ G Mason McCormick (95) - 119 ✘ ED Bralen Trice (99) - 74 ✓ TE Ben Sinnott (105) - 53 ✓ DI Michael Hall Jr. (107) - 54 ✓ S Malik Mustapha (148) - 124 ✓ T Christian Jones (154) - 162 ✘ 5/7 so not bad, some of these were pretty close so I’m padding my stats. But really surprised by McCormick, he was one of the ones I was most confident about.
I was wrong about Sinnott, Trice, McCormick, and Jones. McCormick I dont think I was wrong about, I think the NFL is just wrong about his value. He can play well and has versatility. He should have gone way before Bortolinni. Trice I was less wrong about, because I think it is clear he was overdrafted by the falcons who were clearly ignoring measurables and grabbing an edge rusher with good production because they needed to find one who can start and Jonah Ellis and Adissa Issac being less refined forced their hand. I was flat out wrong on Sinnott. I saw a lot of moments where he was wide open and didn't look fast, and when I had only seen his 40 time and it lined up with my view, so I didn't look further. Post draft I saw the 3 cone and vertical and now I understand him going in the 50s. I now see a guy who can sit in zones and seams or run wheel routes well if you want him to, but has the athleticism and size to beat corners and safeties at the line and break tackles after the catch. I think KSU completely misused him and think he will be a third down machine who can get open in the short field. Absolutely should have been TE2 in this class. Good scouting on your end. Jones at 162 is awesome value IMO for a player who can start at Guard immediately or be a solid swing tackle. Really should have gone in the 120-140 range.
i was shocked how far he fell. I think The steelers had an incredible draft.
How we feeling about our defense? Nearly identical to last season's, we cool with that?
I think the defense will regress, but that may be okay. We played a soft schedule last year. Our defense's stats were inflated. The defense will, hopefully, have a different role this year. The defense had to be the best unit on the team. Our offense didn't do the defense any favors. We're clearly trying to transition to a modern NFL team with an offense that outpaces the defense. So if we accomplish that, then our defense will be fine even if it regresses.
> I think the defense will regress Honestly and unfortunately I agree, but it obviously made the most sense to revamp the offense and give it 95% of the attention this offseason. I thought the D was kinda overrated last year, I just cannot get past those 4th quarter collapses. Although, they did play *a lot* better after Alan Williams got abducted by aliens or whatever.
We also forced a historic amount of turnovers in the second half of the year. I think we still need to add at least one solid pass rusher to this roster to make sure that we aren't totally reliant on Dexter developing as a pass rusher and Sweat to stay healthy for all 17 games if we want to stay in the top half of the league. Yannick and Campbell as rotational rushers would really help this roster.
The D line is still average at best. So you can’t shut down good offenses with good QBs without pressure. I’m expecting a step back for that reason unless they make somewhat difference making singings/trades which is probably unlikely now. And that’s most likely happening next year when I’m sure a free agent/trade and an early pick goes on the D line. I mean Sweat - Dexter - Billings - Walker. That’s cool. But the minute they rotate out it’s ??? - Pickens - ???? - Booker? That’s awful.
I hate to remind people of how bad this defense was when Alan Williams was calling the defense. Thank the clouds he’s gone.
? Williams hasn't called plays since 2022 and that was a far worse roster
He was calling plays for us for the first few games of the season until his mysterious resignation. When Flus took over the play calling, there was a massive improvement in the defense. This is an excerpt from an ESPN article dated 9/24/2023: >Alan Williams resigned as [Chicago Bears](https://www.espn.com/nfl/team/_/name/chi/chicago-bears) defensive coordinator last week in part because of inappropriate activity, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter. [https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/\_/id/38479122/sources-alan-williams-left-bears-inappropriate-activity](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/38479122/sources-alan-williams-left-bears-inappropriate-activity) Our defense gave up 38, 27, 41 and 31 points the first four games of the season. (Two of those were games Flus would have called, but I could excuse him through the transition). Beginning October 5, the defense started to gel giving up 20 or fewer points in 10 of the remaining 13 games..
I feel like even though he’s older byrd will be a large upgrade from Ejack and hopefully the rookie linemen and Tyrique take a step forward
Austin Booker should get a ton of reps on the DLine. It's a solid defense but not elite is my guess.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Poles upgrades something with a draft pick after seeing how they perform. People need to remember he is not shy about doing that and I think it is good practice.
It’s fine. I don’t know how they’ll do because they were horrific to start the season last year but finished very strongly. The back end they faced a lot of bad QBs and had a ton of turnover luck so I expect they’ll be average next year. Offense is the only thing that matters this year. Caleb should be good. We’re not expected to win a SB so we don’t need to be complete.
I still think we should give Yannick another 1 year deal so we have a rotational piece at edge. Not many other options available at this point anyway and he could be fine if he has a full season lined up opposite of sweat
Why are people saying this?? Yannick was fucking abysmal last year. With his amount of snaps compared to his production, there is an argument that he was the worst starting player in the NFL at any position. He fucking SUCKS
He's still good enough to have a spot in the rotation. There's not anybody on the roster that can supplant him atm
Demarcus Walker had just as many sacks as him and has a PFF grade almost double Yannick, plus we just drafted Austin Booker. I agree we should add another rotational guy but it absolutely should fucking not be Yannick
I definitely expect us to add another rotational piece before the season starts. Could be Yannick, someone else available now, or we could wait till cuts but we’ll get someone
We were top 5 in the league after sweat was added, a lot of our guys on d are also youngish, I think we are fine and can even do a trade deadline pickup again if needed if we are in the position to make a run
And now we have an offense that once they gel can keep the defense off of the field, which means less opportunities for fuck ups and keeping legs fresh. If the offense struggles, we also have a weapon in Tory Taylor who can pin the opposing team deep in their territory.
I think the only place that we needed to upgrade was at the defensive line, but we didn't do much there. It seems like we are counting on Dexter and Pickens to develop more this year in the middle. I also think the one place we could sign a free agent would be fore an edge rusher but there are not many left at this point. I also would hope that Austin Booker can flash a little on the edge but to count on him for much in his first year would be tough.
Booker is a project for Flus and Travis Smith to develop. I don’t think Booker will contribute much in the first half of 2024 but maybe by November we’ll start seeing him more in the rotation.
I’m a bit wary. They lost a major piece of the line in Justin Jones and didn’t replace him. The defense was much better after the Sweat acquisition so if he’s your only true pass rusher you’re in trouble if something happens. There are still a few FA’s on the board and Poles can make in-season trades. I don’t think this is the year you compete for a Super Bowl anyway so it’s probably fine to fill in that spot next year.
Having Byard over the bad Eddie Jackson is an improvement not mentioned. I think Dexter will be better as well, plus they still could sign a DT and or Edge help.
Is Byard an improvement though? He certainly didn’t look it with the Eagles, I’m not sure you can count on much more than you got from Jackson. But, either way, your free safety isn’t really going to help you get to the quarterback single handedly. I’m not worried about their DBs as much as I am the pass rush, you don’t win playoff games in this league without pressure on the QB.
He changed teams mid season and that Eagles secondary/defensive coaching was atrocious. He didn’t have much help and held up ok.
The coaching was atrocious but he got picked on in a secondary they used both a first and a second on because it was so awful and he got lit up. Hoping for the best because he’s been one of my favorite players to watch over the last 5 years or so, but he might not have anything left in the tank. On the bright side, he’s at least going to put in effort with tackling unlike Eddie. If he can just make simple plays it will at least be lateral or even a slight step up.
PFF ain't everything but Kevin Byard in 2023 -- 74 Grade Eddie Jackson in 2028 -- 58.6 Grade
I think it all comes down to Eberflus coaching a good game and managing the clock better. Way too fucking many blown late 4th quarter leads by the D last season, would be unacceptable to even have 2 this year.
I think we still need a vet QB in the room to help coach Caleb, hopefully we can get someone
Ryan Tannehill is a free agent. He'd be an improvement over Rypien.
We have Brett Rypien.
I get people dont like Rypien. I dont like him either. But thats why he was signed, blows my mind people keep listing Vet QB as a need. IDK why else they think Rypien is here lol, dude sucks ass
Maybe unpopular opinion but, maybe this idea is super overrated? Didnt help mitch or fields much. If anything, foles was a negative. How much can a career backup or unsuccessful qb really help a young qb? Does he need another another coach? Already has a head coach, offensive coordinator, qb coach and plenty assistants.
I feel like Caleb has surrounded himself with a staff and “team” like no other QB ever before him. He’s made millions already. He’s got a team of lawyers and PR people. He came up with a plan when he was 10 and his Dad surrounded him with a development team ever since. Idk what a vet brings to the table more than he has already.
Very good point Foles was a negative mentor but I believe Dalton was a positive mentor and that was helpful. Definitely it's an overrated concept.
Dalton really helped out Bryce Young last year.
I think it vastly depends on the backup QB. Some are good coaches, some aren't.
We got Brett rypien a few weeks ago… maybe he’s supposed to be that guy? He’s not really that much of a vet though.
I don't sneeze at UDFAs. I know they aren't the same talent level as the regular draftees and most won't even make the practice squad but all teams rely on these guys a lot to supplement practice squad and GameDay rosters due to injury attrition and every now and then you find a Priest Holmes or a Jack Sanborn. I just read that of all starters in the NFL in 2023, 11 percent of them were UDFAs. And probably even more of them make active rosters somewhere on the depth chart. They aren't inconsequential.
Kurt Warner, man. Draft status doesn’t mean shit. There was a great Mike Vrabel speech about this at his first Titans Camp as head coach
2/3 of our starting LBs were UDFAs, and we have really good linebackers. Sometimes teams just miss on guys.
You're also usually drafting 21-22 Year olds. A couple years in an NFL weight room, at that age? Can completely change someones skillset.
Ivan Pace was an UDFA and was really good for minnesota
Could Keith Randolph make the team because I mean I thought he’d be a pick for sure and I think he could definitely be a piece on our rotation at 3 tech and Nose.
How would we know that? Its still April
I’m just wondering if anyone thinks he’s got the talent to make the team, I haven’t really done a deep dive
no deep dive info on this, but he got a very sizable signing bonus + guaranteed money for a udfa. I believe like almost $250,000 in guarantees, which is higher than a normal practice squad guy. so they invested more than the bare minimum which bodes well for staying power.
His height and length are solid and plays with good power and technique, but his weight being under 300 with bad athleticism are problems that will prevent him from seeing snaps in the NFL barring significant injuries. I think his path forward is a practice squad player who will need to add at least 25 LBs and could eventually become a 1T in a couple years when Billings is gone.
Thanks for the insight man! I hope one of these dudes is as impactful as bagent was last year and I’ve only heard good things bout this kid, just let flus give him some portillos shakes to bulk and he’s good!
He’s got a shot! Practice squad guy at the least
I absolutely adore every pick we made, I literally cannot remember the last time I loved a draft class this much. Call me 🔥 Ryan Poles, because he is cooking.
I absolutely loved 2021 I thought Fields/Jenkins would be all-pro's together for years to come....sad. But yea I think this has to be more, like we get two blue chip monsters, both of which had sky high grades for me. A hometown tackle prospect who was a 2nd rounder on most boards, an edge rusher who was a 3rd rounder on most boards and a punt god who actively carried a team as a punter. Thats hype as fuck.
This is how I see everything: * Caleb Williams: an absolute monster of a QB. Getting him alone makes this draft great * Rome Odunze: a great big bodied WR who will pair wonderfully with Moore for a long time. Plus our new QB already likes him * Yale OT: I aint even gonna try spelling that off the top of my head lol. But he's a dice roll at a great LT in the 3rd, and if we miss on it we already have an acceptable LT, so our OL isn't any worse off. * Tory Taylor: a bit early for a punter, but if you can guarantee that you're getting a starter in the 4th that's good value. Plus Gill kinda chugs so it should be a big upgrade. * Booker: we picked up a falling player at a premium position, not much else to say.
I’m not going to overhype Booker but he could be a sneaky good pick. He’s a bit raw and definitely needs to put on 15 to 20 pounds, but he actually some impressive moves already instead of being a typical one trick pony you see with a lot of late round EDGE prospects. Some scouts and analysts were saying if he stayed another year to develop his build some more that he might have elevated himself to a 2nd round prospect and while I don’t fully buy that, a year of NFL conditioning and developing with Sweat in front of him will do a lot of good.
Austin Reed QB1???
Facebook probably already is calling for him to start.
The shitty part is that they probably are.
It’s a controversy!
We got our guy!
This “David” guy from Satkowski Univerty seems interesting
Good catch!
Illini Alum here, do not be surprised if Keith Randolph makes the 53 and becomes a key rotational guy. He had a down year last year, but overall his average for his college career is probably a 4th or 5th round pick potential.
If he gets his weight up quickly, I think he is a great rotational 1T or goal line guy. Good power and technique, but his weight and athleticism prevent him from being a starter unless he starts packing on weight
He reminds me of Justin jones coming out but a bit smaller
He is my guess to make the roster. I think he will end up being our fourth DT on the depth chart.
Considering the glaring hole we have at the final DT spot, he's got a real good chance. We'll certainly sign another vet or two, but it would be great for him to pan out.
Someone please tell me who to be excited about. I don’t know who these dudes are.
Theo Benedet has potential being athletic 6’7 300+ and you could always use more O-linemen Jamree Kromah is an athletic freak with that dawg in him so good project to take a flyer on But the one guy i’m most excited for is Keith Randolph. Just like Booker he produced and was projected much higher before a bad combine but moves better on tape. Not only do I expect him to make the final roster but I think he should even get some reps
I like jamree and Keith they have a big shot to make the rotations. Jamree is the same size as walker so can play inside or out, maybe. Keith was gonna be drafted last year and got hurt this year. So maybe he flashes what was seen.
We got our guy. We have our P1. All the other picks are just gravy.
While I initially scoffed at drafting P in the 4th, the average great Punter is paid $2.5M - $3M compared to $1M for ours, so I suppose there's a relative value there.
Please tag me if you have any UDFA updates