Rank the Draft Needs

[WindyCity]

With free agency all but ground to a halt what are people feeling about moving into the draft an areas that need to be addressed?

For me

1. RB

-I like Mike Davis, but there is no way that I am comfortable just handing him 250 carries.

2. Trade Down

-Day 3 of the draft has a lot to do with volume of picks and the Bears could use increased volume even if that is picks in the 6th and 7th round.

3. TE

-TE depth cannot be allowed to derail the offense. Shaheen has never stayed healthy for more than a few minutes.

4.CB

5. S

6. OLB

7. OLB

[soulman]

I'm actually counting on some trade scenarios if only because Pace can't seem to resist it but the specifics are too hard to predict.

I'd have to agree with you that RB is probably the #1 priority but also that it may not be his initial pick.  Davis needs a partner.

Next I'd say a toss up between SS and TE depending on how picks fall before us.  Here I think we can draft players who could contribute sooner than later and we definitely need another SS prospect in the hopper for 2020 and a TE to compete with Braunecker for the #3 spot this year.

Then probably CB and OLB.  As late as we're picking we're gonna be looking for guys to develop not immediate impact players.  Tolliver looks like he can ascend to replace Amukamara and we had another kid on the PS last season (Joseph) who looked like he had promise.

I'd wrap up late with an OL and whichever PK we feel best about.  If we're gonna go with a rookie PK I want more than two guys competing for it.

We'll still have UDFAs to pursue and while we have far fewer opportunities than some other team may have we also have a history of players who came in as UDFAs succeeding with us to some degree; Meredith, Braunecker, Callahan, RRH, Irving, are examples.

[dll2000]

I say draft highest potential guys available regardless of position, but in terms of need:

RB

TE

OLB

CB

S

G/OT

WR

DL

QB 

K - I put kicker low because you have to just find guys not draft them unless its 6th or 7th  

I would bet a lot of money that Bears walk out of that draft with a RB and/or TE.

 

 

[Epyon]

I suppose it largely comes down to how much faith you have in Davis as the main guy in the backfield, with Cohen and potentially Patterson rising in, or Nall coming up from practice squad. 

Personally, Running back is the only spot in this roster where I'd be astonished if we didn't draft a guy, and likely early since I'm not sure Davis can be the main guy, nor am I confident in the late rounders being any better than Davis. 

Kicker is the #2 spot, but it could be a late rounder, or could be a udfa. 

Every other position I feel like there's depth enough to sit back and see what comes. 

One underrated spot I'm actually looking at this draft because of value, is WR. I think $ concerns could cause us to move on from Robinson after this year, and I think we need to look towards more dynamic, speedier guys. 

[BEAR FACE DOWN ARROW]

Pace-like I would rank them by "clouds" of positional need

Most important: RB, CB, K

Important: OLB TE OL

Would be nice: S, WR, 

 

I would not be surprised at all to see Pace trade up for his RB.  I think Nagy's probably been in his ear about what he wants, and Pace will probably see an opportunity and move a 2020 pick to move up a bit and get that guy.  Oh, I dunno, say, Miles Sanders. 

[BEAR FACE DOWN ARROW]

And I'm not saying draft a kicker first, just saying they HAVE to come away with a college kicker at some point this offseason

[WindyCity]

Trade up from round 3 to get a RB

Trade back in round 4 to recoup some picks

[Heinz D.]

13 minutes ago, WindyCity said:

Trade up from round 3 to get a RB

Trade back in round 4 to recoup some picks

That may be what we have to do. 

[Sugashane]

Mine is 

RB

EDGE 

CB

OT 

TE 

S

K

 

My favorote scenario, I'm unlikely to draft a RB in the 3rd, I just am really underwhelmed by this class. I'll take EDGE or CB with the first two picks, RB or OT (who may kick to OG) with the next two, and then TE project and kicker. 

 

I don't see a huge disparity in this drafts RBs after the first 4 or so, and if we have to go for one I'd rather take a boom or bust pick later or a guy who has one role (Snell, Holyfield, Barnes) late. 

 

I have little faith in Lynch or Skrines as more than stopgap players, but EDGE and CB are notoriously difficult to transition to in the NFL. Getting them mow allows them to compete for their spot in 2020 with a year under their belts. 

[soulman]

35 minutes ago, Sugashane said:

Mine is 

RB

EDGE 

CB

OT 

TE 

S

K

 

My favorote scenario, I'm unlikely to draft a RB in the 3rd, I just am really underwhelmed by this class. I'll take EDGE or CB with the first two picks, RB or OT (who may kick to OG) with the next two, and then TE project and kicker. 

 

I don't see a huge disparity in this drafts RBs after the first 4 or so, and if we have to go for one I'd rather take a boom or bust pick later or a guy who has one role (Snell, Holyfield, Barnes) late. 

 

I have little faith in Lynch or Skrines as more than stopgap players, but EDGE and CB are notoriously difficult to transition to in the NFL. Getting them mow allows them to compete for their spot in 2020 with a year under their belts. 

Unless Skrine is absolutely pathetic he's practically guaranteed two years.  If we release him next spring he'd have cost us $8.5 mil for one year and we'd have a $4.8 mil dead cap hit to swallow.  After Parkey I can't see us doing that two years in a row.

[soulman]

Possible PK addition from the expiring AAF.

Nick Rose, PK, San Antonio Commanders

8 of 8

 

Ronald Cortes/Getty Images

Most of the AAF kickers who hope to continue their careers in the NFL have already kicked there at some point. For instance, Arizona Hotshots kicker Nick Folk has played 11 seasons for three different teams.

However, Folk wasn't the AAF's most impressive kicker, nor is he the first one who NFL teams should scoop up.

Nick Rose of the San Antonio Commanders briefly played for the Washington Redskins in 2017, and he handled kickoff duties for the Los Angeles Chargers in their playoff loss to the New England Patriots in January.

During his in San Antonio, Rose went 14-of-14 on field-goal attempts and tied for the league lead in points. He also nailed both of his attempts from 50 yards or longer, including a 54-yarder.

The Chicago Bears currently don't have a kicker who has ever attempted a field goal in a regular-season NFL game or made 75 percent of his kicks in college.

[Sugashane]

23 minutes ago, soulman said:

Unless Skrine is absolutely pathetic he's practically guaranteed two years.  If we release him next spring he'd have cost us $8.5 mil for one year and we'd have a $4.8 mil dead cap hit to swallow.  After Parkey I can't see us doing that two years in a row.

I didn't say we would cut him, I said he was a stopgap player. You don't ignore a spot if you're paying a mediocre player there. If you can upgrade OT, EDGE, or CB with a midround pick then you do it. 

Cooper was being paid to start and Pace benched him, he will put the best players on the field even if they are underpaid compared to the person backing them up. Skrines then gets to be a nickel reserve and solid depth if someone supplanted him. 

[soulman]

13 minutes ago, Sugashane said:

I didn't say we would cut him, I said he was a stopgap player. You don't ignore a spot if you're paying a mediocre player there. If you can upgrade OT, EDGE, or CB with a midround pick then you do it. 

Cooper was being paid to start and Pace benched him, he will put the best players on the field even if they are underpaid compared to the person backing them up. Skrines then gets to be a nickel reserve and solid depth if someone supplanted him. 

Ah.....I took "stop gap" to mean a one year guy.  Someone you want to replace after this season.  That said, if we're paying Skrine $5 mil next year he's not gonna sit because he far more established than Cooper was.

I gotta say that drafting as late in round 3 as we are I'm not at all impressed by any of the Edge guys who've been mentioned in mocks.  As needy as all teams are for pass rushers we'd have to get pretty lucky for a guy to fall to us whose all that much better than who we have now.

Now that Lynch as been signed if we don't find a way to trade up for a better prospect I'd wait on an OLB  until later and use one of our 2nds on one next year.  There I think we can get a guy we can plug into the rotation day one.  This year all we're gonna get a shot at is guys with upside like Fitts which is fine if we can get them after rounds three and four.  I think we'll find better value at other spots in those rounds.  JMHO

[Madmike90]

I would say the clear top 4 are...

RB...TE...OLB...K

Followed by...

S...CB...OL

[Sugashane]

4 minutes ago, soulman said:

Ah.....I took "stop gap" to mean a one year guy.  Someone you want to replace after this season.  That said, if we're paying Skrine $5 mil next year he's not gonna sit because he far more established than Cooper was.

I gotta say that drafting as late in round 3 as we are I'm not at all impressed by any of the Edge guys who've been mentioned in mocks.  As needy as all teams are for pass rushers we'd have to get pretty lucky for a guy to fall to us whose all that much better than who we have now.

Now that Lynch as been signed if we don't find a way to trade up for a better prospect I'd wait on an OLB  until later and use one of our 2nds on one next year.  There I think we can get a guy we can plug into the rotation day one.  This year all we're gonna get a shot at is guys with upside like Fitts which is fine if we can get them after rounds three and four.  I think we'll find better value at other spots in those rounds.  JMHO

I see what you mean. For me stopgap means that we look to upgrade them when possible. but they may be here for a year or three. I probably have a loose interpretation compared to most there. The longer you're here the more  you'll see I never get anything across in one post. lol

I agree that there are EDGE needy team as, but there is quite a bit of depth there to me in this draft. We aren't getting a top talent of course, but still something there. Out of the positions I think RB is probably the worst of any group. I like Ballage last year more than all but 2 guys in this class. That is horrendous.

I'd be fine with that, I always want to add an OT with one pick and an EDGE or CB with another. I want to keep adding bodies at those 3 spots and see what sticks, draft for physical gifts and traits and then let the positional coaches train them up.