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What I Learned


beardown3231

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TE, as I thought, wasn't a huge need to the front office.

A lot of us on the board thought Pace was going to prioritize the TE position, but he didn't. He had a chance at Steinberger or Warring, but he took Montgomery. He had a chance at Moreau, but he took Ridley. He had a chance at Nauta or Sweeney but chose Shelley and Whyte. He could've taken Caleb Wilson but went with Denmark instead.

As I said all along, I truly believe that 1) as a fan base we're really underrating Burton. I know the anxiety is worrisome to many of you, and I was definitely on the "what a wimp" after the playoff game, but the reports are that his groin was truly messed up, and plus, the guy led the team in TD's IIRC, 2) Braunecker is going to get quite a bit of playing time. In very limited action I thought he was solid. He could get even more playing time if Shaheen continues to disappoint.

I think Dax Raymond, but a UDFA isn't exactly making TE a necessity.

OLB, as I didn't think, wasn't a huge need to the front office.

I wanted the FO to prioritize another pass rusher, but it's apparent that they trust Lynch, Irving and Fitts. I didn't expect them to give up on the latter two, and I thought Irving was decent in a game or two, but Floyd's always hurt. Combined that with the fact that I think Mack played way too many snaps last year, I thought Winovich or Ximines would've been good picks in the 3rd or even D'Andre Walker in round 4. Perhaps Fitts has put on 10-15 pounds of muscle this offseason!

Although we all think about this offense as fast, they don't necessarily believe in speed.

There were some shifty WR's as options, and instead they chose a good route runner with great hands. Ridley is like his brother minus the speed. Nagy must think that Burton, Gabriel, Miller, Cohen and now Whyte are enough...and on paper, they just might be.

Tolliver is going to get a chance.

Shelley was a nice pick, but he'll never be anything other than a NB. Many of us predicted a CB (which Denmark isn't, btw), earlier on in the draft, but Pace added to the offense. It's only a matter of time until Amukamara gets knicked up, and ideally Tolliver's limited experience last season assists him here. Tolliver never lived up to his 5* recruit status at LSU and it didn't help with his legal issues, but this locker room is perfect for him and he was decent when he suited up in 2018.

Pace loves the SEC and Big 12 but isn't thrilled with the Pac 12.

Through 5 drafts, Pace has now chosen 6 players from the Big 12 and 6 players from the SEC. Coming in second is the Big 10 with 4 players. Consequently, he's chosen more D-2 players (3) than Pac 12 (2). He's chosen two players from C-USA and the Colonial, too. A side note: he also truly values 30 visits; Shelley, Montgomery and Ridley all had those type of visits.

Looking ahead to the 2020 draft...

There are a few positions that right now I can see Pace and co. attacking in the 2020 draft. Right now, they have two 2's and nothing again until the 5th. 

ILB, S, OG, CB, and OLB would seem to be the top 5 on paper (perhaps TE also, depending on Raymond and Shaheen). A few prospects to keep an eye on:

ILB- Dylan Moses, Alabama...Shaq Quarterman, Miami...Paddy Fisher, Northwestern

S- JR Reed, Georgia...Grant Delpit, LSU...Denzel Goolsby, Kansas State

OG- Solomon Kindley, Georgia...Darryl Williams, Mississippi State...Shane Lemieux, Oregon

CB- Jaylon Johnson, Utah...Demarkus Acy, Missouri...AJ Terrell, Clemson

OLB- Chase Young, Ohio State...Terrell Lewis, Alabama...Carter Coughlin, Minnesota

Edited by beardown3231
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I wouldn't read to much into the fact that the Bears didn't take a TE or a OLB as the Bears didn't have any picks to attack these areas in the first 5 rounds.  As in rounds 6 or 7 teams are just picking traits that maybe they can develop.

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56 minutes ago, beardown3231 said:

TE, as I thought, wasn't a huge need to the front office.

A lot of us on the board thought Pace was going to prioritize the TE position, but he didn't. He had a chance at Steinberger or Warring, but he took Montgomery. He had a chance at Moreau, but he took Ridley. He had a chance at Nauta or Sweeney but chose Shelley and Whyte. He could've taken Caleb Wilson but went with Denmark instead.

As I said all along, I truly believe that 1) as a fan base we're really underrating Burton. I know the anxiety is worrisome to many of you, and I was definitely on the "what a wimp" after the playoff game, but the reports are that his groin was truly messed up, and plus, the guy led the team in TD's IIRC, 2) Braunecker is going to get quite a bit of playing time. In very limited action I thought he was solid. He could get even more playing time if Shaheen continues to disappoint.

I think Dax Raymond, but a UDFA isn't exactly making TE a necessity.

OLB, as I didn't think, wasn't a huge need to the front office.

I wanted the FO to prioritize another pass rusher, but it's apparent that they trust Lynch, Irving and Fitts. I didn't expect them to give up on the latter two, and I thought Irving was decent in a game or two, but Floyd's always hurt. Combined that with the fact that I think Mack played way too many snaps last year, I thought Winovich or Ximines would've been good picks in the 3rd or even D'Andre Walker in round 4. Perhaps Fitts has put on 10-15 pounds of muscle this offseason!

Although we all think about this offense as fast, they don't necessarily believe in speed.

There were some shifty WR's as options, and instead they chose a good route runner with great hands. Ridley is like his brother minus the speed. Nagy must think that Burton, Gabriel, Miller, Cohen and now Whyte are enough...and on paper, they just might be.

Tolliver is going to get a chance.

Shelley was a nice pick, but he'll never be anything other than a NB. Many of us predicted a CB (which Denmark isn't, btw), earlier on in the draft, but Pace added to the offense. It's only a matter of time until Amukamara gets knicked up, and ideally Tolliver's limited experience last season assists him here. Tolliver never lived up to his 5* recruit status at LSU and it didn't help with his legal issues, but this locker room is perfect for him and he was decent when he suited up in 2018.

Pace loves the SEC and Big 12 but isn't thrilled with the Pac 12.

Through 5 drafts, Pace has now chosen 6 players from the Big 12 and 6 players from the SEC. Coming in second is the Big 10 with 4 players. Consequently, he's chosen more D-2 players (3) than Pac 12 (2). He's chosen two players from C-USA and the Colonial, too. A side note: he also truly values 30 visits; Shelley, Montgomery and Ridley all had those type of visits.

Looking ahead to the 2020 draft...

There are a few positions that right now I can see Pace and co. attacking in the 2020 draft. Right now, they have two 2's and nothing again until the 5th. 

ILB, S, OG, CB, and OLB would seem to be the top 5 on paper (perhaps TE also, depending on Raymond and Shaheen). A few prospects to keep an eye on:

ILB- Dylan Moses, Alabama...Shaq Quarterman, Miami...Paddy Fisher, Northwestern

S- JR Reed, Georgia...Grant Delpit, LSU...Denzel Goolsby, Kansas State

OG- Solomon Kindley, Georgia...Darryl Williams, Mississippi State...Shane Lemieux, Oregon

CB- Jaylon Johnson, Utah...Demarkus Acy, Missouri...AJ Terrell, Clemson

OLB- Chase Young, Ohio State...Terrell Lewis, Alabama...Carter Coughlin, Minnesota

Floyd did start all 17 games last year.

Once the dust clears they, should have 2 twos, a four for Amos, 2 fives, 2 sixes and a 7 in 2020.  One trade down in the second and they could end up with 9 or 10 picks.  

Pace can do some damage with that.  

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3 minutes ago, playthrough2001 said:

Floyd did start all 17 games last year.

Once the dust clears they, should have 2 twos, a four for Amos, 2 fives, 2 sixes and a 7 in 2020.  One trade down in the second and they could end up with 9 or 10 picks.  

Pace can do some damage with that.  

Floyd did start, but had a broken hand that rendered him almost useless as a passrusher for the early bulk of the season. 

 

The speed part is the point that stands out to me.  We chose Robinson over Watkins, which clearly shows he values skill over pure athletic traits. Burton showed to be a solid athlete, but his sneaky good routerunning was the major trait for his play. Then Miller was drafted, who is also a good athlete but is a much better route runner and football player. Pace is getting his guys, and attacking the draft to get them. Later he goes for high athletic upsides and seems to hope the coaches develop the skills. 

 

Very pleased  with his approach. 

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21 minutes ago, G08 said:

I don't think Pace drafts for need (anymore). He sticks to his board and takes the BPA. If there was a stud TE available on the board when Ridley was taken, I think Pace would have taken the TE.

Which probably was a major reason for Nagy's hiring - adaptability. Drafts will have strong and weak classes for groups every year. You can't assume that you're going to get a competent starter in the draft at a specific position. But you can continuously take the BPA and with smart FA signings and provide weapons for the offense.

 

Whether it is 3 stacked TEs or a host of WRs with different traits to exploit, the scheme should be able to adapt to attack defenses.  Pace has added a TON of talent the last 2 years. 

 

That leads back to how you said Pace is drafting BPA over need. 

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39 minutes ago, playthrough2001 said:

Floyd did start all 17 games last year.

Once the dust clears they, should have 2 twos, a four for Amos, 2 fives, 2 sixes and a 7 in 2020.  One trade down in the second and they could end up with 9 or 10 picks.  

Pace can do some damage with that.  

Right and it took him about 11 games in to be a major factor thanks to the broken hand. The recurring concussions are somewhat scary also, but he's also about due for a big contract so ideally his 2019 will be a hellacious one for the opposition.

Also I agree on the number of picks for next year and you may even be shorting them one in the event that they get a comp pick for Callahan too. As easily I could see Pace trading back, he could also trade into the 1st to get a better player :)

Edited by beardown3231
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I think the biggest take away was an indictment of the offense as a whole last year.... We went above and beyond to add weapons and competition for skill positions. 

Montgomery, Davis, Whyte, Patterson for RB reps

Hall, Hall, Patterson, Ridley at WR (I feel like I might be missing a guy) 

The TE udfa comes to mind too (name escapes me at the moment) 

 

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For those with time I would suggest listening to Nagy and Pace discuss the picks in the video I posted. 

Both are very candid and humorous at times.  So very different from the Fox era.

Nagy is a thinker.  Something I'd expect from a former QB.  He has a plan and more than one way to work it.  He likes players who can offer different strengths then he and his staff can scheme how best to use them.  He's also huge on creating competition for positions with new players and raw numbers always working to upgrade positions.  When the best man wins he makes the team or gets more snaps.

Pace is all about getting value with his picks no matter where he's picking or what he has to give up to make a trade.  If he's 100% certain of a guy he'll pay the price to get him and has on many occasions.  There's always a risk to that but he's nearly always been right as far as who he traded to get whether it was rookies like Mitch, Floyd, and Miller or a vet like Mack and I think his trade for Monty will pay off as well.

We aren't used to seeing a GM work as aggressively as he does and some analysts won't give him credit for how successful he's been doing it but one look at our roster and our record in 2018 and people should believe he's built a very strong team with some good depth.  Pace has become a very confident GM knowing if he can get Nagy the right guys he can coach them and win with them.

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14 hours ago, beardown3231 said:

 

Although we all think about this offense as fast, they don't necessarily believe in speed.

There were some shifty WR's as options, and instead they chose a good route runner with great hands. Ridley is like his brother minus the speed. Nagy must think that Burton, Gabriel, Miller, Cohen and now Whyte are enough...and on paper, they just might be.

 

This is something I really came away thinking too. I was reading up on fast, deep threat WRs in this draft when we might have to change our minds as to what Nagy is looking for. The only real speed guys we have in the WR corps now are Gabriel and Marvin Hall (if he even makes the team). The WRs they're looking for are all about routes, hands and catch radius. Route running seems to be the main criteria.

This offense is more about getting players open deep using route combinations, regardless of speed - Trey Burton's long TD vs the Bucs immediately springs to mind for example.

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20 hours ago, beardown3231 said:

TE, as I thought, wasn't a huge need to the front office.

A lot of us on the board thought Pace was going to prioritize the TE position, but he didn't. He had a chance at Steinberger or Warring, but he took Montgomery. He had a chance at Moreau, but he took Ridley. He had a chance at Nauta or Sweeney but chose Shelley and Whyte. He could've taken Caleb Wilson but went with Denmark instead.

As I said all along, I truly believe that 1) as a fan base we're really underrating Burton. I know the anxiety is worrisome to many of you, and I was definitely on the "what a wimp" after the playoff game, but the reports are that his groin was truly messed up, and plus, the guy led the team in TD's IIRC, 2) Braunecker is going to get quite a bit of playing time. In very limited action I thought he was solid. He could get even more playing time if Shaheen continues to disappoint.

I think Dax Raymond, but a UDFA isn't exactly making TE a necessity.

I think his draft board forced him to pick between talented TE project who would have been a back up and solid ready to go RB who will likely start. 

OLB, as I didn't think, wasn't a huge need to the front office.

I wanted the FO to prioritize another pass rusher, but it's apparent that they trust Lynch, Irving and Fitts. I didn't expect them to give up on the latter two, and I thought Irving was decent in a game or two, but Floyd's always hurt. Combined that with the fact that I think Mack played way too many snaps last year, I thought Winovich or Ximines would've been good picks in the 3rd or even D'Andre Walker in round 4. Perhaps Fitts has put on 10-15 pounds of muscle this offseason!

Again I think board didn’t offer any of value except in 3rd.  Again you are choosing between a likely starter and a back up.  Drafting a position later just to draft it is a waste even if it is a need.

Although we all think about this offense as fast, they don't necessarily believe in speed.

There were some shifty WR's as options, and instead they chose a good route runner with great hands. Ridley is like his brother minus the speed. Nagy must think that Burton, Gabriel, Miller, Cohen and now Whyte are enough...and on paper, they just might be.

I think they need one player on field who can threaten defense deep with speed. Rest of players need skill. They have two in Patterson and Gabriel.

Tolliver is going to get a chance.

Shelley was a nice pick, but he'll never be anything other than a NB. Many of us predicted a CB (which Denmark isn't, btw), earlier on in the draft, but Pace added to the offense. It's only a matter of time until Amukamara gets knicked up, and ideally Tolliver's limited experience last season assists him here. Tolliver never lived up to his 5* recruit status at LSU and it didn't help with his legal issues, but this locker room is perfect for him and he was decent when he suited up in 2018.

Toliver I think eventually will be a starter in this league or at least a top back up based on potential he showed in his rookie year and camp.   Shelly being ‘just’ a nickel back is not nothing. Nickel has become highly important.  He is small, but extremely scrappy and he makes plays. I think he has a real shot to be at least as good as Callahan was in time. Better in coverage, not as good as a blitzer.  We’ll see.

Pace loves the SEC and Big 12 but isn't thrilled with the Pac 12.

Through 5 drafts, Pace has now chosen 6 players from the Big 12 and 6 players from the SEC. Coming in second is the Big 10 with 4 players. Consequently, he's chosen more D-2 players (3) than Pac 12 (2). He's chosen two players from C-USA and the Colonial, too. A side note: he also truly values 30 visits; Shelley, Montgomery and Ridley all had those type of visits.

I don’t think he cares where a player comes from. 

Looking ahead to the 2020 draft...

There are a few positions that right now I can see Pace and co. attacking in the 2020 draft. Right now, they have two 2's and nothing again until the 5th. 

ILB, S, OG, CB, and OLB would seem to be the top 5 on paper (perhaps TE also, depending on Raymond and Shaheen). A few prospects to keep an eye on:

ILB- Dylan Moses, Alabama...Shaq Quarterman, Miami...Paddy Fisher, Northwestern

S- JR Reed, Georgia...Grant Delpit, LSU...Denzel Goolsby, Kansas State

OG- Solomon Kindley, Georgia...Darryl Williams, Mississippi State...Shane Lemieux, Oregon

CB- Jaylon Johnson, Utah...Demarkus Acy, Missouri...AJ Terrell, Clemson

OLB- Chase Young, Ohio State...Terrell Lewis, Alabama...Carter Coughlin, Minnesota

 

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