2023 FA Targets

[Madmike90]

6 hours ago, beardown3231 said:

IIRC Pocic is from the area so maybe he'd be inclined to sign here? Ultimately it'll come down to money but that could help

He is indeed…another sleeper potential FA pick up on the OL who is from Illinois is David Edwards who would be coming off an injury hit season with the Rams but when he was their LG he was pretty solid and shouldn’t break the bank if we wanted to move on from Whitehair and that cap number.

[Madmike90]

6 hours ago, AZBearsFan said:

Who is a FA you guys don’t want us to sign?

For me it’s OBJ. “I don’t need to play in the regular season.” Oh yeah? Then go play somewhere else. **** that guy. Want no part of that in our locker room, and that’s before you even consider his 2 ACLs in 2 years, his likely price point and that he hasn’t produced like a #1 WR since 2018, which next year will be five years ago. 

How long is a piece of string?…

There are always a ton of guys in FA who I want to stay clear of…high price WRs for starters…injury prone players…most people from the Patriots 😂

Edited December 10, 2022 by Madmike90

[Sugashane]

19 hours ago, Docknstein11 said:

I never was a fan of Hardman but after watching a few Chiefs games this year he seemed to have taken a step. His routes looked more crisp than I expected. With how weak the FA class is I think he would be a solid fit as our WR3. Draft a WR in rounds 2-4 and say goodbye to ESB and Pettis for good. 

I’m very intrigued by the RB class. It’s so deep that some of these guys may come as a bargain. My question is will Pollard demand the same pay day as Barkley and Jacobs? I know throwing money at RBs isn’t how you build a team but we have so much money it’s not that crazy of an idea. I love Monty but adding an explosive guy like Pollard would make the run game impossible to defend. 
 

 

I have to admit I was way more focused on Brown and Juju. Brown was brought there by top brass and Poles and Juju I was pounding the table for all offseason. Mooney isn't an X he is a Z, Juju is a slot specialist, and we could find a big X WR - we now have Claypool, Henry, and ESB. lol

Hardman might have progressed but I think he is going to get a bigger deal than Pringle did and will not be paid as a #3. I'd rather draft for upside or look at trading for a legit 1 than sign another depth piece behind Mooney and Claypool. ATM I'd much rather go after a top TE with what is potentially is going to be in the FA class. 

 

Basically my targets in FA for WRs/TEs:

1. Gesicki

2. Juju

3. Schultz (doubt he makes it to the market)

4. Everyone else. 

[AZBearsFan]

44 minutes ago, Sugashane said:

I have to admit I was way more focused on Brown and Juju. Brown was brought there by top brass and Poles and Juju I was pounding the table for all offseason. Mooney isn't an X he is a Z, Juju is a slot specialist, and we could find a big X WR - we now have Claypool, Henry, and ESB. lol

Hardman might have progressed but I think he is going to get a bigger deal than Pringle did and will not be paid as a #3. I'd rather draft for upside or look at trading for a legit 1 than sign another depth piece behind Mooney and Claypool. ATM I'd much rather go after a top TE with what is potentially is going to be in the FA class. 

 

Basically my targets in FA for WRs/TEs:

1. Gesicki

2. Juju

3. Schultz (doubt he makes it to the market)

4. Everyone else. 

I like Gesicki quite a bit, but he isn’t much of a blocker which I don’t think is a great fit for what we want to do. I’m also guessing they plan to extend Kmet, plus this is supposed to be a really strong TE class too, so if we’re looking for a strong TE2 (and we should be) I suspect we look there for that in the mid rounds. I wouldn’t oppose us looking to take Darnell Washington from UGA if we look TE earlier in the draft. Guy is huge (6’7” 265 lb), has good speed for the position (reported 4.63 40) and is a good blocker. 

[Sugashane]

39 minutes ago, AZBearsFan said:

I like Gesicki quite a bit, but he isn’t much of a blocker which I don’t think is a great fit for what we want to do. I’m also guessing they plan to extend Kmet, plus this is supposed to be a really strong TE class too, so if we’re looking for a strong TE2 (and we should be) I suspect we look there for that in the mid rounds. I wouldn’t oppose us looking to take Darnell Washington from UGA if we look TE earlier in the draft. Guy is huge (6’7” 265 lb), has good speed for the position (reported 4.63 40) and is a good blocker. 

Definitely agree with you as his blocking goes. He would absolutely be the move TE, I think of him as a rocked up slot WR honestly. More chipping and then helping set the edge than being able to block DEs 1 on one. In the slot he gets the chance to crack down on DEs and LBs too, maybe that offsets his meh blocking. 

Washington would be a damn good player in the 2nd if we can get him. I still kind of hope Arik Gilbert is available in the 5th or so. GA seems to demand their TEs be good blockers so maybe he can be at least an average blocker with great physical gifts. 

[Docknstein11]

1 hour ago, AZBearsFan said:

I like Gesicki quite a bit, but he isn’t much of a blocker which I don’t think is a great fit for what we want to do. I’m also guessing they plan to extend Kmet, plus this is supposed to be a really strong TE class too, so if we’re looking for a strong TE2 (and we should be) I suspect we look there for that in the mid rounds. I wouldn’t oppose us looking to take Darnell Washington from UGA if we look TE earlier in the draft. Guy is huge (6’7” 265 lb), has good speed for the position (reported 4.63 40) and is a good blocker. 

Kmet seems to be finally figuring it out and Fields is developing some nice chemistry with him. I agree, I like the idea of drafting a TE in the mid-late rounds with upside. Bring in a better TE2 while the rookie develops. Not a fan of our TE depth at the moment. 

[Docknstein11]

2 hours ago, Sugashane said:

I have to admit I was way more focused on Brown and Juju. Brown was brought there by top brass and Poles and Juju I was pounding the table for all offseason. Mooney isn't an X he is a Z, Juju is a slot specialist, and we could find a big X WR - we now have Claypool, Henry, and ESB. lol

Hardman might have progressed but I think he is going to get a bigger deal than Pringle did and will not be paid as a #3. I'd rather draft for upside or look at trading for a legit 1 than sign another depth piece behind Mooney and Claypool. ATM I'd much rather go after a top TE with what is potentially is going to be in the FA class. 

 

Basically my targets in FA for WRs/TEs:

1. Gesicki

2. Juju

3. Schultz (doubt he makes it to the market)

4. Everyone else. 

This is definitely an option but they’d have to pull this off post draft right? Preferably after trading back and acquiring a future first rounder.
 

Higgins could be that dude. McLaurin I would absolutely love if he’s unhappy with the Commies QB situation. Gabe Davis I am unsure about. Can he be a legit WR1 or is he more of a Claypool/Mooney type? 

[Sugashane]

19 minutes ago, Docknstein11 said:

This is definitely an option but they’d have to pull this off post draft right? Preferably after trading back and acquiring a future first rounder.
 

Higgins could be that dude. McLaurin I would absolutely love if he’s unhappy with the Commies QB situation. Gabe Davis I am unsure about. Can he be a legit WR1 or is he more of a Claypool/Mooney type? 

Higgins already is that dude IMO, but I think he and Chase are going to get nice long deals whenever their time is up from their rookie deals. They are going to try to have the trio tied up and locked together (counting Burrow obviously). McLaurin is def underrated. Doubt he gets to hit the market if he keeps up his production, he likely gets an extension and restructure in 2024and they likely won't want to part with one of their few talented players.

I can't say about Davis. Having Diggs across from him takes SO much pressure and focus off him, maybe he is a 1 in a 2 role but I'd be too chicken to throw him #1 money at this point.

[Docknstein11]

33 minutes ago, Sugashane said:

Higgins already is that dude IMO, but I think he and Chase are going to get nice long deals whenever their time is up from their rookie deals. They are going to try to have the trio tied up and locked together (counting Burrow obviously). McLaurin is def underrated. Doubt he gets to hit the market if he keeps up his production, he likely gets an extension and restructure in 2024and they likely won't want to part with one of their few talented players.

I can't say about Davis. Having Diggs across from him takes SO much pressure and focus off him, maybe he is a 1 in a 2 role but I'd be too chicken to throw him #1 money at this point.

Paying Higgins won’t be easy. Two WRs making 20+ mil and Burrow making 40+. They might make it work but idk. 
 

McLaurin got a deal this off-season but I’m hoping Washington is such a mess he requests a trade. Long shot obviously. 
 

Agreed on Davis. Trading a first rounder and paying him big money is a huge risk. Put Claypool with Allen/Diggs and I bet he produces at least as much as Davis has. 

[Sugashane]

Just now, Docknstein11 said:

Paying Higgins won’t be easy. Two WRs making 20+ mil and Burrow making 40+. They might make it work but idk. 
 

McLaurin got a deal this off-season but I’m hoping Washington is such a mess he requests a trade. Long shot obviously. 
 

Agreed on Davis. Trading a first rounder and paying him big money is a huge risk. Put Claypool with Allen/Diggs and I bet he produces at least as much as Davis has. 

Seeing NO go from $100 mil over the cap line to being able to franchise their S and how KC is working around Mahomes' deal has be caring less and less about the cap situation. You can stagger, front load or back load contracts, restructure, etc. I'd love to have Higgins here though so maybe they try to keep Boyd to save money.

Agreed.

If our 2023 1st is in play then Davis isn't even part of that deal for me. If I'm going back 25ish picks I want more than they would ever even look at since they have the QB already. Unless Diggs himself is part of the package they would have to look for way less than that, like I might give our 3rd for Davis and BUF's 3rd, but even then I think I'd rather look elsewhere.

[beardown3231]

The only way I'm trading for a WR is using the 2nd rounder still left. Even if they do trade down, let's say with the Lions, I'm not trading 15 for Gabe Davis. I'd gladly trade ~55 of whatever though

[Sugashane]

11 minutes ago, beardown3231 said:

The only way I'm trading for a WR is using the 2nd rounder still left. Even if they do trade down, let's say with the Lions, I'm not trading 15 for Gabe Davis. I'd gladly trade ~55 of whatever though

Same. If the first is involved for a WR I better be getting a #1 AND two firsts, one being in the top 10 this year. Rams aren't going to shop Kupp, SEA isn't going to shop Metcalf, Raiders won't shop Adams, and PHI doesn't need a QB so there is zero reason to part with Brown or Smith.

[blkwdw13]

I know it's most likely not going to happen, but say the Chargers decide they want to move on from Keenan Allen this off season should the Bears be interested and go after him.

[Madmike90]

4 hours ago, blkwdw13 said:

I know it's most likely not going to happen, but say the Chargers decide they want to move on from Keenan Allen this off season should the Bears be interested and go after him.

Tricky because of the injury history…that said when he is on the field he makes the QBs life so much easier just because of how good a route runner he is and his overall reliability so I would make a run at him on a short term deal if he were to become a FA…Fields needs that high volume easy target type guy

[dll2000]

On 12/9/2022 at 11:08 PM, AZBearsFan said:

My top 3 FA targets: 

1) DT Da’Ron Payne - he’s exactly what we need at 3T and he’d be a long term fixture at just 25 years old.

2) C Ethan Pocic - he’s been arguably the best center in the NFL this year (1 sack allowed and 0 penalties in 629 snaps for CLE). He’ll be just 28 next year.

3) OG/OT Elgton Jenkins - highly versatile upper echelon starter can plug in for us at RT or LG (if Whitehair moves on). Maximizes draft flexibility to add the best player on the OL regardless of position. Getsy familiarity. Hurts the team to the north. 

Oooo good list.