2018 NFL Draft Prospects

[thunderspirit]

Everyone is going to be real upset

I think you can safely end there.

LOL

[G08]

I'm looking at Roquan Smith and he makes a ton of sense, but do you just put Kwiatkoski on the bench? I'm of the opinion Fangio really likes him and I would imagine Pace wants to give him a shot to develop with playing this season rather than immediately send him or Trevatahn to the bench.

Ward makes sense as well, but Fangio typically likes bigger/longer/stronger corners. I think Ward is outstanding in his technique and sticky as hell, but you also just paid Fuller and Amukamara a combined $37M for 2018 and 2019.

I dunno... unless Quenton Nelson is there I can't see how we don't go pass rusher at 8 or after a trade down.

[G08]

I heard an interesting conversation on Waddle and Silvy yesterday and wanted to apply it here. Give me your 'mock draft' 1-7 with the caveat that NO quarterbacks will be taken. How would it lay out for you? For the sake of clarity, I don't care where the player is slotted so much as I wonder who you think the top 7 players -- non-QB -- in this draft happen to be.

I think it would be something like:

Bradley Chubb
Saquan Barkley
Quenton Nelson
Denzel Ward
Minkah Fitzpatrick
Derwin James
Roquan Smith

[Mikefive]

I heard an interesting conversation on Waddle and Silvy yesterday and wanted to apply it here. Give me your 'mock draft' 1-7 with the caveat that NO quarterbacks will be taken. How would it lay out for you?

I think it would be something like:

Bradley Chubb
Saquan Barkley
Quenton Nelson
Denzel Ward
Minkah Fitzpatrick
Derwin James
Roquan Smith

That's pretty arguable, although I'd think Tremaine Edmunds would be in there somewhere, probably over Smith.

[wab]

I heard an interesting conversation on Waddle and Silvy yesterday and wanted to apply it here. Give me your 'mock draft' 1-7 with the caveat that NO quarterbacks will be taken. How would it lay out for you? For the sake of clarity, I don't care where the player is slotted so much as I wonder who you think the top 7 players -- non-QB -- in this draft happen to be.

I think it would be something like:

Bradley Chubb
Saquan Barkley
Quenton Nelson
Denzel Ward
Minkah Fitzpatrick
Derwin James
Roquan Smith

I'd probably go:
Barkley
Chubb
Nelson
Edmunds
Vea
Fitzpatrick
Ward

[Hiphopopotamos]

I heard an interesting conversation on Waddle and Silvy yesterday and wanted to apply it here. Give me your 'mock draft' 1-7 with the caveat that NO quarterbacks will be taken. How would it lay out for you? For the sake of clarity, I don't care where the player is slotted so much as I wonder who you think the top 7 players -- non-QB -- in this draft happen to be.

I think it would be something like:

Bradley Chubb
Saquan Barkley
Quenton Nelson
Denzel Ward
Minkah Fitzpatrick
Derwin James
Roquan Smith

Q Nelson
S Barkley
B Chubb
V Vea
R Smith
D James
D Ward

[UOK]

https://beargoggleson.com/2018/04/16/85064/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good article on Smith vs. Edmunds.

[G08]

I hate this. All the talking heads are pimping Minkah Fitzpatrick, Derwin James, Roquan Smith, Denzel Ward, Tremaine Edmunds.

Where do we put these dudes if we draft them? If we TRULY go BPA, do we take a Derwin James and tell Adrian Amos to go to the bench? Did we waste the past 3 years getting him acclimated in the system?

What about Smith or Edmunds? Does Pace tell Kwiatkoski to ride the pine? Does he tell Trevathan to do that?

Fitzpatrick/Ward... they're not kicking Fuller or Amukamara off the starting defensive 11, so do they come in and play nickel? Do you spend the 8th freaking pick on a nickel back?



I just.... This is driving me insane.

[wab]

I hate this. All the talking heads are pimping Minkah Fitzpatrick, Derwin James, Roquan Smith, Denzel Ward, Tremaine Edmunds.

Where do we put these dudes if we draft them? If we TRULY go BPA, do we take a Derwin James and tell Adrian Amos to go to the bench? Did we waste the past 3 years getting him acclimated in the system?

What about Smith or Edmunds? Does Pace tell Kwiatkoski to ride the pine? Does he tell Trevathan to do that?

Fitzpatrick/Ward... they're not kicking Fuller or Amukamara off the starting defensive 11, so do they come in and play nickel? Do you spend the 8th freaking pick on a nickel back?



I just.... This is driving me insane.

Really unless it’s Nelson, it’s going to be a part time player.

[G08]

I mean I guess you can make Fitzpatrick a starter at nickel if you feel strongly enough about his ability to get downhill and stop the run. That could make your defense flexible (kind of like what I was talking about with Edmunds). Question becomes, who of these defensive players do you think has the best combination of run support and ability to cover slot WRs and/or TEs?

[mmmc_35]

I think some of your conundrum G08 is over thinking it, and over valuing the current roster.

[G08]

I think some of your conundrum G08 is over thinking it, and over valuing the current roster.

Over-thinking is all I have left for the next 7 days my friend. I just value continuity so I'm not in a rush to remove Amos/Jackson on the back-end of the defense. We also just paid Fuller and Amukamara pretty handsomely so I think relegating them to the bench is foolish.

The ILBs don't deserve to be benched either -- one has to think Pace wants Kwiatkoski to succeed -- but Trevathan is a little bit older (28) and comes out of contract in two years.

Nelson is the best player to match a need, but I don't like guards in the top 8.

We sorely need pass rushers, but do you take Davenport or Landry at 8? Can you trade down and safely still land one of them? So many different directions this thing can go so I can't even try and think about round 2 until we nail down round 1.

[wab]

I have never understood that line of thinking. If you have as sure of a prospect as there is sitting there at #8, even if its a guard, why would you pass on him for a more risky prospect and then take another risk on a lesser guard later in the draft?

I know it's a dead horse...but perceived value be damned, Nelson is the best fit at 8.

[G08]

I have never understood that line of thinking. If you have as sure of a prospect as there is sitting there at #8, even if its a guard, why would you pass on him for a more risky prospect and then take another risk on a lesser guard later in the draft?

I know it's a dead horse...but perceived value be damned, Nelson is the best fit at 8.

Truthfully I wouldn't pass on him if he's the BPA. But if they have Nelson and Ward graded similarly, give me the corner every single time.

As for the risky prospect angle... they're still quality players that will be on the board for us at 8. If you're asking me if I want a Hall of Fame LG at #8 or a solid guard at #39, I'll take the solid guard at #39 and roll the dice on a stud corner/defensive back at #8. Guards don't win football games.

Different philosophies man, I won't say you're wrong but I don't think I'm wrong either.

[crueltyabc]

I've been watching tape on Fitzpatrick and Edmunds and think that it's a little bit of a preference thing.

Fitzpatrick usually played center field so when you watch him he's always around the ball but he's never the first guy there. His teammates are super good I don't fault him for not making a play because someone in better position is already there doing it. He approaches tackling like a safety. A few times I saw him concede yards to get in good tackling position so he could be sure (see 4:17 in the game linked below). Is that what Fangio wants? Can that be coached out of him? I'm not sure because he still does a little of it when he's playing close to the LOS in a big nickel type role. I also see him doing a nice job in coverage from that spot. He'll eyeball the QB a little bit but then run and cover the RB or stay in closing distance of WR running a short route in his area. He also blitzes well and looks pretty hard to block. WRs can't block him at all on running plays, which is entertaining. Check him out versus Arkansas and you'll see it all.

Edmunds is different. This is not a hot take: he does not diagnose plays well. When he sees what is happening, he will run over and blow it up. When scheme puts him the right place, or the offense targets him, he shuts it down. When he's coming from the EDGE he looks really hard to block. It only happens a couple times a game but you'll see him try a dip and rip and generally he ends up getting held or disrupting the play. When he's blitzing on a delay he can drive a guard backwards or keep him away with long arms and disengage easily to run after a completed pass. I'd like to see him knock some balls down but for that to happen he'd need to understand where the ball was and was going haha. I didn't see much tape of him covering WRs man-to-man but his speed and length make him effective in a zone, even when he's just reacting.

Ward and James are both very good but they are what they are. Ward is a very good little CB, James is a very good Free Safety. I think Edmunds can probably rush better than Acho on a 3rd down. I think Fitzpatrick could cover a WR in the slot on 3rd down. I also note that Amos is in his contract year so maybe it's not crazy to draft a safety who plays nickel this year then evaluate the safety situation in the offseason?

For me, Nelson and Chubb are still the 3 down sure thing guys I'm hoping to see available at 8 but I think it's more likely that we find a use for Edmunds or Fitz than it's likely that Landry or Davenport become 5+ sack EDGE rushers. I also think Payne can rush the passer well enough that he could play DT on 3rd down but I don't see many people saying that, and it's not a need for us because Hicks and Goldman are legit

Chubb
Nelson
What do trade offers look like? Oh the QBs are gone so nobody is fun anymore?
Edmunds
Fitzpatrick
All 4 of the above are gone?? there really should be a trade offer good enough because there are 3 good QBs and a good RB that people should want to draft above us and we know that mathematically all 8 players can't be gone in 7 picks. Everyone secretly hated one of the QBs or still devalue the RB position?
Ward
James

[G08]

Ties into my "don't draft guards high" argument:

Highest Paid Guards And When They Were Drafted:

Norwell - UDFA
Zeitler - 27th
Osemele - 60th
Turner - 92nd
Jackson - 81st
Long - 20th
DeCastro - 24th
Lang - 109th
Pugh - 19th
Leary - UDFA
Bitonio - 35th
Warford - 65th
Duvernay-Tardif - 200th
Brooks - 76th
Iupati - 17th
Yanda - 86th
Levitre - 51st
Winters - 72nd
Allen - 44th
Fulton - 193rd

[crueltyabc]

Just tells me that a lot of teams passed on a really good guard and not all of them drafted a great player instead


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[G08]

Just tells me that a lot of teams passed on a really good guard and not all of them drafted a great player instead


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maybe!

Top 5 rushing teams in the 2017 regular season and where their guards were drafted:

JAX - Undrafted and Undrafted 10 wins
DAL - 1st round and 1st round 9 wins
PHI - 3rd round and 3rd round 13 wins
CAR - Undrafted and 3rd round 11 wins
NO - 1st round and 3rd round 11 wins

Let's consider undrafted as an 8th round pick; the average is 3.9 or basically a 4th round pick.

I'm also seeing zero correlation to where your guards are drafted and the impact on wins, but it's an extremely small sample size.

[Rusty Trombagent]

Just tells me that a lot of teams passed on a really good guard and not all of them drafted a great player instead


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yes, i feel extremely good about the bears passing on david decastro in 2012 so they could draft shea mcclellin.

there's really no lesson to learn there about reaching for an edge player over taking an obvious stud guard, no lesson at all.

[G08]

Just tells me that a lot of teams passed on a really good guard and not all of them drafted a great player instead


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yes, i feel extremely good about the bears passing on david decastro in 2012 so they could draft shea mcclellin.

there's really no lesson to learn there about reaching for an edge player over taking an obvious stud guard, no lesson at all.

Well, you can't account for a stupid personnel evaluator.

Chandler Jones, whom I wanted, and his 66 career sacks would have had a much bigger impact on this roster than David DeCastro.

[Hematite]

Good opinions being offered by many. Keep up the good work, gents!

[G08]

Adam Jahns writes that the Bears should draft one of the following next week:

Roquan Smith, ILB
Minkah Fitzpatrick, DB
Denzel Ward, CB

[Z Bear]

Adam Jahns writes that the Bears should draft one of the following next week:

Roquan Smith, ILB
Minkah Fitzpatrick, DB
Denzel Ward, CB

Of the top ten prospects those are the last 3 I would want aside from a QB.

[thunderspirit]

Adam Jahns writes that the Bears should draft one of the following next week:

Roquan Smith, ILB
Minkah Fitzpatrick, DB
Denzel Ward, CB

Of the top ten prospects those are the last 3 I would want aside from a QB.

Yeah, I agree there.

Roquan is a helluva prospect. However, I think he's sub-optimal in Fangio's scheme that basically expects interchangeable ILBs — Smith is a run-and-chase guy through and through.

Fitzpatrick is a fine DB, and Ward a very good cover guy, but I'm not convinced either is a high-priority need on the Bears.

[wab]

Jahns is fucking high.

[G08]

Jahns is fucking high.

'Tis the season!

I dunno I feel like the talking heads either all got together and decided to talk about these dudes, or they know something that we don't know.

[mmmc_35]

I know I said before Connor Williams is the best OT in this class. I have seen several mock drafts with him out of the first round, or pick 25+.

I wouldn't be opposed to drafting him at 8, if he is there past 20 sell the farm.

[wab]

I know I said before Connor Williams is the best OT in this class. I have seen several mock drafts with him out of the first round, or pick 25+.

I wouldn't be opposed to drafting him at 8, if he is there past 20 sell the farm.

I think he's a guy that could play guard early and then kick out to LT.

[G08]

Pace is about to meet with the media for his pre-draft presser of nothing.

[UOK]

Pace is about to meet with the media for his pre-draft presser of nothing.