2018 NFL Draft // Rolling Thread

[Mikefive]

Why do people think the Bears need a CB? I just do not see the need as you have Prince and Fuller on the outside for a decent chunk of cap space, plus Cooper backing them up. Then you have LeBlanc and Callahan in the slot plus Sherrick McManus. That is already a crowded DB room and really not much of a chance to upgrade. I do not see anyway possible the Bears use a 1st or 2nd day pick on a CB this year.

Prince is injury prone, Fuller missed virtually an entire season to a knee injury, Cooper proved he can't be relied on whatsoever, Callahan is a solid nickel but not much else, LeBlanc is the same, McManus is elite special teams & a poor corner. There is massive room to upgrade.

So starting Lynch or Acho at OLB and Kush at OG is somehow in the same problematic zip code as the $27M duo of Fuller and Prince with a side of Callahan at CB???? Either I'm misunderstanding you or I don't share your view there.

[UOK]

Why do people think the Bears need a CB? I just do not see the need as you have Prince and Fuller on the outside for a decent chunk of cap space, plus Cooper backing them up. Then you have LeBlanc and Callahan in the slot plus Sherrick McManus. That is already a crowded DB room and really not much of a chance to upgrade. I do not see anyway possible the Bears use a 1st or 2nd day pick on a CB this year.

Prince is injury prone, Fuller missed virtually an entire season to a knee injury, Cooper proved he can't be relied on whatsoever, Callahan is a solid nickel but not much else, LeBlanc is the same, McManus is elite special teams & a poor corner. There is massive room to upgrade.

So starting Lynch or Acho at OLB and Kush at OG is somehow in the same problematic zip code as the $27M duo of Fuller and Prince with a side of Callahan at CB???? Either I'm misunderstanding you or I don't share your view there.

I'm confused here a bit myself.

I was simply trying to make an argument for why the Bears drafting a corner wouldn't be a short-sighted/foolish thing to do.

[Mikefive]

Why do people think the Bears need a CB? I just do not see the need as you have Prince and Fuller on the outside for a decent chunk of cap space, plus Cooper backing them up. Then you have LeBlanc and Callahan in the slot plus Sherrick McManus. That is already a crowded DB room and really not much of a chance to upgrade. I do not see anyway possible the Bears use a 1st or 2nd day pick on a CB this year.

Prince is injury prone, Fuller missed virtually an entire season to a knee injury, Cooper proved he can't be relied on whatsoever, Callahan is a solid nickel but not much else, LeBlanc is the same, McManus is elite special teams & a poor corner. There is massive room to upgrade.

So starting Lynch or Acho at OLB and Kush at OG is somehow in the same problematic zip code as the $27M duo of Fuller and Prince with a side of Callahan at CB???? Either I'm misunderstanding you or I don't share your view there.

I'm confused here a bit myself.

I was simply trying to make an argument for why the Bears drafting a corner wouldn't be a short-sighted/foolish thing to do.

I read you wrong then. That's on me.

[wab]

Legere's mock isn't bad:
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Notre Dame OG Nelson could be the pick if Bears stay at No. 8
FOLLOW @PFWEEKLYBy BOB LeGERE -- blegere@profootballweekly.com
Published: April 25, 2018 — 10:41 a.m.
Updated: April 25, 2018 — 10:42 a.m.

The Bears are missing a third-round pick this year after trading it last year to move up to take QB Mitch Trubisky.

Rumor has it that GM Ryan Pace wants to get back into Round Three, and the best way to do that is by trading down in the first round. It doesn’t sound like Pace wants to move down more than a few spots, but he needs a willing partner to make a deal.

For now, we’ll assume they remain at No. 8.

And, one final thing before we get to the picks, if you haven't already, subscribe today for Greg Gabriel's full scouting reports on more than 200 draft prospects. Whoever the Bears select, you'll want Greg's full report, and it's only 99 cents to start.

Round 1 (No. 8 overall) OG Quenton Nelson, Notre Dame
After four straight seasons with at least 10 losses, Pace has to be feeling the heat, even though he’s only been around for three of them. The Bears have several positions that could benefit from this pick.

What makes Nelson the most attractive option is that he’s perhaps the closest thing to a can’t-miss star in this draft, and Pace cannot afford to miss after WR Kevin White in 2015, and Leonard Floyd in 2016. White has contributed just 21 receptions in three years because of injuries that sidelined him for 43 of 48 games. Floyd has been a more productive pick, but he’s missed 10 of 32 games and has 11.5 sacks.

The consensus is the 6-foot-5, 329-pound Nelson could be a Pro Bowl-caliber guard as a rookie and might be good enough to play left tackle. After declining the $8-million option on four-time Pro Bowler Josh Sitton, the Bears have a gaping hole at left guard. That’s where Nelson started for three years for the Irish, where he often dominated. He also spent four years under Harry Hiestand, the Bears’ new OL coach.

The Bears also have a question mark at right guard, where Kyle Long is trying to bounce back to his Pro Bowl form after three surgeries since his last game.

Round 2 (No. 39 overall) DL Harrison Phillips, Stanford
Can the Bears depend on 2016 third-round draft pick Jonathan Bullard to be the full-time starter at right end? Maybe. But that’s not good enough. If Bullard had lived up to expectations, he would have replaced journeyman Mitch Unrein as the starter last year, and he did not. Phillips may not be as athletic as Bullard, but he’s taller, heavier, stronger (42 reps of 225 pounds on the bench), and he plays hard all the time.

Phillips also had 14 sacks over the past two seasons, although he’s not considered a great pass rusher. The 6-foot-4, 307-pound Phillips played nose tackle at Stanford but still had an amazing 103 tackles in 2017.

Round 4 (No. 105 overall) OLB Dorance Armstrong, Kansas
The Bears have to get more pass rush off the edge, and after going in other directions on the first two days, they will be thrilled if Armstrong is still available at the start of Day Three. He surely fell on some draft boards when he had just two sacks last year after getting 10 as a sophomore in 2016, when he had 20 tackles for loss.

But a defensive scheme change was more responsible for Armstrong’s drop-off than poor performance. His 4.87 40-time won’t impress anyone, but he’s 6-foot-4, 257 pounds and has long arms (34.75 inches). He had a 33-inch vertical and did 25 bench-press reps of 225 pounds at the Jayhawks’ pro day.

Round 4 (No. 115 overall) ILB Josey Jewell, Iowa
He ran 4.82 at the combine, which would normally knock a 6-foot-1, 235-pound inside linebacker into the sixth or seventh round. But Jewell ran a 4.68 at his pro day, and he plays even faster than that because he’s a film junkie who plays with great instincts and takes good angles to the ball.

A shoulder injury last year knocked him out of five games and probably down a few notches on many draft boards. But the Bears got a steal last year in the fourth round on S Eddie Jackson because he suffered a fractured leg at Alabama in 2016, and they could do likewise with Jewell. He piled up 250 tackles in 2015-16 before the injury limited him to 97 last year, but he still had 11.5 tackles for loss in 2017.

Round 5 (No. 145 overall) OLB Josh Sweat, Florida State
The Bears’ returning outside linebackers had a total of just 8.5 sacks last year, so it’s worth using another late pick on an edge rusher. Teams are concerned with the health of Sweat’s left knee, which was severely injured in high school (ACL, MCL and PCL damage) and nicked up again in 2016 with meniscus damage. If he checks out medically, Sweat could have a future in the NFL as a situational pass rusher.

He’s 6-foot-4, 251 pounds, has 34.5-inch arms, and he ran a 4.53 40 at the combine, where he had a 39.5-inch vertical. He had a modest total of 10 sacks over the past two seasons and needs to get a lot stronger to make any impact at all as a run defender. But he has many pass-rush skills that could be developed by some hard coaching.

Round 6 (No. 181 overall) WR Trey Quinn, SMU
Depth at wide receiver is still a concern for the Bears after they lost RFA Cam Meredith to the Saints. Quinn isn’t huge (6-foot, 212 pounds) or super fast (4.55), but the LSU transfer put up impressive numbers in his only season at SMU, catching 114 passes for 1,236 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Quinn has excellent hands and much better quickness than flat-out speed. He ran a limited route tree at SMU but not so at LSU, even though he caught just 22 passes there in two seasons. He’s probably limited to a slot role, but Quinn is a strong runner after the catch and has enough size to be an effective blocker.

Round 7 (No. 224 overall) CB Levi Wallace, Alabama
You can never have enough cornerbacks in the NFL, and you have to love a kid who walked on at Alabama, didn’t play for two years, finally earned a scholarship in 2016 and became a starter in 2017. Wallace has bulked up to 183 pounds but is still skinny at an even 6 feet, though that doesn’t prevent him from supporting vs. the run. He doesn’t have much speed (4.63), but he’ll compete with anyone. Had three interceptions last year and led Alabama with 15 pass breakups.

[wab]

It's a lot of LB's and I don't love any of the ones he picked, but so far it's the "expert" mock that I hate the least.

[G08]

It's a lot of LB's and I don't love any of the ones he picked, but so far it's the "expert" mock that I hate the least.

JOSEY!!!

[Boris13c]

Michael Vick will announce Falcons' second-round pick in NFL Draft

ATLANTA - Michael Vick has a deep passion for the city of Atlanta. On Friday, the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback will announce the team’s second-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, according to the National Football League.

Drafted as the No. 1 pick in the 2001 NFL Draft out of Virginia Tech, Vick played for the Falcons from 2001 to 2006, throwing for 11,505 passing yards and 71 touchdowns. He also rushed for 3,859 yards and 21 touchdowns.

[thunderspirit]

It's a lot of LB's and I don't love any of the ones he picked, but so far it's the "expert" mock that I hate the least.

Yeah, pretty much.

[Mikefive]

Interesting move to go for a big strong DL guy in R2. That plays to my bias for DL and pass rush guys. And if you're not going to take an OLB pass rusher in R1 or R2, taking 2 swings at it in 4 and 5 at a pretty thin position makes a certain amount of sense. I kinda like it. We could certainly do worse, IMO.

[wab]

One of these guys is Danny Trevathan. One is Roquan Smith

Guy one
6'1 237
4.84 40
32 inch arms
9.4 broad jump
31 inch vertical
10 inch hands

Guy 2
6'1 237
4.51 40
32 inch arms
9.9 broad jump
10 inch hands

[G08]

I think Guy one was the 6th round pick

And look who's rounding up now!

[Adipost]

Ian Rapoport
‏
@RapSheet
6m6 minutes ago

The new #Packers may be on display Thursday night. They are among the teams plotting a potential trade up -- from No. 14 -- for a top-tier talent, sources say. It would be their first opening round move up since Clay Matthews in 2009.

[mmmc_35]

Ian Rapoport
‏
@RapSheet
6m6 minutes ago

The new #Packers may be on display Thursday night. They are among the teams plotting a potential trade up -- from No. 14 -- for a top-tier talent, sources say. It would be their first opening round move up since Clay Matthews in 2009.

Ward? Looking for their Revis.

[Z Bear]

I have read they are high on Minka Fitzpatrick to play CB. Makes sense considering their lack of talent in the secondary.

[Adipost]

Mayock’s live mock draft so far...

#1 Cleveland - Darnold
#2 NYG - Barkley
#3 NYJ - Mayfield
#4 Cleveland - Chubb
#5 Denver - Nelson
#6 Buffalo (trade) - Josh Allen
#7 Tampa Bay - Derwin James
#8 Bears - Roquan Smith
#9 49ers - Denzel Ward
#10 OAK - Mike McGlinchey

[G08]

If we go Roquan Smith I'm assuming it's with Fangio's blessing... which I guess is fine with me.

[G08]

I just hope we don't regret leaving a pass rusher on the board... might be time to start digging into the day 2 EDGE guys even more... I don't hate Sam Hubbard, I guess.

[Adipost]

I just hope we don't regret leaving a pass rusher on the board... might be time to start digging into the day 2 EDGE guys even more... I don't hate Sam Hubbard, I guess.

You compared him to Sam Acho

[Adipost]

#11 Miami - Edmunds
#12 Indy - Minkah Fitzpatrick
#13 WASH - Vita Vea
#14 GB - Jaire Alexander
#15 ARI - Josh Rosen
#16 BAL - Lamar Jackson
#17 LAC - Da’Ron Payne
#18 SEA - Marcus Davenport
#19 DAL - Courtland Sutton
#20 DET - Harold Landry

[G08]

I just hope we don't regret leaving a pass rusher on the board... might be time to start digging into the day 2 EDGE guys even more... I don't hate Sam Hubbard, I guess.

You compared him to Sam Acho

I did say he's a white Sam Acho... but I say things I don't always mean when I'm angry

[wab]

I just hope we don't regret leaving a pass rusher on the board... might be time to start digging into the day 2 EDGE guys even more... I don't hate Sam Hubbard, I guess.

You compared him to Sam Acho

I did say he's a white Sam Acho... but I say things I don't always mean when I'm angry

I have a feeling you are going to be disappointed in both the first and second rounds. But I’ll be there for you.

[G08]

I just hope we don't regret leaving a pass rusher on the board... might be time to start digging into the day 2 EDGE guys even more... I don't hate Sam Hubbard, I guess.

You compared him to Sam Acho

I did say he's a white Sam Acho... but I say things I don't always mean when I'm angry

I have a feeling you are going to be disappointed in both the first and second rounds. But I’ll be there for you.

You'll be hearing from me at some point tomorrow night I'm sure

[G08]

If the first 7 picks go (in whatever order):

Mayfield
Darnold
Allen
Rosen
Chubb
Barkley
Nelson

How do we not trade down? I mean we are staring at Smith, Edmunds, Ward, Fitzpatrick, James, Davenport, Landry

[wab]

If the first 7 picks go (in whatever order):

Mayfield
Darnold
Allen
Rosen
Chubb
Barkley
Nelson

How do we not trade down? I mean we are staring at Smith, Edmunds, Ward, Fitzpatrick, James, Davenport, Landry

Because that's just not who Pace is. He takes his guy. If his #1 guy is gone, he takes whoever he has next on the board - so on and so forth.

He said there are 8 guys he's comfortable taking at 8. In your scenario, there's 5-6 left and he'll absolutely take one of them.

[Z Bear]

If the first 7 picks go (in whatever order):

Mayfield
Darnold
Allen
Rosen
Chubb
Barkley
Nelson

How do we not trade down? I mean we are staring at Smith, Edmunds, Ward, Fitzpatrick, James, Davenport, Landry

With all the QBs gone it will be tough to find a partner that wants to trade up. Every team in the NFL wants to trade down and still get their guy.

[Mikefive]

I think Pace's "I have a list of 8 guys" statement is being jumped on and wildly misinterpreted. I've heard multiple media types saying that "since 4 QBs aren't on Pace's list, he'll be comfortable trading down a bit and still landing someone in his top 8".

By Pace saying he has a list of 8, all that means is that he is prepared for any scenario, as in the Name Your Top 8 thread. He didn't say anything about variations in value among those 8, whether he would trade up, when he would consider trading back, nothing like that. Pace wasn't revealing ANYTHING there and nor should he.

Of course he's going to say he has a list of 8. If he says he has a list of 5, then he looks unprepared in the event that those 5 aren't there and he can't trade back. If he has a list of 10, then he looks like he's indecisive.

In any case, making interpretations based on anything he says the day before the draft is really, REALLY dumb.

[G08]

I think Pace's "I have a list of 8 guys" statement is being jumped on and wildly misinterpreted. I've heard multiple media types saying that "since 4 QBs aren't on Pace's list, he'll be comfortable trading down a bit and still landing someone in his top 8". By Pace saying he has a list of 8, all that means is that he is prepared for any scenario, as in the Name Your Top 8 thread. He didn't say anything about variations in value among those 8, whether he would trade up, when he would consider trading back, nothing like that. Pace wasn't revealing ANYTHING there and nor should he. So making interpretations based on anything he says the day before the draft is really, REALLY dumb.

I listened to his pre-draft presser last yer and he said (at pick 3) he had 3 players that he liked. I think it's his standard BS answer for us.

[thunderspirit]

Because that's just not who Pace is. He takes his guy. If his #1 guy is gone, he takes whoever he has next on the board - so on and so forth.

He said there are 8 guys he's comfortable taking at 8. In your scenario, there's 5-6 left and he'll absolutely take one of them.

The only way I think Pace even thins about a trade back is in an unlikely circumstance where he has two guys at the same grade and is approached by, say, Oakland about a small move down — and he knows who Oakland wants is not one of those two guys.

Even then, it's a gamble, and that's different from a calculated risk.

[UOK]

@WillBrinson

According to @mortreport on ESPN just now, John Dorsey’s known who he was going to take for “about six weeks.”

Dorsey told Haslams “about a month ago.”

“Finally told his head coach Hue Jackson two days ago.”

@mortreport

Just to clarify and correct, while Browns GM John Dorsey has known who he would pick about 6 weeks ago, he still wanted an all-inclusive process for organizational unity. He didn't formally reveal it with owners Jimmy & Dee Haslam until this week, per team sources.

[G08]

Ian Rapoport
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A couple of players who seem set to be picked higher than expected: #Maryland WR DJ Moore, #UTSA pass-rusher Marcus Davenport, and #Louisville CB Jaire Alexander. … Hot names.