Moriarty wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 5:52 pm
dave99 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 4:05 pm
I believe that if you give Fields time in a professional offensive scheme he can make do with average receivers.
For a while.
And this is not going to be a one year rebuild.
Find the five (probably 6 or 7) guys that can protect Fields and give the running game some more consistency and the offense will look a whole lot better.
Build the lines. The rest will come.
Agreed.
WR could be the ugliest position group (although I'd probably pick S - or even DL, if you let both FAs walk).
But I think a young QB needs OL and at least an average HB
far more than WRs.
And in general, if you asked me which position group you'd be more comfortable with a bunch of nobodies, WR would probably top the list.
I DO think the two top picks will likely be S, CB, DL or ILB because of need. But I still WR is the biggest clear need, it is because heck they really only have Mooney and Dazz. I didn't realize that even Grant is an UFA. That isn't just a list of nobodies - it is actually almost nobody. So I think that will be THE FA priority, leading to the draft in other areas. I'd rather not have JF1 stuck with potential busts or just "fast guys". I hope whoever they bring in are true professionals and good technicians vs potential divas. My biggest target would be Godwin and as a fallback I believe Pringle or Wilson could be the Bears #1 WR if they can't land a Godwin, Adams or Schuster. Even if they CAN land a big fish, I hope they pick up a guy like Pringle. I think the new regime probably already think the Bear WRs are pathetic and are coming in to help JF1 and make him successful. Giving him the bad news bears at WR is not helping.
Where we don't agree is this is a multi-year rebuild on the lines. I think the DL can mostly come back and losing Hicks isn't losing much anymore. We don't even know what the defense will be like, and for the front 7 it seems like there is some depth including a couple of vets that can come back (and play OK).
And I think it is just as fair to say the following about the oline, based on what we know about Nagy:
- We don't really know if the Oline is good or not, because we do know anecdotally that what they were asked to do was sometimes not reasonable or well-conceived
- We do know there are two reasonably promising OTs that at least deserve a shot to secure those positions. It wouldn't appear to be a responsible use of resources to assume they can't do it since they've performed adequately with little preparation in a historically bad offensive scheme. They just need to be backed up.
- Center "appears" to be a need, but again given what we know about the offensive approach and plan under Nagy, a lack of draft resources and a lack of FA options and a relative depth of backups at the position, it seems like giving Mustipher (and either Whitehair or Daniels or both) the C position for '22 season in a new offense is the most pragmatic approach.
- I think we can assume Bars can hold down either G spot, and is a highly useful SOB that hardly anyone mentions when discussing the line.
I think what I'm betting is the new regime will want to see for themselves what these guys can do in a new and decent system. I do believe "they" will also bring in 1-2 journeyman-type vets they feel they can count on to shore things up without making an expensive FA splash or investing scarce picks in the draft to put more uncertain young prospects behind the young uncertain prospects that are there already.