With this in mind, I would love to get Deshaun Watson, Derek Carr, or my personal favorite, Marcus Mariota (been wanting him since he came out). But at what cost? If you spend a fortune for a QB, how do you get him the support he needs when your draft resources and cap situation are so depleted? It seems like we’ve been here before. How many teams have successfully paid a fortune for an established QB? None that I know of. The Saints and Broncos were successful signing Brees and Manning, respectively, but they didn’t give up any draft resources. The Chiefs were successful moving up for Mahomes, but with a QB on a rookie deal, they didn’t give up any serious financial resources and they already had a Super Bowl contending team. We certainly aren’t that. Be careful with this strategy as you might end up like the Redskins with Robert Griffin III.
In reviewing our year, although most everybody points to the QB position as our biggest problem, I don’t think that was the extent of it. Hell, it wasn’t even the biggest. That ignominy rest with our offensive line. I’m not sure that any QB could play behind our line in the condition it was in. Don’t forget that Nick Foles won a Super Bowl with the Eagles, yet he imploded behind our OL. As such, it certaintly hasn’t been an environment conducive to developing a franchise QB. Don’t expect ANY of the QB prospects in this draft to develop behind crap we have now. And if you’re looking for a QB from the Senior Bowl to save us, you can forget about it. The best QB in that game is more like a poor man’s Mitchell Trubisky, which at this point would make him homeless. Lol I would keep the QBs we have, resigning Mitchell to an incentive laden “prove it” deal, and fix our biggest offensive issue—the line.
In free agency, I would let our chaff walk. That includes Spriggs, Ifedi, Coward. I would also let Patterson and ARob walk. They’re just not worth the money they’ll be demanding. I like ARob, but he’s just not a franchise receiver. Then I cut Bobbie Massie. We need a surge of new blood along the OL. I would pretty much stay away from signing anybody but lower priced free agents, with the exception of maybe somebody like Corey Davis who looked like he was just starting to see some of that potential that made him the fifth pick in the draft and could be had for less than half of what ARob wants.
With all of that out of the way, let’s look at this year’s Picnic Basket. It’s one of my favorites ever.
Round 1(20): Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, LB/S, Notre Dame, 6’2”, 216.
Until now, I’ve only talked about our offensive failings, but our defense was in complete disarray as well. In five of our last seven games, opponents scored more than twenty points against us, and in three of those they put up more than thirty. With the amount of money we’ve put into our defense and the talent we have, that’s simply unacceptable. Thankfully, most of our defense’s woes have been mitigated with the retirement of Chuck Pagano. Never have I seen a coordinator neuter his charges as quickly or as effectively as Pagano did our defense. DP was spot on in his initial assessment. Pagano took a bunch of wild dogs who inspired fear into opposing offense and converted them into a bunch of muzzled and chained lap dogs. Perhaps in his absence, we can once again reclaim our prior aggression.
Having said that though, our defense still has one fatal flaw—the pass coverage of Danny Trevathan. He no longer has the speed to effectively cover short range patterns, let alone deep ones. Remember Valdez-Scantling’s TD? Who puts their slowest LB in deep coverage against the offense’s fastest receiver? And how many times did you see Trevathan in coverage against Devante Adams in the short area? WTF?! But this flaw in our defense—weak coverage from too slow LBs—has been exploited by offenses for a while. Remember Kwit’s struggles against Green Bay on opening day back in ’18?
Owusu fixes that flaw in a big way. He’s a smaller LB at only 6’1”, 215. Having a presumed sub 4.5 forty, he moves like nobody’s business. With his size and speed, he can play either as a big nickel, as Deone Buchanon did some years ago for the Cardinals or he can actually play strong safety. He hits a ton and he’s rather adept at the Peanut Punch and creating game changing plays. I think it’s so important for the Bears to address this weakness that even if they don’t go for Owusu in the first, they should go after a big safety like Hamsah Nasrilideen or Divine Diablo in later rounds, preferably Nasrilideen. Still, it’s Owusu who most intrigues me. He could make our defense beyond scary.
Round 2(52): Teven Jenkins, OT, Oklahoma State, 6’6”, 315.
I considered a pure LT here like Walker Little from Stanford, but he’s been out of football for two years, having been injured opening day in ’19 and opting out this year. Besides, the biggest problem the Bears had along the OL this year, and for a while now (since Long started his string of injuries), has been toughness and attitude. We’re simply getting no push in the run game at all and not creating many creases at all.
Jenkins would change that mindset immediately. He’s a beast in the run game and he simply swallows up defensive ends in pass protection. This year, he only allowed seven pressure and no two in one game. Jenkins can play in either a zone or a power scheme. In a power scheme he simply overwhelms defenders and prosecutes a zone scheme with a vigor you rarely. He’s not content to just seal his guy. With his hand punch, he often puts them on the ground.
It should be noted that although most pundits have Jenkins going after our pick in the second and even third round, Mel Kiper actually has us taking him in the first at 20. And I’m okay with that. Changing the culture along our OL is that important. The void that Owusu fills can be addressed later in the draft with a “big” safety. But also a word of caution here. Although Jenkins started 35 games in four years for OSU, he went against Oklahoma with lower back issues. He then opted out of the rest of the season to “prepare for the draft.” That wouldn’t be a problem in and of itself, but Jenkins had also accepted an invite to the Senior Bowl, and he wasn’t there. Why? But if he’s healthy, he would be a major force for us from Day One.
Round 3(84): Quinn Meinerz, OG/C, Wisconsin-Whitewater, 6’3”, 320.
If Jenkins is a beast, Meinerz is a demon. He will put you down as soon as look at you. If you haven’t heard of him from the Senior Bowl, you haven’t been living in a cave for Covid. In Mobile, he proved that not only could he consistently put D3 opponents to the ground, he could do it to the best that college football has to offer. Throughout last week, he was putting his opponent in the dirt time and time again. There’s really not much to say, you simply have to see it:
Of course, that’s only D3 players, but it sure is fun to watch. Kind of like watching The Undertaker pummeling Pop Warner All Stars. Lol And then this weekend, he proved he can do it to the best in college too.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1356325850208108544
But not only is he physically intimidating and aggressive, he’s as tough as a T-1000 Terminator. Breaking a bone in his hand during Senior Bowl practices, he unsuccessfully argued with the National Coach to play in the game two days later. Clearly, he loves football.
Can you imagine Meinerz and Jenkins playing side by side on our right side (I would move Daniels back to center where he should be with Whitehair at LG)? We could open up an IHOP there. To me, finally changing the culture along our offensive line, treating as more than an afterthought, is far more important than any QB we could get. So much so, that I would be happy moving each of these offensive line picks up a round.
Round 5(148)Jaelon Darden, WR, North Texas, 5’9”, 174.
Somewhere in the bowels of UNT they have a super secret genetics animation lab. They must. How else could they have spliced the genes of Darnell Mooney with those of Mumble from Happy Feet to create the likes of Jaelon Darden. Lol Darden is like a slightly shorter Mooney with even quicker feet. Although small at only 5’9”, which will depress his draft spot, he’s an explosion waiting to happen. He tricks defenders the way I do to my cats with a laser light. He’s so quick, he’ll be dancing on defenders’ graves while breaking their ankles. Most don’t even know what hit them.
Oh, Darden is fast no doubt, but he’s much more than speed. He’s quick. He stops and starts on a dime. He shifts sidewise like a magician disappearing. Bill Cosby once described Gale Sayers as splitting into two, amoeba like. I think Darden splits into three or more. He’s so effective at this that he rarely takes a hard shot.
But he doesn’t only use this ability to make defenders miss, he uses it in running his patterns as well. You’ll see him in his pattern make a feint here, a shake there, and suddenly he’s gone, beyond the defender by five yards. He’ll be running his pattern, setting up the defender, and all of a sudden he slides three yards backwards to create separation which is exactly where the ball is coming down. It’s uncanny. It’s how he was able to score 32 TDs over that past two years! Oh, and he returns kicks as well. But this is something you have to see to believe. It’s one of my all time favorite clips. When I watch it, I can’t help but laugh. It just makes me feel good. Enjoy:
“Slow feet don’t eat.”
Round 6(198): Ben Mason, FB, Michigan, 6’3”, 254.
At the Senior Bowl, Mason proved he’s a better receiver than his 3 career collegiate receptions suggest. He’s also a better runner than his 37 career carries imply. Note that of those 3 receptions and 37 carries, he scored 9 TDs. That’s a score every four times he touches the ball. But make no mistake, Mason is all about blocking. Here’s a couple of them from the Senior Bowl:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1355616522895556613
https://twitter.com/i/status/1355664442093137927
He’s also a force on the kicking team, simply destroying people. Once again, it’s all about changing our culture on offense. Taking it to the defense and make them wish they never showed up.
Round 6(216 compensatory): Warren Jackson, WR, Colorado State, 6’5”, 215
This guy is the best receiver nobody’s heard of. And because he opted out and wasn’t invited to the Senior Bowl, he might continue to slip under the radar. He reminds me a lot of Marquess Colston, a former seventh round pick, only with more power, Brandon Marshall type power. He’s a more than willing blocker, and with his size, he’s usually very effective. That says much about his character.
Jackson’s primary problems are his route trees and his cuts. He has three basic routes: a go, a stop, and very seldom, a skinny post. His cuts…well, he has none. Everything he does is rounded. Still with height and extra long wing span he can catch over his shoulder, well away from the defender, or he can go back shoulder, or he can simply catch over the defender’s reach. In the red zone, he’s a nightmare. These attributes were sufficient to earn him 77 catches for 1119 yards and 8 TDs back in ’19.
But make no mistake, this is a receiver who needs work. He’s needs technique. He’s sluggish off the line but can build up to speed. His willingness to block displays his willingness to sacrifice to improve. This clips illustrates his potential:
He reminds me somewhat of what Y.A. Tittle to R.C. Owens’ alley oop must have been like back in the day.
Round 6(220 compensatory): Adrian Ealy, OT, Oklahoma, 6’6.5” 326.
Ealy moves really well for a guy his size, so much so, that Oklahoma pulled him regularly. Unfortunately, when he pulls, he often struggles to identify targets. When does though, he’s usually effective engaging. I mean that’s a load coming at you with momentum. In line, Ealy isn’t the masher like the other two prospects in this basket, although he does have his moments on occasion. What he’s really good at doing is turning his man and sealing for a zone scheme. Huge success rate there.
In pass protection, Ealy generally is able to mirror really well. His arm span also allows to protect against outside speed rushers. Where he struggles sometimes is with inside counter moves or simply straight power moves. This was apparent at the Senior Bowl as well. Ealy is not somebody who’s going to be able to come in and start right away. He needs to strengthen his base to be able to offset these inside counter moves. For this reason, although Ealy had a decent Senior Bowl week, he’s not going to climb as much as others when all is said and done. A good developmental prospect.
A note on this selection: all the draft simulators give me these two six round compensatory picks so I’m including them in this basket. They all also give the Bears the fourth pick in the seventh. I don’t know why. All the pundits mocks give that pick to Miami. I can’t think of any reason why Miami would have surrendered that pick to us, so I’m not including that pick here.
Conclusion:
There you have my initial Picnic Basket for this year. As with all my initial Baskets, expect movement from many of my prospects. Sometimes, my guys fall, but more commonly they rise, sometimes exponentially. I think that’s because what I see and identify is pretty apparent that everybody generally recognizes it. I mean if I can see it you know the experts and pundits can as well. I’m sure that some seeing the clips I’ve included will think that I’m exaggerating these prospects placements allowing me to draft them as steals. I can assure you though, that’s not the case. These are were these prospects are generally ranked today. In fact, I have successfully drafted these very players in several mock draft simulations (although to do so, I have to flip Darden and Meinerz). As the draft approaches, I expect many of these prospects to rise, because they are what they are. Many of these difficulties can be overcome with draft day trades, but as the draft approaches and player rise or fall, I’ll correct this basket trying to account for this and identify other draft prospects.
When a GM is first hired, he inevitably expounds on the importance of building through the draft. But then, as various of his draft picks fail, he starts to rely on free agency more and more. This is an attempt to but a team, not build one. In this, due to the salary cap, they usually fail. To build a successful team, you have to do it through the draft. You have to correctly identify prospects who won’t cost an arm and a leg to compensate for those who do. Look at our Quinn acquisition. How smart was it to spend a fortune on Quinn while giving up on Leornard Floyd? Oops. And then to force Quinn to play a position he himself concedes his ill suited for. Double oops. We need to make Quinn purely a defensive end again, as I said from the beginning.
Many label Mitchell Trubisky a failure simply because he’s not Deshaun Watson or Patrick Mahomes. I don’t. He has shown marked improvement despite playing behind a ramshackle offensive line. How well would Mahomes have developed behind this line? Rather than give up on Trubisky, I’d prefer fixing the real problems of our offense. If you continually trade away your first round picks, how are you expected to build through the draft? We are just now coming into our first rounders again after the Mack trade. How can you expect to build through the draft when you immediately want to sacrifice those future first rounders again?
That’s why this is one of my favorite Picnic Baskets ever. It’s an attempt to return to the idea of building through the draft and not giving up on those you’ve already chosen. Even more, it’s an attempt to change the culture of our offense. Currently, our offensive line reminds me of our defense under Marc Trestman—passive and weak. Here, I’m attempting to change that culture by bringing in aggressive, intimidating linemen who will impose their will on opposing offenses. I’m sick of trying to win on offense through trickery. That only goes so far. All those who decry the condition of our offensive line should be buggy whipped if they are not clamoring for us to give up draft picks for a QB. How can we address our offensive line if we give up the resources to do so.
There, I’ve said my piece. I'll get off my pulpit now. And having gone through all this, the Bears will probably give up their future for the next three years for a QB.
