Will Anderson

[Moriarty]

I'm puzzled by all the salivation over him.

Obviously he's a force as a college 34 OLB and will go high.

But he lists at 6036 243.
Is there something that I'm missing that makes everyone so confident he'll still be elite, adding 20 pounds and switching to a hand in the dirt defender?

I can buy that he's talented enough to be a starter in that role, but good enough to be worth a top 5 pick as a 43 DE? Much less confident for me.

[The Marshall Plan]

Will Anderson is kinda small to be a DE in a 4-3. Like you said, he's going to have to put on weight. Then also change methodologies.

Why would we draft somebody like that, this high in the draft, only to then have them redo their whole game?

That's why, if I was forced to keep the #3 pick I'd take Carter.

Saying for a moment we are drafting #3 overall.

I do not believe in drafting certain positions at those levels in the draft. There's a reason why this team is drafting #3 overall or thereabouts so far. We're not one player away.

The only reason why I think we should keep that pick is if we needed a QB. We do not.

In evaluating Will Anderson we also need to measure the opportunity cost.

It is either:

Will Anderson

or

Trading down to say #10 to #15 overall and accumulating a couple other first rounders as a result.

Free agency in the NFL begins before the draft does. I don't see how Poles doesn't go hog wild on the defense with quite a bit of that $100M+ in cap space. He has to. We need 4 DL. He can't be passive about that and wait until the draft. If we're going into that draft cringing about the DL, then FA was a massive failure.


https://www.scottfujita.com/average-hei ... 20a%20sack.

[karhu]

His size doesn't worry me. C.f. Von Miller.

I'm a bit more worried that he doesn't seem to have all that refined a pass-rush game. Maybe I've just caught him at bad times, but he seems like he could just as easily be a rich man's Alex Brown as a sack-a-game threat in the NFL. Surprisingly good edge-setter, but I wonder about the rest of the package.

[Ditka’s dictaphone]

I’m trading down, with so many holes Anderson on his own with pick 57 isn’t going to get it done.
We need more players.

[wab]

I’m trading down, with so many holes Anderson on his own with pick 57 isn’t going to get it done.
We need more players.

Free agency exists. So does the $150 million dollars the Bears have to spend.

[Ditka’s dictaphone]

I’m trading down, with so many holes Anderson on his own with pick 57 isn’t going to get it done.
We need more players.

Free agency exists. So does the $150 million dollars the Bears have to spend.

We need a minimum of 11 new starters for next season.
Free agency might have a few, some will be restricted and we’ll lose out again, some will want a huge chunk of your $150m but free agency mostly contains players who are deemed not worthy of a contract

[The Marshall Plan]

Free agency exists. So does the $150 million dollars the Bears have to spend.

We need a minimum of 11 new starters for next season.
Free agency might have a few, some will be restricted and we’ll lose out again, some will want a huge chunk of your $150m but free agency mostly contains players who are deemed not worthy of a contract

We also have no control of who, how many, what quality, and what level of interest in us by the player will exist in the offseason.

Yes, take the $150M and spend it, but there are no guarantees we can. We need the picks.

[dplank]

Free agency exists. So does the $150 million dollars the Bears have to spend.

We need a minimum of 11 new starters for next season.
Free agency might have a few, some will be restricted and we’ll lose out again, some will want a huge chunk of your $150m but free agency mostly contains players who are deemed not worthy of a contract

This isn't a 1 year fix, it's going to take this offseason and next before we have a team capable of a deep playoff run. Poles will spend in free agency, but I suspect he continues to be fairly frugal and only sign mid level type guys on the upswing. If he tries to fix everything in one offseason, it won't work out and he'll end up with some bad contracts IMO.

[Moriarty]

Yeah, the horizon doesn't really look that close right now.

[karhu]

It doesn't even make sense to think about when our window will open. Just have to keep adding talent deliberately and efficiently. From where I'm sitting, that means going beyond I'm-not-going-to-pay-a-lot-for-this-muffler stuff and looking at what each player can do for your team. Spending a little extra on a guy who genuinely makes his teammates better is still good value.

Is Anderson that kind of player? He'd have to demand double-teams in the NFL, and we'd need a DT beside him who's able to take big advantage of single blockers. And, ideally, a guy next to him who can do the same. A right side of Jones and Anderson is an upgrade, I'm sure. A right side of someone like Teair Tart and Anderson, with Jones at NT on passing downs, could be very, very good. Throw in someone like Charles Omenihu at strongside DE, and we're really talking. Same thing if our big investment is at DT: Da'Ron Payne means our RDE has a pretty clear-cut assignment on every passing play, whether it's someone currently on our roster or a mid-round pick.

[Mikefive]

I'm puzzled by all the salivation over him.

Obviously he's a force as a college 34 OLB and will go high.

But he lists at 6036 243.
Is there something that I'm missing that makes everyone so confident he'll still be elite, adding 20 pounds and switching to a hand in the dirt defender?

I can buy that he's talented enough to be a starter in that role, but good enough to be worth a top 5 pick as a 43 DE? Much less confident for me.

You've gotta like the guy's tape, but I agree with you. He seems like he would bring more value to a 3-4 team, since he is more than just a pass rush guy. We could be totally wrong and the guy could be a game wrecker. But it seems like the opportunity for him to be a 4-3 no big deal starter in the pros is pretty high with his length and size.

[Grizzled]

There will be a couple of 3Ts to hit the market who will get upwards of $20M plus. Pairing one next to Anderson would do wonders for the Bears' DL. Call it Akiem Hicks signing V. 2.0.

[Moriarty]

From GBN

Indeed, its not even totally clear that there is a consensus #1 overall prospect for this year’s draft at this time. Alabama’s Will Anderson is still the likely favorite there, but there are whispers around the league that more than one team has some concerns about Anderson’s size – he’s barely 245 pounds – and by extension his ability to play with his hand on the ground against 325-pound OTs at the next level. There have always been whispers of late that ‘some’ teams would take Georgia DT Jalen Carter if they had the first pick. No question about his size, although there are some questions whether Carter’s motor runs full-out all the time.

[UOK]

No question about his size, although there are some questions whether Carter’s motor runs full-out all the time.

[/quote]

This aspect really bothers me. I know that HITS may break him of this habit, but I've read it elsewhere that motivation is a problem.

This is not a player you take with a top 5 pick, maybe not even top 10, but hype's gonna hype.

[IE]

Yeah, the horizon doesn't really look that close right now.

I've been maintaining the good analogy is we're at 1983. Not 1984. But excitement started in '83 not because of a winning record but because there were flashes and some good young players.

[Moriarty]

Yeah, the horizon doesn't really look that close right now.

I've been maintaining the good analogy is we're at 1983. Not 1984. But excitement started in '83 not because of a winning record but because there were flashes and some good young players.

I think you're probably still too far ahead.

1983 was a .500 team, which this most certainly isn't.

1982 was 3-6, new HC, new culture, new highly drafted QB

[IE]

I've been maintaining the good analogy is we're at 1983. Not 1984. But excitement started in '83 not because of a winning record but because there were flashes and some good young players.

I think you're probably still too far ahead.

1983 was a .500 team, which this most certainly isn't.

1982 was 3-6, new HC, new culture, new highly drafted QB

All true. I see the speed of change being quite different now, due to free agency. And also because Jim McMahon is no Justin Fields. And JF1 was the new highly drafted QB last year, right? '83 was the first big draft that brought in so many players that became a core part of that team. I think that was this year's crop, analogy-wise.

[karhu]

This aspect really bothers me. I know that HITS may break him of this habit, but I've read it elsewhere that motivation is a problem.

This is not a player you take with a top 5 pick, maybe not even top 10, but hype's gonna hype.

At the same time, it seems like we hear that about every DT every single year. They said it about Aaron Donald, they said it about Haloti Ngata, they said it about Ndamukong Suh...everyone. Not that that necessarily says anything about Carter, but there's a possibility that he's a RB who needs to improve his blocking or a TE who'll need a year or two to learn the pro game.

[Hema2.0]

If Anderson plays near his NFL comp V. Miller, ( same height, weight), it's a no brainier to take him.

During Mock drafts, I just can't trade down and lose him. Thoughts?

[Hema2.0]

Von Millers combine stats for comparing Anderson's.

[mmmc_35]

This aspect really bothers me. I know that HITS may break him of this habit, but I've read it elsewhere that motivation is a problem.

This is not a player you take with a top 5 pick, maybe not even top 10, but hype's gonna hype.

At the same time, it seems like we hear that about every DT every single year. They said it about Aaron Donald, they said it about Haloti Ngata, they said it about Ndamukong Suh...everyone. Not that that necessarily says anything about Carter, but there's a possibility that he's a RB who needs to improve his blocking or a TE who'll need a year or two to learn the pro game.

I dont remember ever reading anything negative about Donald or Suhs motor. Donald was slight for the position, and Suh was a head case.