Bears Big Board at current slots

[wab]

I see Troy Fautanu as a Poles guy. Sweet guy that goes aggro on the field. Versatility to backup oft-injured Tev if he can't beat Braxton to start.

The fact that we each have guys that are "poles guys" speaks to the opportunity for poles to get red guys who are good fits in the teens if the blue-chippers are gone by 9

I just don't see him even battling Jones. He's been a RT his whole career and is projected to stay there or slide inside. If Wright wasn't on the roster, I think he might be in play.

Troy Fautanu and Taliese Fuaga are not the same guy.

Fuaga would step in as the RG on day one. And really either guy probably would.

[Yogi da Bear]

I hate to dissuade anybody, but Poles is NOT getting either Turner or Fuaga. Turner is strictly an OLB. When you move him to DE, his RAS goes from 9.22 to 8.82. There are a whole bunch of DEs better than that. He might be used as trade bait like Carter was last year, but Poles ain't taking him. I would love to see Fuaga, but we already have Wright. Can't see us taking him.

Assuming he doesn't turn 4 picks into 11 picks like he did his first year, I could see him looking for a NT type after the draft.

Who? Any prospects come to mind?

Three I can think of that match Poles' type of DT: Maason Smith (my Picnic Basket) and Leonard Taylor. Both are 5 star high school recruits like Pickens and Dexter were. A guy I like later is Jaden Crumedy from Miss. St. Has talent and size. Had a good Senior Bowl.

[Moriarty]

I hate to dissuade anybody, but Poles is NOT getting either Turner

I wouldn't be so sure.

He's undersized at DE and I'm not thrilled about that end of it.
But he's very similar in size to AQM, Ngokoue, and Whoever Martin that they just signed.
Poles & Flus are very, very capable of going with that.

[Arkansasbear]

I just don't see him even battling Jones. He's been a RT his whole career and is projected to stay there or slide inside. If Wright wasn't on the roster, I think he might be in play.

I think you're confused because his QB Penix is lefthanded so he was not the blind side but he played LT and LG in college bro

I did not make that mistake bro!!!!!!!!!!!!

I did something even worse. We were talking Troy Fautanu and as @wab pointed out I went to Taliese Fuaga. Seems like every time my friends and I are talking draft stuff, I get them backwards.

Disregard everything I said on this topic. I completely guy the players messed up.

That being said, Fautanu has a better shot at being a LT in the NFL than Fuaga, but most of what I've seen (OL I tend to rely on the "experts" more which isn't a great thing I admit, I just don't have the eye to watch tape and see flaws/strength at the position) still tend to think he is better suited to move inside - footwork is great for an OT, but not his length.

[wab]

I hate to dissuade anybody, but Poles is NOT getting either Turner or Fuaga. Turner is strictly an OLB. When you move him to DE, his RAS goes from 9.22 to 8.82. There are a whole bunch of DEs better than that. He might be used as trade bait like Carter was last year, but Poles ain't taking him. I would love to see Fuaga, but we already have Wright. Can't see us taking him.

Who? Any prospects come to mind?

Three I can think of that match Poles' type of DT: Maason Smith (my Picnic Basket) and Leonard Taylor. Both are 5 star high school recruits like Pickens and Dexter were. A guy I like later is Jaden Crumedy from Miss. St. Has talent and size. Had a good Senior Bowl.

I could absolutely see them taking Turner if he's there. Flus clearly likes a smaller guy in the rotation, as evidenced by the signings since he's been here, as well as his personnel in Indy. He's just a hair under 6'4 and nearly 250lbs. So it's not like he's exactly tiny. More or less the same size as Robert Quinn and AQM.

As far as NT goes, they've seemed to favor more chonky/stout types. Billings, Travis Bell, Angelo Blackson, Mike Pennel, etc.

Maason Smith has more of an Armon Watts/Gervon Dexter build.

You might be right on Fuaga, but they sent an awful lot of folks to his pro day. Fuaga could be Poles' Trey Smith in Chicago.

[thunderspirit]

I hate to dissuade anybody, but Poles is NOT getting either Turner or Fuaga. Turner is strictly an OLB. When you move him to DE, his RAS goes from 9.22 to 8.82. There are a whole bunch of DEs better than that. He might be used as trade bait like Carter was last year, but Poles ain't taking him. I would love to see Fuaga, but we already have Wright. Can't see us taking him.

Who? Any prospects come to mind?

Three I can think of that match Poles' type of DT: Maason Smith (my Picnic Basket) and Leonard Taylor. Both are 5 star high school recruits like Pickens and Dexter were. A guy I like later is Jaden Crumedy from Miss. St. Has talent and size. Had a good Senior Bowl.

Smith for sure (and I wholeheartedly agree, he's a Poles type of pick in the Dexter mold). Hard to disagree with Taylor, either.

I'll through out a couple more names: Ruke Orhorhoro, who is a more athletic Zacch Pickens clone; and Fabian Lovett Sr, who I think would look very nice alongside Dexter.

[Bearfacts]

I hate to dissuade anybody, but Poles is NOT getting either Turner or Fuaga. Turner is strictly an OLB. When you move him to DE, his RAS goes from 9.22 to 8.82. There are a whole bunch of DEs better than that. He might be used as trade bait like Carter was last year, but Poles ain't taking him. I would love to see Fuaga, but we already have Wright. Can't see us taking him.

Who? Any prospects come to mind?

Three I can think of that match Poles' type of DT: Maason Smith (my Picnic Basket) and Leonard Taylor. Both are 5 star high school recruits like Pickens and Dexter were. A guy I like later is Jaden Crumedy from Miss. St. Has talent and size. Had a good Senior Bowl.

Crumedy is the only one who specs more as power guy who could play at NT though and he looks to be a major project type.

[Yogi da Bear]

I hate to dissuade anybody, but Poles is NOT getting either Turner or Fuaga. Turner is strictly an OLB. When you move him to DE, his RAS goes from 9.22 to 8.82. There are a whole bunch of DEs better than that. He might be used as trade bait like Carter was last year, but Poles ain't taking him. I would love to see Fuaga, but we already have Wright. Can't see us taking him.





Three I can think of that match Poles' type of DT: Maason Smith (my Picnic Basket) and Leonard Taylor. Both are 5 star high school recruits like Pickens and Dexter were. A guy I like later is Jaden Crumedy from Miss. St. Has talent and size. Had a good Senior Bowl.

I could absolutely see them taking Turner if he's there. Flus clearly likes a smaller guy in the rotation, as evidenced by the signings since he's been here, as well as his personnel in Indy. He's just a hair under 6'4 and nearly 250lbs. So it's not like he's exactly tiny. More or less the same size as Robert Quinn and AQM.

As far as NT goes, they've seemed to favor more chonky/stout types. Billings, Travis Bell, Angelo Blackson, Mike Pennel, etc.

Maason Smith has more of an Armon Watts/Gervon Dexter build.

You might be right on Fuaga, but they sent an awful lot of folks to his pro day. Fuaga could be Poles' Trey Smith in Chicago.

Here's the difference in RAS between Latu and Turner as DEs:

https://ras.football/ras-compare/?&p1=2 ... 049&pos=DE

Yeah, I don't think that Poles is going to target Turner.

[dplank]

His numbers look better across the board in that chart, is his RAS being dragged down by the two drills that have no data?

[LacertineForest]

His numbers look better across the board in that chart, is his RAS being dragged down by the two drills that have no data?

Height/Weight/Bench are dragging it down since they're so far below average. Of all of Latu's numbers, only his weight is below average. I'm sure if those two missing drills had good numbers, it would help his score, but it seems like size has a bigger impact on the score than the drills (not sure how each of those are weighted).

[Yogi da Bear]

Now, here's their comparison as LBs.

https://ras.football/ras-compare/?&p1=2 ... 049&pos=LB

Like I said, I don't think the Bears will target him, but he could be very good trade bait.

[Bearfacts]

There's a reason Turner is ranked much higher than Latu and I believe the scouts and GMs have identified it as well. IMHO Turner has a much higher ceiling whereas Latu will struggle more against NFL OT than he did against college OL. I'm not a fan of the Latu any longer.

[IotaNet]

…I could absolutely see them taking Turner if he's there. Flus clearly likes a smaller guy in the rotation …

I might be parsing words here but IMO, you don’t pick a guy in the top ten to be “in the rotation.” A top ten guy ought to be an impact starter. Plug & play (or close to it) on day one.

[Z Bear]

There's a reason Turner is ranked much higher than Latu and I believe the scouts and GMs have identified it as well. IMHO Turner has a much higher ceiling whereas Latu will struggle more against NFL OT than he did against college OL. I'm not a fan of the Latu any longer.

I am not seeing where Turner is ranked much higher anywhere...most sites have them ranked pretty close together. PFF even has Latu ranked higher than Turner, but their rankings are always a little weird.

Profootball Network has Turner at 10 and Latu at 13
NFL Mockdraft Database has Turner 8 and Latu 16
Drafttek has Turner 13 and Latu 19
PFF has Latu 11 and Turner 16

[wab]

…I could absolutely see them taking Turner if he's there. Flus clearly likes a smaller guy in the rotation …

I might be parsing words here but IMO, you don’t pick a guy in the top ten to be “in the rotation.” A top ten guy ought to be an impact starter. Plug & play (or close to it) on day one.

I think you are reading too far into it. None of the players on the DL are full time starters...they all rotate. It's Flus' thing.

[dplank]

I might be parsing words here but IMO, you don’t pick a guy in the top ten to be “in the rotation.” A top ten guy ought to be an impact starter. Plug & play (or close to it) on day one.

I think you are reading too far into it. None of the players on the DL are full time starters...they all rotate. It's Flus' thing.

Yes, and this is why I see the need so overwhelmingly towards a DL player, preferably DE. We will rotate guys in, and when we do we can't fall off a cliff. The moment DomRob steps on the field our defense takes a major step backwards against the run. Pickens - I'm hopeful but he needs to play better than he did as a rookie or we face a similar problem inside. Last year Jones was our #1 DT, he's gone. So it used to be Dexter that rotated in, now Dexter is the main guy and Pickens is primary rotation. And if they want to kick Walker inside, then the DomRob problem surfaces again.

We just really, really need a DE that is a high caliber player. I want to sit at 9 and take whichever one Poles thinks is best, it really solves all of these problems as Walker can now rotate inside (or not, if Pickens balls out).

[Bearfacts]

There's a reason Turner is ranked much higher than Latu and I believe the scouts and GMs have identified it as well. IMHO Turner has a much higher ceiling whereas Latu will struggle more against NFL OT than he did against college OL. I'm not a fan of the Latu any longer.

I am not seeing where Turner is ranked much higher anywhere...most sites have them ranked pretty close together. PFF even has Latu ranked higher than Turner, but their rankings are always a little weird.

Profootball Network has Turner at 10 and Latu at 13
NFL Mockdraft Database has Turner 8 and Latu 16
Drafttek has Turner 13 and Latu 19
PFF has Latu 11 and Turner 16

You've listed what I posted. With the exception of PFF and PFN the others a 6-8 spot difference in their rankings. For a first round pick that's a major difference. PFF is the only source to rank Latu higher while most predictive mocks have Turner going at #8 to ATL or the Bears at #9. I would be shocked if Turner isn't taken in the top ten. After Turner the kid I like most is Chop Robinson.

[HurricaneBear]

I think you are reading too far into it. None of the players on the DL are full time starters...they all rotate. It's Flus' thing.

Yes, and this is why I see the need so overwhelmingly towards a DL player, preferably DE. We will rotate guys in, and when we do we can't fall off a cliff. The moment DomRob steps on the field our defense takes a major step backwards against the run. Pickens - I'm hopeful but he needs to play better than he did as a rookie or we face a similar problem inside. Last year Jones was our #1 DT, he's gone. So it used to be Dexter that rotated in, now Dexter is the main guy and Pickens is primary rotation. And if they want to kick Walker inside, then the DomRob problem surfaces again.

We just really, really need a DE that is a high caliber player. I want to sit at 9 and take whichever one Poles thinks is best, it really solves all of these problems as Walker can now rotate inside (or not, if Pickens balls out).

If something happened to Keenan Allen or DJ Moore, we'd be right back to last year's problems with our WR room.

If something happened to Jones or Wright, that strong looking oline suddenly looks pretty suspect. I know I don't want Borom protecting Caleb.

The difference between those and D is, our D was pretty freaking amazing after the Sweat trade. Replacing Greene, Jones and YN is not a very difficult thing to do.

If he goes DE, it should be because he has that player rated higher than Bowers, the OTs and WRs.

[dplank]

Fair enough, but I think you are pretty dramatically under valuing what Justin Jones brought last year, and I think that the way to compensate since we didn't sign a FA there is by kicking Walker inside more often. Jones got a nice contract for a reason. And I'm a lot more confident in Scott than I am in DomRob.

I'd still take any of the big 3 WR's, or Alt, should any of them fall to us. But if they don't, it's DE all the way for me.

[grendel2000]

Fair enough, but I think you are pretty dramatically under valuing what Justin Jones brought last year, and I think that the way to compensate since we didn't sign a FA there is by kicking Walker inside more often. Jones got a nice contract for a reason. And I'm a lot more confident in Scott than I am in DomRob.

I'd still take any of the big 3 WR's, or Alt, should any of them fall to us. But if they don't, it's DE all the way for me.

I kinda feel like Bothe DE and WR/TE make sense in their own ways. It basically boils down to: if you choose a DE and it pans out you have a much more balanced team overall so long as the WR remain healthy. If you choose WR/TE you are buying insurance for your rookie QB both this year (if Allen or Moore get hurt) and in the mid-long term (by ensuring a bad fill for one of the Allen/Moore duo in a few years)...

[Bearfacts]

Yes, and this is why I see the need so overwhelmingly towards a DL player, preferably DE. We will rotate guys in, and when we do we can't fall off a cliff. The moment DomRob steps on the field our defense takes a major step backwards against the run. Pickens - I'm hopeful but he needs to play better than he did as a rookie or we face a similar problem inside. Last year Jones was our #1 DT, he's gone. So it used to be Dexter that rotated in, now Dexter is the main guy and Pickens is primary rotation. And if they want to kick Walker inside, then the DomRob problem surfaces again.

We just really, really need a DE that is a high caliber player. I want to sit at 9 and take whichever one Poles thinks is best, it really solves all of these problems as Walker can now rotate inside (or not, if Pickens balls out).

If something happened to Keenan Allen or DJ Moore, we'd be right back to last year's problems with our WR room.

If something happened to Jones or Wright, that strong looking oline suddenly looks pretty suspect. I know I don't want Borom protecting Caleb.

The difference between those and D is, our D was pretty freaking amazing after the Sweat trade. Replacing Greene, Jones and YN is not a very difficult thing to do.

If he goes DE, it should be because he has that player rated higher than Bowers, the OTs and WRs.

What if we lose Sweat? How 'bout Walker or Billings or Dexter? I reality the DL may be the weakest link on the team right now or at least one lacking in depth and experience and this is a DL that finished 31st in sacks last year.

We brought Dante Pettis back, we have Tyler Scott, and we're likely to draft another WR. Poles signed Matt Pryor to compete with Borom and Bates to back up at OG. Both have previous starting experience and Borom is still here.

I believe you may be short selling just how badly we need another pass rusher. I'm fine with whoever they take at #9 or even trading down just as long as they have a plan for how to add some help in the form of a pass rusher.

[Bearfacts]

Duplicate Post.

[Moriarty]

If something happened to Keenan Allen or DJ Moore, we'd be right back to last year's problems with our WR room.

If something happened to Jones or Wright, that strong looking oline suddenly looks pretty suspect. I know I don't want Borom protecting Caleb.

The difference between those and D is, our D was pretty freaking amazing after the Sweat trade. Replacing Greene, Jones and YN is not a very difficult thing to do.

If he goes DE, it should be because he has that player rated higher than Bowers, the OTs and WRs.

What if we lose Sweat? How 'bout Walker or Billings or Dexter? I reality the DL may be the weakest link on the team right now or at least one lacking in depth and experience and this is a DL that finished 31st in sacks last year.

Exactly

You're asking "What if we lose Allen or Moore?"
"What if we lose Jones or Wright?"
and then not asking "What if we lose Sweat?"

We're talking about a (DE or DL, I forget which) unit that is mostly just Montez Sweat away from when it was rated one of the 5 worst position groups on any team in the NFL.

[grendel2000]

If something happened to Keenan Allen or DJ Moore, we'd be right back to last year's problems with our WR room.

If something happened to Jones or Wright, that strong looking oline suddenly looks pretty suspect. I know I don't want Borom protecting Caleb.

The difference between those and D is, our D was pretty freaking amazing after the Sweat trade. Replacing Greene, Jones and YN is not a very difficult thing to do.

If he goes DE, it should be because he has that player rated higher than Bowers, the OTs and WRs.

What if we lose Sweat? How 'bout Walker or Billings or Dexter? I reality the DL may be the weakest link on the team right now or at least one lacking in depth and experience and this is a DL that finished 31st in sacks last year.

We brought Dante Pettis back, we have Tyler Scott, and we're likely to draft another WR. Poles signed Matt Pryor to compete with Borom and Bates to back up at OG. Both have previous starting experience and Borom is still here.

I believe you may be short selling just how badly we need another pass rusher. I'm fine with whoever they take at #9 or even trading down just as long as they have a plan for how to add some help in the form of a pass rusher.

I don't know, perhaps you're right, but it's hard to say we "need" another pass rusher when the D finished the year the way they did last year.

On the other hand, the offense kinda sucked, and despite the new investments (which seem VERY good) maybe it's wise to pour even more resources into that to 100% ensure (or as close as there is to 100% in the NFL) that CW has a long, beautiful runway to his NGFL career,

[Chifaninca]

What if we lose Sweat? How 'bout Walker or Billings or Dexter? I reality the DL may be the weakest link on the team right now or at least one lacking in depth and experience and this is a DL that finished 31st in sacks last year.

We brought Dante Pettis back, we have Tyler Scott, and we're likely to draft another WR. Poles signed Matt Pryor to compete with Borom and Bates to back up at OG. Both have previous starting experience and Borom is still here.

I believe you may be short selling just how badly we need another pass rusher. I'm fine with whoever they take at #9 or even trading down just as long as they have a plan for how to add some help in the form of a pass rusher.

I don't know, perhaps you're right, but it's hard to say we "need" another pass rusher when the D finished the year the way they did last year.

On the other hand, the offense kinda sucked, and despite the new investments (which seem VERY good) maybe it's wise to pour even more resources into that to 100% ensure (or as close as there is to 100% in the NFL) that CW has a long, beautiful runway to his NGFL career,

Additionally, in the next year or two, the NFL will likely outlaw defense all together...(just gaslighting the NFL here)... so Offense is extremely important get right...

I think the other huge factor is that we will be faced with the reality of DJ and Keenan Allen needing new contracts... A stud WR or Stud LT on a low cost contract would greatly aid in keep one or both of them.

Like others... Fine with trading back and picking up another pick to add while still landing a Thomas/Verse/Newton/JPJ etc... Lots of ways for Poles to play this... and I think he'll let it play out draft day and make moves that pay off...

[HurricaneBear]

What if we lose Sweat? How 'bout Walker or Billings or Dexter? I reality the DL may be the weakest link on the team right now or at least one lacking in depth and experience and this is a DL that finished 31st in sacks last year.

Exactly

You're asking "What if we lose Allen or Moore?"
"What if we lose Jones or Wright?"
and then not asking "What if we lose Sweat?"

We're talking about a (DE or DL, I forget which) unit that is mostly just Montez Sweat away from when it was rated one of the 5 worst position groups on any team in the NFL.

First, I'm fine with Poles taking a DE if he is the highest rated player on Poles board. I'm tired of people making it out like it's a need and that we have to go DE. We don't. That's my point.

My preference for picking a WR is a separate point. If Sweat goes down your right our dline sucks. Our D falls to middle of the pack maybe worse. Yep, that would suck. Could derail the season. Bad outcome.

One of our tackles or receivers go down and suddenly we aren't providing adequately enough for the most important investment in team history, Caleb Williams. Whenever we get a qb we add a couple pieces and people start saying "yeah that's enough, what we really need is more defense". Then inevitably, something happens on offense, our QB suffers, and we break into factions supporting or defending the QB. The QB breaks we get rid of them and draft a new one. Worse outcome.

Just for once, I'd like to just surround this kid with all the talent in the world eliminating all excuses about his pass catchers, blocking and run game. If Caleb fails, I want it to be because Caleb failed,not the Bears. That's what I want.

All that matters is what Poles wants tho, not you or I or any of us. If Poles goes DE I'm still gonna be happy and cheer for that guy. I hope you'll do the same if he goes WR or OT

[grendel2000]

Could derail the season. Bad outcome.

Respectfully, and maybe I'm weird, I don't give a flying F about the coming season's outcome in terms of wins and losses. To me, this year is ALL about setting the stage for the next ten years or more.

- Make sure you DEVELOP CW

- Line his nest with quality offensive players to ensure he is learning the system and good habits

- Handle all other FA and salary transactions with an eye primarily towards 2025-2028 (when CW will be hitting his stride).

So I just prefer that Poles not waste any resources or opportunities putting things in place for THIS YEAR for purposes of winning NOW. If they support CW's development, cool. Otherwise, keep greasing the skids for the very near future...

[Bearfacts]

What if we lose Sweat? How 'bout Walker or Billings or Dexter? I reality the DL may be the weakest link on the team right now or at least one lacking in depth and experience and this is a DL that finished 31st in sacks last year.

We brought Dante Pettis back, we have Tyler Scott, and we're likely to draft another WR. Poles signed Matt Pryor to compete with Borom and Bates to back up at OG. Both have previous starting experience and Borom is still here.

I believe you may be short selling just how badly we need another pass rusher. I'm fine with whoever they take at #9 or even trading down just as long as they have a plan for how to add some help in the form of a pass rusher.

I don't know, perhaps you're right, but it's hard to say we "need" another pass rusher when the D finished the year the way they did last year.

On the other hand, the offense kinda sucked, and despite the new investments (which seem VERY good) maybe it's wise to pour even more resources into that to 100% ensure (or as close as there is to 100% in the NFL) that CW has a long, beautiful runway to his NGFL career,

The defense was improved but we still finished 31st in sacks so it's pretty obvious the need for more pass rush pressure and sacks is there. But I will also say this. The only DE/Edge who appears to rate that #9 pick is Turner. If ATL takes him and either Odunze or Nabers is there I would take either one in a heartbeat. That would be an obvious BPA pick and also very forward thinking.

There will still be some DE with pass rushing talent available in the 3rd round and there are still a couple FA out there who could be signed to a one year deal again much like we did Ngakoue. But I wouldn't be shocked either if someone made Poles and offer for that pick that was too good to pass on. As he has in the past he's set himself up to go one of several ways with the pick.