2025 NFL Draft Thread

[Ditka’s dictaphone]

I like this day 3 RB prospect

[wab]

I'm a Kaleb Johnson fan and hope he makes it to the Bears in R4.

[G08]

I'm a Kaleb Johnson fan and hope he makes it to the Bears in R4.

Not sure how he will test but I have him as a R3 guy.

[Eriebear]

Alston Jeffery. He's Walter Payton 2.0 . Even w/ ALL teams stacking the box w/8 he preforms. AND he has great hands in the pass . Best RB in College after contact . he has "Football speed" to go to house. One tough guy to bring down , and is sooo much better than any of our RB's. Look at all the teams heading into the playoffs , they have a stud RB. Would it be great to see a RB who can get a 1st. down , w/ any O-Line on 3rd. and 1-2 ?

[IotaNet]

Alston Jeffery. He's Walter Payton 2.0 . Even w/ ALL teams stacking the box w/8 he preforms ...

Uhhhh …. Do you mean Ashton Jeanty?

https://www.espn.com/college-football/p ... ton-jeanty

[cblaz11]

[Ditka’s dictaphone]

I predict a meltdown if the Bears use their R1 (likely top 10) pick on a RB.

Unless we trade down, get 2 late R1 picks and use one on this lad.

Otherwise it’s a “no” from me.

[Magilla_Gorilla]

I’d draft him. Spend the 2nds and FA cash on DL/OL.

[IotaNet]

Build the trenches
Build the trenches
Build the trenches

Say that over and over again until Poles gets it.

[HurricaneBear]

If they spend a 1st on a running back someone send an ambulance to my house please

[Heinz D.]

Build the trenches
Build the trenches
Build the trenches

Say that over and over again until Poles gets it.

He can do both, if he wants. If he can stop himself from drafting DBs all the time, it all becomes much, much, easier.

If they spend a 1st on a running back someone send an ambulance to my house please

Why? An upgrade over Swift (or backfield partner, whatever) would be perfect. I still think Johnson is being underused, but a top flight running back would be a real boon.

[otis]

we would have our triplets. every other draft pick and free agent for the lines. i'm down

[Magilla_Gorilla]

He can do both, if he wants. If he can stop himself from drafting DBs all the time, it all becomes much, much, easier.


Why? An upgrade over Swift (or backfield partner, whatever) would be perfect. I still think Johnson is being underused, but a top flight running back would be a real boon.

This. Poles has a shit ton of FA cash, 3 picks in the top 40, and a new coaching staff to get this line in order - he doesn't need to use every pick. This O-Line isn't completely devoid of talent - they need a reset and a coaching staff that can scheme to protect their weaknesses. Bring in a FA. Use the two 2nd round picks. And draft the best player in college football to pair with the best QB.

[alexwilkins]

Colin Cowherd pointed something interesting out this morning. 7 of the top-10 receiving yard leaders are on losing teams, while 6 of the top-10 rushing leaders, including THE top 5 guys are on winning teams. You don’t run for 2500 yards and counting without some YAC. It’s not like he came outa nowhere. As a freshman he had 800 yards and 7 tuds. Last year he had 1350 and 14 tuds. I’m really warming up to the idea.

[G08]

If they spend a 1st on a running back someone send an ambulance to my house please

I'm with you, and I say that as someone who wanted Bijan Robinson.

We need to fucking overhaul this offensive line and get another dominant pass rusher in here ASAP. Sweat is clearly demonstrating he cannot do it by himself when he's being double teamed and chipped.

[alexwilkins]

I'm a Kaleb Johnson fan and hope he makes it to the Bears in R4.

We don’t have a 4th. We have
1
2
2
3
5
6
7
7

[Ditka’s dictaphone]

If he picks anything other than the trenches, and it goes wrong, he better start clearing is desk because the knives will be out for him

[Shadow]

Anyone has to be better than Homer...

[cblaz11]

Guys…we’ve said the same thing every offseason under Poles and he has ignored the trenches every single offseason.

[dplank]

Colin Cowherd pointed something interesting out this morning. 7 of the top-10 receiving yard leaders are on losing teams, while 6 of the top-10 rushing leaders, including THE top 5 guys are on winning teams. You don’t run for 2500 yards and counting without some YAC. It’s not like he came outa nowhere. As a freshman he had 800 yards and 7 tuds. Last year he had 1350 and 14 tuds. I’m really warming up to the idea.

The run game is 90% OL dependent 10% RB, unless you have a Lamar Jackson type QB then all bets are off.

[Z Bear]

Has Eriebear ever made a post that makes sense?

[HisRoyalSweetness]

Guys…we’ve said the same thing every offseason under Poles and he has ignored the trenches every single offseason.

He hasn't ignored them though.

2022

Free Agency
OL Lucas Patrick
OL Riley Reiff
OL Alex Leatherwood
DL Justin Jones
DL Mike Pennel
DL Andrew Brown
DL Jalyn Holmes
DL Al-Quadin_Muhammad
DL Armon Watts

Draft (11 picks)
R5 (168) OL Braxton Jones
R5 (174) DL Dominique Robinson
R6 (186) OL Zachary Thomas
R6 (207) OL Doug Kramer
R7 (226) OL Ja'Tyre Carter

2023

Free Agency
OL Nate Davis
DL DeMarcus Walker
DL Andrew Billings
DL Rasheem Green

Trade
(R2 2004) DL Montez Sweat
(R6 2024) OL Dan Feeney

Draft (10 picks)
R1 (10) OL Darnell Wright
R2 (53) DL Gervon Dexter
R3 (64) DL Zacch Pickens
R7 (218) DL Travis Bell

2024

Free Agency
OL Coleman Shelton
OL Matt Pryor
OL Jake Curhan
DL Jacob Martin
DL Byron Cowart

Notable Reserve/Future Contracts
OL Bill Murray
DL Daniel Hardy

Trade
(2024 R5 Pick) OL Ryan Bates
(2025 R6 Pick) DL Darrell Taylor
(2025 R6 Pick with R7 in return) DL Chris Williams

Draft (5 picks)
R3 (75) OL Kiran Amegadjie
R5 (144) DL Austin Booker

Poles has brought in a ton of O-line and D-line players during his 3 years in charge. The problem is so few have proven effective and not one is any better than a decent starter, not even the highly drafted Darnell Wright or the highly paid Montez Sweat.

People assumed Poles and assistant GM Ian Cunningham would excel at finding offensive linemen having both played that position themselves, but the truth is they've been pretty abysmal. Poles arrived claiming O-linemen were being played out of position, but then shuffled Jenkins around and at one point seemed set to offload him despite the fact he was easily his best lineman and then went into last season expecting Cody Whitehair to play center even though everyone knew he couldn't snap reliably. This year he proclaimed the O-line was on the verge of something special and he had the best depth he'd ever had, yet the unit struggled mightily early on and the depth proved to be severely lacking when called upon.

Poles' talent evaluation has not been good especially when it comes to the lines, but he hasn't ignored them.

[wab]

If the Bears take a RB in the top 10 while needing, at a minimum three new starters on OL and one of the deeper DL top-end DL classes in a while...I'll switch fandoms.

[wab]

Moving this to the War Room

[o-pus #40 in B major]

If the Bears take a RB in the top 10 while needing, at a minimum three new starters on OL and one of the deeper DL top-end DL classes in a while...I'll switch fandoms.

We would all miss you terribly but that doesn't seem likely to me.

[Moriarty]

If the Bears take a RB in the top 10 while needing, at a minimum three new starters on OL and one of the deeper DL top-end DL classes in a while...I'll switch fandoms.

We would all miss you terribly but that doesn't seem likely to me.

That wab follows through or that the Bears do something dumb?

[IotaNet]

Guys…we’ve said the same thing every offseason under Poles and he has ignored the trenches every single offseason.

He hasn't ignored them though.

2022

Free Agency
OL Lucas Patrick
OL Riley Reiff
OL Alex Leatherwood
DL Justin Jones
DL Mike Pennel
DL Andrew Brown
DL Jalyn Holmes
DL Al-Quadin_Muhammad
DL Armon Watts

Draft (11 picks)
R5 (168) OL Braxton Jones
R5 (174) DL Dominique Robinson
R6 (186) OL Zachary Thomas
R6 (207) OL Doug Kramer
R7 (226) OL Ja'Tyre Carter

2023

Free Agency
OL Nate Davis
DL DeMarcus Walker
DL Andrew Billings
DL Rasheem Green

Trade
(R2 2004) DL Montez Sweat
(R6 2024) OL Dan Feeney

Draft (10 picks)
R1 (10) OL Darnell Wright
R2 (53) DL Gervon Dexter
R3 (64) DL Zacch Pickens
R7 (218) DL Travis Bell

2024

Free Agency
OL Coleman Shelton
OL Matt Pryor
OL Jake Curhan
DL Jacob Martin
DL Byron Cowart

Notable Reserve/Future Contracts
OL Bill Murray
DL Daniel Hardy

Trade
(2024 R5 Pick) OL Ryan Bates
(2025 R6 Pick) DL Darrell Taylor
(2025 R6 Pick with R7 in return) DL Chris Williams

Draft (5 picks)
R3 (75) OL Kiran Amegadjie
R5 (144) DL Austin Booker

Poles has brought in a ton of O-line and D-line players during his 3 years in charge. The problem is so few have proven effective and not one is any better than a decent starter, not even the highly drafted Darnell Wright or the highly paid Montez Sweat.

People assumed Poles and assistant GM Ian Cunningham would excel at finding offensive linemen having both played that position themselves, but the truth is they've been pretty abysmal. Poles arrived claiming O-linemen were being played out of position, but then shuffled Jenkins around and at one point seemed set to offload him despite the fact he was easily his best lineman and then went into last season expecting Cody Whitehair to play center even though everyone knew he couldn't snap reliably. This year he proclaimed the O-line was on the verge of something special and he had the best depth he'd ever had, yet the unit struggled mightily early on and the depth proved to be severely lacking when called upon.

Poles' talent evaluation has not been good especially when it comes to the lines, but he hasn't ignored them.

Yes but the vast majority of these are late round picks or bargain basement FAs. It’s time to pick some top tier linemen.

[southdakbearfan]

Offensive line is the answer.

[dplank]

He hasn't ignored them though.

2022

Free Agency
OL Lucas Patrick
OL Riley Reiff
OL Alex Leatherwood
DL Justin Jones
DL Mike Pennel
DL Andrew Brown
DL Jalyn Holmes
DL Al-Quadin_Muhammad
DL Armon Watts

Draft (11 picks)
R5 (168) OL Braxton Jones
R5 (174) DL Dominique Robinson
R6 (186) OL Zachary Thomas
R6 (207) OL Doug Kramer
R7 (226) OL Ja'Tyre Carter

2023

Free Agency
OL Nate Davis
DL DeMarcus Walker
DL Andrew Billings
DL Rasheem Green

Trade
(R2 2004) DL Montez Sweat
(R6 2024) OL Dan Feeney

Draft (10 picks)
R1 (10) OL Darnell Wright
R2 (53) DL Gervon Dexter
R3 (64) DL Zacch Pickens
R7 (218) DL Travis Bell

2024

Free Agency
OL Coleman Shelton
OL Matt Pryor
OL Jake Curhan
DL Jacob Martin
DL Byron Cowart

Notable Reserve/Future Contracts
OL Bill Murray
DL Daniel Hardy

Trade
(2024 R5 Pick) OL Ryan Bates
(2025 R6 Pick) DL Darrell Taylor
(2025 R6 Pick with R7 in return) DL Chris Williams

Draft (5 picks)
R3 (75) OL Kiran Amegadjie
R5 (144) DL Austin Booker

Poles has brought in a ton of O-line and D-line players during his 3 years in charge. The problem is so few have proven effective and not one is any better than a decent starter, not even the highly drafted Darnell Wright or the highly paid Montez Sweat.

People assumed Poles and assistant GM Ian Cunningham would excel at finding offensive linemen having both played that position themselves, but the truth is they've been pretty abysmal. Poles arrived claiming O-linemen were being played out of position, but then shuffled Jenkins around and at one point seemed set to offload him despite the fact he was easily his best lineman and then went into last season expecting Cody Whitehair to play center even though everyone knew he couldn't snap reliably. This year he proclaimed the O-line was on the verge of something special and he had the best depth he'd ever had, yet the unit struggled mightily early on and the depth proved to be severely lacking when called upon.

Poles' talent evaluation has not been good especially when it comes to the lines, but he hasn't ignored them.

Yes but the vast majority of these are late round picks or bargain basement FAs. It’s time to pick some top tier linemen.

This is correct, I really don't understand the apologism here. If want to be all "wordsmith-y" then I suppose "ignore" is the wrong word, but we all understand what that means in reality isn't literally ignoring it, just not applying nearly enough emphasis/resource allocation to it. Particularly relative to other positions on the team. And that point is just undeniably true, so why come back with some lengthy post like this HRS? Did you think he meant that we literally ignored the position or were you just being daft?

[thunderspirit]

This RB class is really deep.