2025 NFL Draft Thread

[Z Bear]

Raheim "Rocket" Sanders from South Carolina is another Day 3 guy to keep an eye on. Dude makes one cut and hits the hole hard.

[thunderspirit]

Raheim "Rocket" Sanders from South Carolina is another Day 3 guy to keep an eye on. Dude makes one cut and hits the hole hard.

Sanders looked like a stud as a sophomore at Arkansas in 2022. He then was banged up a lot in 2023 before transferring to South Carolina.

He's a bigger back without a whole lot of wiggle. Has been kind of indecisive picking his holes, though how mich of that is him (it showed a lot during his junior year at Arkansas too) and how much has been Shane Beamer's inability to recruit offensive line talent is debatable.

[G08]

Skattebo's issue is likely to be speed, and his lack thereof. If he runs a 4.55 he probably slips into late Day 2. He's fun to watch, no doubt about it. I'm a fan.

I haven't studied it in depth (yet) but who do you have as 3-down backs that can run with power / excellent contact balance?

Jeanty (Boise St), of course, though he's going to go higher than I'd be comfortable drafting a running back. I like Giddens (Kansas St), Neal (Kansas), and Ott (Cal) a lot too, personally. Kaleb Johnson (Iowa) shows promise but needs to show more in the passing game. Woody Marks (USC via Mississippi St) doesn't have that problem, but is going to be dinged because he'll turn 25 as a rookie.

Donovan Edwards. He’s a bit of a risk though.

Edwards' issue will be not ever living up to the potential he flashed as a sophomore. That potential is still there, though, without significant injury concerns that might have sapped it.

Not including Kaleb Johnson, I may like Ott the most (as of today, anyway lol) of that list!

[alexwilkins]

A quick preliminary look at the draft suggests that DT, Edge, and RB are the three deepest positions in the draft, followed by IOL, CB, and TE.

Interior OL is really solid through Day 3, especially with guys who are likely to move inside in the NFL, but OT quality won't last much past Day 2, as is usually the case – if you want one, even as a developmental guy, you need to land him by pick 100. Banks Jr (Texas), Simmons (Ohio St), Ersery (Minnesota), and Conerly Jr (Oregon), maybe Nelson (Wisconsin) and possibly Belton (NC St) and Jalen Rivers (Miami) are pretty much your guys, unless perhaps Tristan Leigh (Clemson) jumps into the draft.

So JMSO, the Bears' top picks almost certainly need to go OT/Edge/DT, since DT value will last longer than Edge.

I’d love to get Jack Nelson in the 3rd. 4-year starter. 1 at RG then 3 at LT. Even if we take Campbell or Banks. They might turn out to be guards, so Nelson could be groomed to be the future LT. Amegadjie can compete at RG.

[Rusty Trombagent]

[wab]

He was fun to watch today. I get some Mike Alstott vibes from him.

[Grizzled]

It's official. I have a mancrush on Cam Skattebo. A violent runner who gets lots of yards after contact. The kind of guy who will wear down an opposing team. He catches well also, over 500 yards receiving this year. Plus, shades of Sweetness, he threw a 42 yard TD pass yesterday in the Peach Bowl. 3rd rounder?

[Grizzled]

Picks from media outlets:

USA Today: Will Campbell
NJ.com: Malaki Starks, S, Georgia
Draft Network: Will Campbell
CBS Sports: Will Campbell

A safety or 2 is needed but it's not worth spending a blue chip pick on one. OT, Campbell or Banks, should be the pick. DL/DE in the 2nd.

[wab]

It’s Mason Graham or bust for me. I don’t see an OL worthy of a top 10 pick.

[wab]

It's official. I have a mancrush on Cam Skattebo. A violent runner who gets lots of yards after contact. The kind of guy who will wear down an opposing team. He catches well also, over 500 yards receiving this year. Plus, shades of Sweetness, he threw a 42 yard TD pass yesterday in the Peach Bowl. 3rd rounder?

I don’t know about 3rd. He’s not going to test very well.

[thunderspirit]

It’s Mason Graham or bust for me. I don’t see an OL worthy of a top 10 pick.

Mason Graham would be marvelous, I agree with that.

A healthy Josh Simmons would be worth a top 10 pick in my opinion. The Combine medical checks will be really big for him. If those come out good, I'm in. (This will drive DD to drink, mind you.)

Kelvin Banks Jr might be worth it too, but I'm not certain. He clearly can play, and I think he can stay at tackle in the NFL. The Combine measurements for Banks will matter.

Otherwise yeah, I like Ersery (Minnesota) but that's higher than I'd be happy taking him; I am confident Campbell (LSU) is a guard convert; and while I love Wyatt Milum the player and think he could play tackle i think he's a stud at guard so I'd rather draft him with that in mind.

[Arkansasbear]

It's official. I have a mancrush on Cam Skattebo. A violent runner who gets lots of yards after contact. The kind of guy who will wear down an opposing team. He catches well also, over 500 yards receiving this year. Plus, shades of Sweetness, he threw a 42 yard TD pass yesterday in the Peach Bowl. 3rd rounder?

I don’t know about 3rd. He’s not going to test very well.

Even better.

[Arkansasbear]

It’s Mason Graham or bust for me. I don’t see an OL worthy of a top 10 pick.

Mason Graham would be marvelous, I agree with that.

A healthy Josh Simmons would be worth a top 10 pick in my opinion. The Combine medical checks will be really big for him. If those come out good, I'm in. (This will drive DD to drink, mind you.)

Kelvin Banks Jr might be worth it too, but I'm not certain. He clearly can play, and I think he can stay at tackle in the NFL. The Combine measurements for Banks will matter.

Otherwise yeah, I like Ersery (Minnesota) but that's higher than I'd be happy taking him; I am confident Campbell (LSU) is a guard convert; and while I love Wyatt Milum the player and think he could play tackle i think he's a stud at guard so I'd rather draft him with that in mind.

I think how the top LT prospects measure at the combine will be huge. I'm not sure any of them will have the arm length that lets a team have confidence (please read that using Dave Wannstedt's voice) they can be a LT in the NFL.

I"m still torn on if I think Carter or Graham should be the pick if they are both there when we pick. To me it seems like the the DTs who will be there in the second and third rounds are far better projects compared to the the DEs who could be had there. So maybe Carter plus a DT taken later helps this team more than Mason plus whatever DE they get later in the draft.

If we somehow had an impact DE (people on the net are talking about Chase Young????), then that clearly shifts it to Graham.

My only beef with Graham is I keep flipping his name and want to call him Graham Mason. I do the same thing with Coleman Shelton.

[wab]

It’s Mason Graham or bust for me. I don’t see an OL worthy of a top 10 pick.

Mason Graham would be marvelous, I agree with that.

A healthy Josh Simmons would be worth a top 10 pick in my opinion. The Combine medical checks will be really big for him. If those come out good, I'm in. (This will drive DD to drink, mind you.)

Kelvin Banks Jr might be worth it too, but I'm not certain. He clearly can play, and I think he can stay at tackle in the NFL. The Combine measurements for Banks will matter.

Otherwise yeah, I like Ersery (Minnesota) but that's higher than I'd be happy taking him; I am confident Campbell (LSU) is a guard convert; and while I love Wyatt Milum the player and think he could play tackle i think he's a stud at guard so I'd rather draft him with that in mind.

I left out Simmons because of the injury, but yeah if he’s healthy he’s the best OT prospect IMO. Easily top 12.

[wab]

Merging draft related threads

[Ditka’s dictaphone]

It's official. I have a mancrush on Cam Skattebo. A violent runner who gets lots of yards after contact. The kind of guy who will wear down an opposing team. He catches well also, over 500 yards receiving this year. Plus, shades of Sweetness, he threw a 42 yard TD pass yesterday in the Peach Bowl. 3rd rounder?

Cam Skattebo is the only RB in college football to have 1500 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards since Christian McCaffrey in 2017

[thunderspirit]

It's official. I have a mancrush on Cam Skattebo. A violent runner who gets lots of yards after contact. The kind of guy who will wear down an opposing team. He catches well also, over 500 yards receiving this year. Plus, shades of Sweetness, he threw a 42 yard TD pass yesterday in the Peach Bowl. 3rd rounder?

I don’t know about 3rd. He’s not going to test very well.

He's also not going to run like, say, Mike Alstott in the NFL because he's not Alstott sized.

That said, while Skattebo's lack of breakaway speed is likely to depress his draft stock somewhat, guys who are good at multiple facets of the game and are willing to do anything on the field have value in the NFL, and he clearly has enough athleticism to not only make a team but to contribute.

[wab]

I don’t know about 3rd. He’s not going to test very well.

He's also not going to run like, say, Mike Alstott in the NFL because he's not Alstott sized.

That said, while Skattebo's lack of breakaway speed is likely to depress his draft stock somewhat, guys who are good at multiple facets of the game and are willing to do anything on the field have value in the NFL, and he clearly has enough athleticism to not only make a team but to contribute.

Yeah, he's nowhere near Alstott's size. I was just comparing styles. Skattebo is listed at 5'11 but he's probably closer to 5'9. He's not a big guy, but he runs with purpose. He will find a way to get on the field for whoever drafts him.

[Ditka’s dictaphone]

We need a guy with his attitude, someone who despite the suck will still take the ball and run through walls for the team

[Arkansasbear]

He's also not going to run like, say, Mike Alstott in the NFL because he's not Alstott sized.

That said, while Skattebo's lack of breakaway speed is likely to depress his draft stock somewhat, guys who are good at multiple facets of the game and are willing to do anything on the field have value in the NFL, and he clearly has enough athleticism to not only make a team but to contribute.

Yeah, he's nowhere near Alstott's size. I was just comparing styles. Skattebo is listed at 5'11 but he's probably closer to 5'9. He's not a big guy, but he runs with purpose. He will find a way to get on the field for whoever drafts him.

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-fo ... 31f6123f38

Looks like round 5 pick based on what they are saying. Reminds me of a quote a guy I use to coach pee-wee football with when talking about one of our teams - "We make up for our like of size by adding in a lack of speed." That team didn't do very well

[Ditka’s dictaphone]

Walter Payton was 5’10”

[wab]

I don't think we want to go comparing Skattebo to Walter by God Payton.

[Grizzled]

Supposedly Poles, if still the GM, has deviated from selecting guys largely based on physical traits. He now realizes that he needs guys who are ready to step in and play from Day 1, no more projects for development.

[Ditka’s dictaphone]

I don't think we want to go comparing Skattebo to Walter by God Payton.

I think you just did.

I only mentioned his height

[wab]

Man you’re just a bundle of joy lately.

[RichH55]

Raheim "Rocket" Sanders from South Carolina is another Day 3 guy to keep an eye on. Dude makes one cut and hits the hole hard.

Sanders looked like a stud as a sophomore at Arkansas in 2022. He then was banged up a lot in 2023 before transferring to South Carolina.

He's a bigger back without a whole lot of wiggle. Has been kind of indecisive picking his holes, though how mich of that is him (it showed a lot during his junior year at Arkansas too) and how much has been Shane Beamer's inability to recruit offensive line talent is debatable.

Having just watched Beamer get outcoached by Illinois. I think he's a helluva recruiter.

Every time a new guy got in....it was like wow, what a specimen!

Also, why does this guy look like this is his first day playing Football?

[RichH55]

Walter Payton was 5’10”

Let's not make that comp.

Otherwise just get a 6'0 tall guy about 200-210 pounds and call him George Washington

[Ditka’s dictaphone]

Walter Payton was 5’10”

Let's not make that comp.

Otherwise just get a 6'0 tall guy about 200-210 pounds and call him George Washington

Who’s making a comp?

Except you and @wab

[wab]

Let's not make that comp.

Otherwise just get a 6'0 tall guy about 200-210 pounds and call him George Washington

Who’s making a comp?

Except you and @wab

Sigh.

[Arkansasbear]

Raheim "Rocket" Sanders from South Carolina is another Day 3 guy to keep an eye on. Dude makes one cut and hits the hole hard.

Sanders looked like a stud as a sophomore at Arkansas in 2022. He then was banged up a lot in 2023 before transferring to South Carolina.

He's a bigger back without a whole lot of wiggle. Has been kind of indecisive picking his holes, though how mich of that is him (it showed a lot during his junior year at Arkansas too) and how much has been Shane Beamer's inability to recruit offensive line talent is debatable.

I really like Rocket.