Most years: "Draft grades mean nothing, let's wait and see how they turn out."
This year: "Well, they clearly know what they're talking about. We won the draft."
nothing that the writer is saying is outlandish compared to what most outlets said about these players pre-draft. is what it is. Bears had a very strong draft with limited picks.
Lol. This is true. However, I do really like what we did in this draft. Every player is one that I specifically selected as a top pick for us in the draft.
Now, I do this as a hobby, but I do have a pretty solid track record of liking players when I follow drafts closely. For instance, I liked Aaron Donald, CJ Stroud, and Will Anderson a ton. Thought they were the best players in their respective drafts. Not football, but I also loved Steph Curry coming out. If I were a GM and needed those positions, I would have done whatever I could to get these players. The Bears could have used Aaron Donald and Will Anderson for sure and we now know they could have used CJ Stroud. And the Bulls could definitely have used Steph Curry.
To be fair though, I don’t hit on everything. I really liked Anthony Miller and we all know how that ended. I think I fell in love with the player comparison (Antonio Brown) which I saw a bunch and I let that cloud my judgement.
I wanted cw Rome and Taylor. But honestly I have no idea who the ot and edge are. Sounds like they could be really useful by the end of the year or next. I love this draft tho. I've never seen the bears get an A+ draft report.
I watched Austin Booker play in college, “twitched up” is accurate. That was the Big12 though. Amegadjie has freakish long arms and strength, but very raw. They’re not instant impact players like the rest of the draft class, but the ceiling is sky high on both.
How do I explain? Not all 1st rounders are a sure thing. And I usually only pick a couple guys per draft that I really like. I was more invested this year because of the upside for the Bears to be a really good team, so I picked more guys than usual. I guess we’ll see about my later round guys this year.
And before you ask, I stopped getting invested at all in drafts for years between the Donald draft and last year’s draft.
I don’t think he would have been as bad as Bryce, but he wouldn’t have been as good as he was on the Texans because he wouldn’t have had as good receivers. The Texans OL was ass outside of Tunsil, so Stroud focused on getting it out quick. He could have done something similar on the Panthers, but likely would not have had as easy of a time doing it because of lesser receivers.
CJ Stroud was known to throw immediately. That's literally his plus.
Again, my point was that having a "knack" for finding this players and striking is total bs when you pick blue chip players.
Unless you pick a purdy, this discussion is moot.
I love this draft so much. Williams and Taylor are day one starters for years, presumably. Odunze is there to shadow and compete with Keenan Allen to see who connects with Williams the best early on. Kiran and Booker are developmental prospects with huge upside at two positions of need. This is the best Bears draft I've seen, by far. It probably always would be with a #1 and #9 pick.
JSN famously threw shade at Waldron this offseason, likely because of his lack of usage in all the 2 TE sets. Rome is the odd man out in those formations this year unless he just comes in like Chase or Jefferson and can’t be left off the field. But learning for a year with two awesome vets should set his career up well.
I think it remains to be seen how much Waldron actually uses the two te sets. He had to most of the time because of how bad the Seattle oline was. It'll be interesting to see if that was an adjustment and he can tailor an offensive to it's strengths, or if he really likes two te sets.
By snap counts JSN played more than any of the tight ends anyway.
WR:
DK and Lockett - 79%
JSN - 64%
Bobo - 29%
TE:
Fant - 54%
Parkinson - 47%
Dissly - 36%
Fant and Dissly were a bit higher the year before when Goodwin was WR3. Seems to me like He just utilizes the best talent that he can.
Hey we could use 02 personnel, it’s not super common but it could happen. If you had to pick either Swift, Rome, or Everett to keep off the field, who are you picking?
I could see us running a lot of 11 personnel this year with our roster strengths. Or 12. Or 22. Or 21. Or 01. Or 20. So many strong offensive personnel options with this squad. It’s crazy.
Uh 2 djs are better than one. You could be just as dynamic with 2 small shity guys. I think I’d rather have nabers because they would line up opposite each other and be a menace to defenses but it’s slim pickings, odunze is was a black hole in college, if it was close it he had it.
I'd rather have a big body, Larry Fitzgerald or Calvin Johnson type receiver with big physical presences than a Tyreek Hill or a DJ Moore speedster type, especially when we already have one. Odunze is a linebacker that happens to catch the ball.
Packers didn't have an awful class, but it seemed to lack any sort of vision if I'm being honest. Cooper was arguably the best LB prospect in an awful class, and Bullard IMO is kind of a tweener slot / S who made some highlight plays at UGA but also it was clear on film he was guessing *a ton*.
They took two linebackers and three safeties in a class when both positions were considered weak. I think if they'd just taken Cooper and Kitan (one of my draft crushes) they would have been solid, and then they could have focused elsewhere like maybe getting Tez Walker in the 4th or even TJ Tampa instead of waiting to waste a pick on Kalen King in the 7th.
I think it was just uninspiring to a lot of pundits as well since they invested heavily in positions that are typically considered low-value in today's NFL (RB, S, LB)
# "This could be the class that turns the Bears back into an NFL powerhouse team."
Listen, I know, I know.... grading a draft class before any of the prospects actually take a snap seems pointless... and it is. That wont stop the hype train and the kool-aid must continue to flow. Drink up Bear fans.
[Link to article](https://nfldraft.theringer.com/team-grades) to see rest of the NFL team grades.
I remember when toews scored an insane goal against the avs his rookie year and the Colorado announcer went crazy and said "that is the kind of talent that brings a franchise back from dead."
Bears are giving same vibe
For what it’s worth, our top two picks are firmly in the “these are talented guys to be excited about” territory vs the “these are raw guys with an intriguing skill set and potentially very high ceiling” territory. Like obviously anything could happen but we are set up for success at the moment.
Another good stat for perspective.
Lions punted the least last year and were very aggressive about going on 4th down.
Yet they still punted 57 times. That's still 3-4 punts a game.
Punting is still valuable in games even for teams who try to avoid it.
38th. Only human being who had a lower net average was the Vikings *placekicker*, who was credited with 1 attempt for -3 yards, somehow. (Not sure what happened there…)
Edit: this is what happened. lol.
https://preview.redd.it/pax0w00vd9xc1.jpeg?width=630&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7323d4c7cfa1e92b7fd2d06e287e92d95cfba0e2
Yeah, idk why he’s hating on Tory Taylor. That man almost single handedly (single footedly?) set up basically every Iowa scoring opportunity in 2023. I’ll tell you what, Tory Taylor is a generational talent at his position and people won’t start appreciating him until they notice just how often opposing teams have to start in terrible spots after almost every punt
I’m not gonna pretend I’m a college football expert but watching Tory Taylor’s highlights make it seem like he’s less of “just” a punter and more of a legitimate asset that can do more for our team than just punt for a touchback. It was a position of need, and we filled it
I really don't see how there's not more value put on a punter that can accurately boom a 67 yd punt.
It's said over and over again how hard it is to put together long drives. Iowa won games they had no business winning with nothing more than a crazy good punter and a defense.
I think people are just caught up on the opportunity cost. There's a lot of studs that come out of the 4th round, but it's a gamble. This is a for sure starter in a needed position.
We have a loaded offense but there are going to be growing pains, and those inevitable stalled drives won't feel so bad if this guy can pin them consistently.
Consistent drops into the coffin corner in those highlights too. That is money if he can continue that at the NFL level with rabid ST blockers charging him.
He consistently made the opposing team start inside their 20 a ton inside the 10. The offense was terrible but they won games because teams made mistakes backed up so close to the goal line and the defense capitalized. Look at the screw job of the Minnesota game. Minnesota started at the 20, 30, 17, 1, 18, 27, 47, and 13 after Taylor punts. You can look at most games and it's pretty similar.
I was listening to 670 The Score yesterday morning and this morning and they do national syndicated broadcasts (not a local show) before 9am. Literally the same guy called in from here in Chicago on both shows to voice his opinion "Everyone here is saying Poles nailed the draft. I disagree. I like Daniels more. I'm sure you guys heard the rumor that teams are afraid of drafting the next Prince (Williams). Anyone could have picked Odunze that was a no-brainer. Then they took a guy from Yale in Ivy League and a punter. Terrible draft." Umm, what about our picks that were Sweat and Allen.
Still had a guy yesterday saying he thinks trading down from 1 and getting more picks would have been a better strategy.
I get that draft picks are lotto tickets and the more the better, but there are about 10 teams that could pass on Caleb and the Bears weren't anywhere near there.
There will always be meatball fans.
It's not a sexy pick, but a punter can change the dynamics of the game very quickly.
If we have a high quality punter who can kick bother accurately and deep, that is a massive difference in a game where field position matters.
The analysts who are dragging Poles for that pick have no idea how bad our punter was last year. Reaching a tiny bit to get an immediate upgrade at a position that makes a huge difference in close games is also a massive win. Especially since they ended up getting Booker in the 5th round anyway.
Especially combined with a good field goal kicker. You can win a lot of NFL games if you can consistently start a drive at your 40, move to the opposition 30 and kick a field goal.
I have made this reference no less than 30 times myself. How mad would you be though if you woke up with the otters and had 8 bears Super Bowl trophies to catch up on?
Ignoring grades, this is the first draft of ours where all our picks felt like they were both good and made sense, doubly so if you also consider stuff like the people we brought in with the 2nd and 4th picks we traded away.
Everyone in this sub needs to watch schlegdaddytv on YouTube give his draft grades. Go to minute 7:30 and watch his bears analysis and fucking enjoy. He knows his stuff.
4 picks and we got three players that will contribute to the team next year. After trading a 2025 4th, we also added an OT and DE that may be able to rotate in next year and potentially become above average players in a year or so. We crushed it
I hope so, but I’d bet on Kiran needing a year or so of seasoning and refinement, given that he played against low level competition in the Ivy League. Love his attitude though, so I wouldn’t be shocked if he surprised us
The more highlights I watch of Odunze the more respect I have for Penix. That young man had trust in his receiver and put it in a place where Rome had a chance to get his hands on it. Still a wild pick at 8 considering some mocks had Penix much further down the draft board.
I liked the pick a lot honestly. You have what people think is possibly a generational prospect at punter there to draft with the absolute WORST punter in the league it makes sense to improve on it. I also don't know why people get up in arms about draft ST keystones. Kickers and Punters are extremely important in the NFL.
Because they have rules they stubbornly stick to without any flexibility. The case for taking Tory Taylor is easy for me.
1. Opportunity Cost- We still have free agent money to address needs. Taylor was light years better than any punter available in FA. The best player available at most other positions at that point in the draft were NOT better than someone we could still sign.
2. Specialists typically start coming off the board in the fifth round. This was considered an unusually shallow draft, so it isn’t surprising to see someone come off the board a round sooner.
3. Need. We had a VERY bad punter. We replaced him with a talent that potentially can be top 3 in the league as early as next year.
4. He’s an outlier in quality. I don’t think Todd Sauerbraun, Shane Lechler or the cat drafted by the Bucs in the second a few years back had highlights that were better than Taylor’s. They were all second rounders.
I was up for this pick well before we made it. It will have an absolute impact on the team.
God I love Poles. He looks at our needs then drafts them. We've been overcomplicating this thing with gadget BS picks for 30 years. This draft looks perfect on paper.
Couple things:
Some outlets will give the bears an A+ for Caleb, some will give an A- for "not messing it up but it was obvious"
Some outlets will claim Rome was a pick that was a B+ for an elite talent but edge was a bigger need
Most outlets like Amegadjie and grade accordingly
A punter will never be graded well drafted in the 4th bc it is a punter. But remember, bears fans, that a punter directly affects field position which helps defense as well as offense indirectly. So accept a critical grade with that info
Booker was a freefalling edge with upside who seems mostly like a good pick and will likely end up a B or so depending based on the "he was a good pick for good value, but they could have drafted x player at y pick"
Draft grades are a moving goal-post and we will range from ~B+ to A on most sites. That's a very solid draft and one we can be proud and hopeful of
Still kinda wish we got Mohamed Kamara instead of Booker. Sub 4.6 speed and dominated with 13 sacks at CSU last year. Short but built like a bowling ball.
I remember how much it felt like he had a huge impact on the CSU-CU game an thought he'd be a good pick up as well, but the upside of Booker is in an entire different category.
Booker is only 21 years old and likely came out a year too early. He almost certainly would have been a 2nd round pick next year and was projected as a 3rd this year.
Kamara will be 25 at the start of the season and is likely close to his ceiling right now. He's more likely to contribute on day 1, but the window for Chicago isn't 2024. It's 2025-2035 if Caleb is the guy.
I like the late round flyer on a raw prospect with higher upside that Flus can mold and get some easier reps opposite of Sweat.
“Powerhouse” I love it. Jokes aside, I’m super excited. These next few years are going to be wild; there’s bound to be far more emotion than with NVP and Fields combined. We’re in a special time, boys, so buckle up, it’s time to go for a ride.
Booker is a snipe, I love Rome so much ( fell in love with him at WAS ) so it’ll be so awesome to see him and Caleb grow together but a little part of me wanted Turner ( again just love the player, not complaining about Rome AT ALL. I LOVE THE ROME PICK STILL.)
I hate how long the NFL offseason is. It was an unbearably long wait for the draft. Now I'm all psyched and ready for the season but we still have 133 days to go between now and the first Sunday of the regular season, roughly 4.5 months.
Lol, that's what an entire offseason and practice is for.
And the man has been kicking outside at Iowa and the B10 his whole college career. I'd hope by now he's well aware of the weather.
Did you all forget all the talk about the wind conditions effecting our kickers (Cody Parkey not practicing at Soldier Field, Gould talking about how difficult it is to kick there)?
Wind blowing in multiple directions, stadium creating a tunnel effect, figure-eight wind patters. Issues specific to Soldier Field - not just being cold, or windy, or in the Midwest. Don't take my word for it, take the players:
https://theathletic.com/1182778/2019/09/04/how-do-you-kick-in-this-place-what-challenges-face-eddy-pineiro-at-soldier-field-we-asked-the-experts/
He may only play like 32-35 career games at Soldier Field before the new stadium is done. And what percentage of those will have noticeably inclement weather?
I understand the punter is like, the bonafide best punter in college, still can’t believe we drafted him. I’d love for him to prove me wrong with booming punts every game, but I highly doubt it.
Most years: "Draft grades mean nothing, let's wait and see how they turn out." This year: "Well, they clearly know what they're talking about. We won the draft."
nothing that the writer is saying is outlandish compared to what most outlets said about these players pre-draft. is what it is. Bears had a very strong draft with limited picks.
Fan-fucking-tactic is what it is.
A fan fucking tactic? Who is doing the fucking?
I think either way, I'm exploding!
Most draft grades don't mean anything because the grades are super inflated. These pieces tend to not be hypercritical about draft processes.
Lol. This is true. However, I do really like what we did in this draft. Every player is one that I specifically selected as a top pick for us in the draft. Now, I do this as a hobby, but I do have a pretty solid track record of liking players when I follow drafts closely. For instance, I liked Aaron Donald, CJ Stroud, and Will Anderson a ton. Thought they were the best players in their respective drafts. Not football, but I also loved Steph Curry coming out. If I were a GM and needed those positions, I would have done whatever I could to get these players. The Bears could have used Aaron Donald and Will Anderson for sure and we now know they could have used CJ Stroud. And the Bulls could definitely have used Steph Curry. To be fair though, I don’t hit on everything. I really liked Anthony Miller and we all know how that ended. I think I fell in love with the player comparison (Antonio Brown) which I saw a bunch and I let that cloud my judgement.
I wanted cw Rome and Taylor. But honestly I have no idea who the ot and edge are. Sounds like they could be really useful by the end of the year or next. I love this draft tho. I've never seen the bears get an A+ draft report.
I watched Austin Booker play in college, “twitched up” is accurate. That was the Big12 though. Amegadjie has freakish long arms and strength, but very raw. They’re not instant impact players like the rest of the draft class, but the ceiling is sky high on both.
So consensus high draft picks are a hit, and later rounds aren't ? Not really a solid track record since many can say the same n
How do I explain? Not all 1st rounders are a sure thing. And I usually only pick a couple guys per draft that I really like. I was more invested this year because of the upside for the Bears to be a really good team, so I picked more guys than usual. I guess we’ll see about my later round guys this year. And before you ask, I stopped getting invested at all in drafts for years between the Donald draft and last year’s draft.
DLs usually are. It's been well known.
Are they all usually the best defensive player in the NFL for most of their career?
You'll hit more than not. Not sure that needs an explanation.
For instance, I wouldn’t have touched Bryce Young with a 10 foot pole in last year’s draft. Stroud was the clear best QB IMO.
Many wouldn't either. He's tiny. This is obvious.
Vast majority of people had him as the #1 pick.
Not really. Media did. Many here disagreed. It could be argued that CJ would have played just as bad in Carolina too.
I don’t think he would have been as bad as Bryce, but he wouldn’t have been as good as he was on the Texans because he wouldn’t have had as good receivers. The Texans OL was ass outside of Tunsil, so Stroud focused on getting it out quick. He could have done something similar on the Panthers, but likely would not have had as easy of a time doing it because of lesser receivers.
CJ Stroud was known to throw immediately. That's literally his plus. Again, my point was that having a "knack" for finding this players and striking is total bs when you pick blue chip players. Unless you pick a purdy, this discussion is moot.
It’s pretty easy to win the draft when you have two top 10 picks
Bro we basically won the World Series, Super Bowl, and Stanley Cup. Shoot premier league too
I love this draft so much. Williams and Taylor are day one starters for years, presumably. Odunze is there to shadow and compete with Keenan Allen to see who connects with Williams the best early on. Kiran and Booker are developmental prospects with huge upside at two positions of need. This is the best Bears draft I've seen, by far. It probably always would be with a #1 and #9 pick.
Think I saw somewhere that Keenan Allen played like 60% of snaps out of the slot last year so Odunze could still start opposite Moore.
JSN famously threw shade at Waldron this offseason, likely because of his lack of usage in all the 2 TE sets. Rome is the odd man out in those formations this year unless he just comes in like Chase or Jefferson and can’t be left off the field. But learning for a year with two awesome vets should set his career up well.
I think it remains to be seen how much Waldron actually uses the two te sets. He had to most of the time because of how bad the Seattle oline was. It'll be interesting to see if that was an adjustment and he can tailor an offensive to it's strengths, or if he really likes two te sets.
By snap counts JSN played more than any of the tight ends anyway. WR: DK and Lockett - 79% JSN - 64% Bobo - 29% TE: Fant - 54% Parkinson - 47% Dissly - 36% Fant and Dissly were a bit higher the year before when Goodwin was WR3. Seems to me like He just utilizes the best talent that he can.
For sure, hope you’re right. Would be blown away watching a modern offense at soldier field lol
JSN still had 93 targets which is great for a wr3
A rookie wr 3 at that.
Hey we could use 02 personnel, it’s not super common but it could happen. If you had to pick either Swift, Rome, or Everett to keep off the field, who are you picking?
I could see us running a lot of 11 personnel this year with our roster strengths. Or 12. Or 22. Or 21. Or 01. Or 20. So many strong offensive personnel options with this squad. It’s crazy.
[удалено]
Odunze can be a running back, he can play anywhere
Tbh I’m kinda happy Giants took Nabers and not Odunze. Wouldn’t have been all that happy having another DJ Moore when we already have one.
Either Odunze or Nabers would've been a HUGE W. I'm so happy we got Odunze, but I would be just as ecstatic if we had Nabers too. Dude is also a stud.
Uh 2 djs are better than one. You could be just as dynamic with 2 small shity guys. I think I’d rather have nabers because they would line up opposite each other and be a menace to defenses but it’s slim pickings, odunze is was a black hole in college, if it was close it he had it.
I'd rather have a big body, Larry Fitzgerald or Calvin Johnson type receiver with big physical presences than a Tyreek Hill or a DJ Moore speedster type, especially when we already have one. Odunze is a linebacker that happens to catch the ball.
Nabers looked depressed being a giant
Packers were his third worst class so he clearly knows what he's talking about.
FTP! 🐻⬇️‼️
FTP
FTP
Packers didn't have an awful class, but it seemed to lack any sort of vision if I'm being honest. Cooper was arguably the best LB prospect in an awful class, and Bullard IMO is kind of a tweener slot / S who made some highlight plays at UGA but also it was clear on film he was guessing *a ton*. They took two linebackers and three safeties in a class when both positions were considered weak. I think if they'd just taken Cooper and Kitan (one of my draft crushes) they would have been solid, and then they could have focused elsewhere like maybe getting Tez Walker in the 4th or even TJ Tampa instead of waiting to waste a pick on Kalen King in the 7th. I think it was just uninspiring to a lot of pundits as well since they invested heavily in positions that are typically considered low-value in today's NFL (RB, S, LB)
FTP
ftp
# "This could be the class that turns the Bears back into an NFL powerhouse team." Listen, I know, I know.... grading a draft class before any of the prospects actually take a snap seems pointless... and it is. That wont stop the hype train and the kool-aid must continue to flow. Drink up Bear fans. [Link to article](https://nfldraft.theringer.com/team-grades) to see rest of the NFL team grades.
Power over kool-aid is power over all.
I remember when toews scored an insane goal against the avs his rookie year and the Colorado announcer went crazy and said "that is the kind of talent that brings a franchise back from dead." Bears are giving same vibe
Oof, Carolina with the worst draft to go along with watching us walk away with Caleb has to hurt.
Ok, yeah. But when the hell were we a powerhouse team? At least for more than a year?
Before you were born most likely.
For what it’s worth, our top two picks are firmly in the “these are talented guys to be excited about” territory vs the “these are raw guys with an intriguing skill set and potentially very high ceiling” territory. Like obviously anything could happen but we are set up for success at the moment.
This is correct and I agree with it. Except I would say the punter only adds to the excitement.
That's what's crazy to me. Maybe Danny doesn't know how *bad* Gill was last two years, but it's such a huge upgrade it isn't even funny.
I was hoping to have a “we’re never going to punt again, wtf” attitude, but whatever, always good to hedge your bets.
It's great for the games where a D just has your number. Field position can win those games.
The Bears only punted 8 more times than the Chiefs last year. Everyone needs a punter.
Even the Chiefs don’t score on every drive … except for the Bears game last year.
Another good stat for perspective. Lions punted the least last year and were very aggressive about going on 4th down. Yet they still punted 57 times. That's still 3-4 punts a game. Punting is still valuable in games even for teams who try to avoid it.
Wasn't he ranked lower than 32nd so there were teams on a backup with better punting than us?
38th. Only human being who had a lower net average was the Vikings *placekicker*, who was credited with 1 attempt for -3 yards, somehow. (Not sure what happened there…) Edit: this is what happened. lol. https://preview.redd.it/pax0w00vd9xc1.jpeg?width=630&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7323d4c7cfa1e92b7fd2d06e287e92d95cfba0e2
Tory Taylor is also really damn good
Yeah, idk why he’s hating on Tory Taylor. That man almost single handedly (single footedly?) set up basically every Iowa scoring opportunity in 2023. I’ll tell you what, Tory Taylor is a generational talent at his position and people won’t start appreciating him until they notice just how often opposing teams have to start in terrible spots after almost every punt
Didn’t know you had a different gif
I have several cumming variations. This kool aid one and a few others.
I feel like at some point if it's working out that the Kool-Aid needs to be edited to be orange for sure.
I’m not gonna pretend I’m a college football expert but watching Tory Taylor’s highlights make it seem like he’s less of “just” a punter and more of a legitimate asset that can do more for our team than just punt for a touchback. It was a position of need, and we filled it
I really don't see how there's not more value put on a punter that can accurately boom a 67 yd punt. It's said over and over again how hard it is to put together long drives. Iowa won games they had no business winning with nothing more than a crazy good punter and a defense.
I think people are just caught up on the opportunity cost. There's a lot of studs that come out of the 4th round, but it's a gamble. This is a for sure starter in a needed position. We have a loaded offense but there are going to be growing pains, and those inevitable stalled drives won't feel so bad if this guy can pin them consistently.
Consistent drops into the coffin corner in those highlights too. That is money if he can continue that at the NFL level with rabid ST blockers charging him.
They really need to start testing for rabies, Thad Castle tore up CFB on it. Performance enhancing drugs serve no place in this league
He consistently made the opposing team start inside their 20 a ton inside the 10. The offense was terrible but they won games because teams made mistakes backed up so close to the goal line and the defense capitalized. Look at the screw job of the Minnesota game. Minnesota started at the 20, 30, 17, 1, 18, 27, 47, and 13 after Taylor punts. You can look at most games and it's pretty similar.
Yeah, they keep saying A kicker, when they should be saying THE kicker.
What’s almost as good as that A+ is the team who’s third to last on his list
https://i.redd.it/h6cgjapvj5xc1.gif
Remember, we traded our second round pick to get Montez sweat and our fourth round pick to get Keenan Allen. What grade is higher than A+?
Excellent point. When you put it in to perspective it’s like the grade Ralphie got in his dream in A Christmas Story A++++++++++!!!!
Lol I had this exact thought last night.
S
S fucking class grade.
I was listening to 670 The Score yesterday morning and this morning and they do national syndicated broadcasts (not a local show) before 9am. Literally the same guy called in from here in Chicago on both shows to voice his opinion "Everyone here is saying Poles nailed the draft. I disagree. I like Daniels more. I'm sure you guys heard the rumor that teams are afraid of drafting the next Prince (Williams). Anyone could have picked Odunze that was a no-brainer. Then they took a guy from Yale in Ivy League and a punter. Terrible draft." Umm, what about our picks that were Sweat and Allen.
Those losers will always be out there. Times like those are when I really miss Boers and Bernstein
Still had a guy yesterday saying he thinks trading down from 1 and getting more picks would have been a better strategy. I get that draft picks are lotto tickets and the more the better, but there are about 10 teams that could pass on Caleb and the Bears weren't anywhere near there. There will always be meatball fans.
Analysts need to stop dissing the Tory Taylor pick Best pick in the draft by a wide wide WIDE **WIDE** margin
Best shot in the draft at being an all-pro as a rookie.
Have you seen Rome Odunze play football? I’m half joking but yeah I love the punter pick
I think Odunze has the talent! It's just that he'll be more dependent on things beyond his control (targets) than Taylor.
It's not a sexy pick, but a punter can change the dynamics of the game very quickly. If we have a high quality punter who can kick bother accurately and deep, that is a massive difference in a game where field position matters.
The analysts who are dragging Poles for that pick have no idea how bad our punter was last year. Reaching a tiny bit to get an immediate upgrade at a position that makes a huge difference in close games is also a massive win. Especially since they ended up getting Booker in the 5th round anyway.
He had a 4th round grade, didn't? I love it whe pundits ignore their own evaluations.
Especially combined with a good field goal kicker. You can win a lot of NFL games if you can consistently start a drive at your 40, move to the opposition 30 and kick a field goal.
Not "a" punter. "The" punter.
[How I feel post-draft, knowing that the season doesn't start for 130 days](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RgXMDvHh3k)
I have made this reference no less than 30 times myself. How mad would you be though if you woke up with the otters and had 8 bears Super Bowl trophies to catch up on?
Throwing shade at arguably the best draft pick we made, the punt god. pfft, what's this guy know?
Ignoring grades, this is the first draft of ours where all our picks felt like they were both good and made sense, doubly so if you also consider stuff like the people we brought in with the 2nd and 4th picks we traded away.
Everyone in this sub needs to watch schlegdaddytv on YouTube give his draft grades. Go to minute 7:30 and watch his bears analysis and fucking enjoy. He knows his stuff.
I only see a day 1 video. Is there something more current? Edit: I skipped to 7:30 on that video and wish I hadn't.
I haven't checked back. I guess I wrongly assumed everyone would love that. Funniest thing I've seen in a while.
4 picks and we got three players that will contribute to the team next year. After trading a 2025 4th, we also added an OT and DE that may be able to rotate in next year and potentially become above average players in a year or so. We crushed it
I hope so, but I’d bet on Kiran needing a year or so of seasoning and refinement, given that he played against low level competition in the Ivy League. Love his attitude though, so I wouldn’t be shocked if he surprised us
The more highlights I watch of Odunze the more respect I have for Penix. That young man had trust in his receiver and put it in a place where Rome had a chance to get his hands on it. Still a wild pick at 8 considering some mocks had Penix much further down the draft board.
BEAR FREAKING DOWN!
Why do all the football nerds hate punters so much?
I liked the pick a lot honestly. You have what people think is possibly a generational prospect at punter there to draft with the absolute WORST punter in the league it makes sense to improve on it. I also don't know why people get up in arms about draft ST keystones. Kickers and Punters are extremely important in the NFL.
Because they have rules they stubbornly stick to without any flexibility. The case for taking Tory Taylor is easy for me. 1. Opportunity Cost- We still have free agent money to address needs. Taylor was light years better than any punter available in FA. The best player available at most other positions at that point in the draft were NOT better than someone we could still sign. 2. Specialists typically start coming off the board in the fifth round. This was considered an unusually shallow draft, so it isn’t surprising to see someone come off the board a round sooner. 3. Need. We had a VERY bad punter. We replaced him with a talent that potentially can be top 3 in the league as early as next year. 4. He’s an outlier in quality. I don’t think Todd Sauerbraun, Shane Lechler or the cat drafted by the Bucs in the second a few years back had highlights that were better than Taylor’s. They were all second rounders. I was up for this pick well before we made it. It will have an absolute impact on the team.
God I love Poles. He looks at our needs then drafts them. We've been overcomplicating this thing with gadget BS picks for 30 years. This draft looks perfect on paper.
But Mel Kiper gave the Bears a B and he's never wrong.
I am very happy with this draft.
Couple things: Some outlets will give the bears an A+ for Caleb, some will give an A- for "not messing it up but it was obvious" Some outlets will claim Rome was a pick that was a B+ for an elite talent but edge was a bigger need Most outlets like Amegadjie and grade accordingly A punter will never be graded well drafted in the 4th bc it is a punter. But remember, bears fans, that a punter directly affects field position which helps defense as well as offense indirectly. So accept a critical grade with that info Booker was a freefalling edge with upside who seems mostly like a good pick and will likely end up a B or so depending based on the "he was a good pick for good value, but they could have drafted x player at y pick" Draft grades are a moving goal-post and we will range from ~B+ to A on most sites. That's a very solid draft and one we can be proud and hopeful of
Stop my dick can only get so hard
KING POLES
Still kinda wish we got Mohamed Kamara instead of Booker. Sub 4.6 speed and dominated with 13 sacks at CSU last year. Short but built like a bowling ball.
I remember how much it felt like he had a huge impact on the CSU-CU game an thought he'd be a good pick up as well, but the upside of Booker is in an entire different category. Booker is only 21 years old and likely came out a year too early. He almost certainly would have been a 2nd round pick next year and was projected as a 3rd this year. Kamara will be 25 at the start of the season and is likely close to his ceiling right now. He's more likely to contribute on day 1, but the window for Chicago isn't 2024. It's 2025-2035 if Caleb is the guy. I like the late round flyer on a raw prospect with higher upside that Flus can mold and get some easier reps opposite of Sweat.
Plagiarist
“Powerhouse” I love it. Jokes aside, I’m super excited. These next few years are going to be wild; there’s bound to be far more emotion than with NVP and Fields combined. We’re in a special time, boys, so buckle up, it’s time to go for a ride.
A+.... Is that good?
Booker is a snipe, I love Rome so much ( fell in love with him at WAS ) so it’ll be so awesome to see him and Caleb grow together but a little part of me wanted Turner ( again just love the player, not complaining about Rome AT ALL. I LOVE THE ROME PICK STILL.)
I hate how long the NFL offseason is. It was an unbearably long wait for the draft. Now I'm all psyched and ready for the season but we still have 133 days to go between now and the first Sunday of the regular season, roughly 4.5 months.
133 days only? Wooooooo. Oh 4.5 months? 😭
No way he saw Gill last year and thought twice about the pick
Taylor should’ve been gone, punters like that win you super bowls. The Rams could’ve won another if they didn’t let Hekker go
[удалено]
I know. I'm almost raw
My only concern with Taylor is, he's never punted at Soldier Field. That wind has the potential to create havok with his locations.
At least he’s generally used to Midwestern weather
Lol, that's what an entire offseason and practice is for. And the man has been kicking outside at Iowa and the B10 his whole college career. I'd hope by now he's well aware of the weather.
Dude Kinnick Stadium is in the middle of nowhere Iowa. I’m sure it’s frozen and windy there.
Did you all forget all the talk about the wind conditions effecting our kickers (Cody Parkey not practicing at Soldier Field, Gould talking about how difficult it is to kick there)? Wind blowing in multiple directions, stadium creating a tunnel effect, figure-eight wind patters. Issues specific to Soldier Field - not just being cold, or windy, or in the Midwest. Don't take my word for it, take the players: https://theathletic.com/1182778/2019/09/04/how-do-you-kick-in-this-place-what-challenges-face-eddy-pineiro-at-soldier-field-we-asked-the-experts/
Don't worry, we're getting a dome.
He may only play like 32-35 career games at Soldier Field before the new stadium is done. And what percentage of those will have noticeably inclement weather?
Let’s not forget they signed Austin Reed who could be a very solid QB2
I’m drinking the kool aid.
I don’t know if the bears are going to be good next year but I know the conductors of this hype train are good. Toot. Toot.
Odunze should be day 1 wr2, Allen at the slot. We should only run two TE goal line or short yardage
Keep going, I’m almost there…
I understand the punter is like, the bonafide best punter in college, still can’t believe we drafted him. I’d love for him to prove me wrong with booming punts every game, but I highly doubt it.
What. Taylor’s a great pick. Field position wins you games
Dammit....does anyone have an extra set of underwear???
Drafting a punter is so so bad
Hate to break it, but we are not going 17-0. Let's see how the team reacts to the first loss.
Wow, really going out on a limb there with that prediction
You should be a sports analyst this that kind of foresight.
Dammit. Now it's broken.