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These are not in the order they are likely to be drafted. They are ranked based on their likelihood of success as an NFL player at the position listed for them.
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There are quite a few offensive lineman listed in the top 50 where the Bears are most likely to have their first two picks. I should be noted that the overall grades of this draft class aren't unusually high but there is decent depth through the first two rounds based on these grades.
Of note should be the fact that while Manti Te'o, a MLB high on the list of some of you, is ranked as the 14th best player in the draft his forty time of 4.8 secs makes him a somewhat poor prospect to replace Urlacher anyway. Urlacher ran in the 4.6 range coming out of college.
Although me might make a good SLB in the Bears current offense he doesn't appear to have the speed to cover in those deep pass drops or have the range that Urlacher did in his prime. Alec Ogletree has a similar ranking but does have the speed the position requires and may be a better prospect if he got within reach.
There are 8 offensive lineman ranked within the top 50. Five are OTs and three are OGs or OCs including Alabama's Barrett Jones, Chance Warmack and D.J. Fluker. So chances of being able to draft an Olineman early are fairly good.
There are also 8 LBs in the top 50. Four ILB and four OLB so chances of drafting for that position is also good although I believe Te'o and Ogletree will be long gone before we pick.
Eric Fischer, Oday Obushi. Anyone know anything about these OT's? 16-25, 4th/5th best OT. Gotta think they would be in the mid to latter 1st if not later.
What about Sam Montgomery, Corey Lemonier, Kevin Minter, Alec Ogletree(I know last week Waterfootball.com had us projected to take him). Any of these guys worth a look, any of them likely to making it to 18-25? Or wherever are 2nd pick is?
What about Tyler Eifert from ND or Zack Ertz from Stanford? Cannot see them passing up a legit ILB or OT for a TE?
I'm not a big college guy, I rely on people on this board and a few close friends of mine that are hard core college fans to give me some insight.
Sox might have some 411 about Cooper from NC or a few of the others. Where the hell is Windy?
Windy hasn't been around all season. Maybe he got burned out doing all those mock drafts last year. I know he enjoys it but to me anything past the third is tough and somewhat useless as far as expecting to get a player that will provide much if any immediate help.
This year may be easier to predict since unless Emery does some trading all we have is our first two and then the middle four,five and a sixth. All we can count on is whatever rounds one and two will bring and Oline, LB and TE lead the list of immediate needs.
There are OTs in this class but are any of them capable LTs? If there is one he'll be long gone before we pick. So our best best maybe to take the best players we can at positions of need in rounds one and two. A young CB may pop into the picture too. There seem to be a few on that list.
The bottom line is that in order to get healthy fast we pretty much need to solve the Oline issues from a combination of UFAs, a better blocking scheme, and better play from guys we're banking on like Carimi and Brown. Spencer will be gone so we have to hope Louis comes back strong from his injury (f' you Jared Allen). That kid Jones from "Bama" may be a good target to replace Garza who I also believe has about reached the end of the line.
Rookie TEs can be productive and that's a spot we need immediate productivity so if we can't find help in FA we need to take a look at the draftees. If they don't cut Davis I'll be completely mystified as to why. There's also the issue of whether or not Urlacher returns if Lovie doesn't. That may create another immediate need at LB either in the middle or at SLB.
Some of this is why I'm in favor of getting this season over ASAP and getting the decisions related to coaching made. Depending on which way that falls the needs may change dramatically and this year it would be nice if Emery has more time to prepare. If we have any major coaching changes that alone will take some time if any of the prospects are with playoff teams and can't be interviewed or hired until they are eliminated.
Phil Emery has his work cut out for him again and it wouldn't surprise me at all if Ric isn't correct in his report that he's heard a decision has already been made. If that's the case my guess is that Lovie will be back albeit without any extension just yet. Lame duck or not if he gets it he has to earn it and as far as I'm concerned he hasn't and I don't think he ever will if the criteria is based on his ability to finally field an effective offense.
I guess we'll all know soon enough if this Sunday doesn't end up favorably for the Bears and even if it does I doubt we'll be in suspense much longer. I give us no chance at all of beating SF on the road in that playoff opener.
Soul, when I consider all of that, I realize Emery probably has more to fix than CAN be fixed in one more off-season. Sure, he can make a serious dent through FA and the draft combined. But we will still have our own players to take care of contract-wise too. And if we bring in a new HC (which may mean new coordinators) they may need different personnel for their schemes.
If we miss the playoffs I believe Lovie is gone. If Emery hesitates when given the opportunity to fire Lovie (if we fail to make the playoffs) then he may not have a better opportunity - I could see Lovie doing "just enough" next year to make it more difficult to fire him.
So, if Emery is going to do it, he'd better be decisive when given the opportunity.
Matt Scott is gonna be a freakin steal
I'm watching the Little Ceasars Bowl right now . Fischer is tall , very athletic , anchors well + has good technique with his hands in pass pro , and fires off the ball on running plays quickly . Think Nate Solder . Automatic upgrade over Webb . He makes Webb look like a clod ( but we already knew that ) .Quote:
Originally Posted by Riczaj01
You might have said the same about Gabe Carimi two years ago and he was a better prospect than Fischer. I'm a bit leery of guys from smaller programs because of the competition they face and beyond that if he's a top ranked LT he'll never last past the 10th pick anyway.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alf The Ref
I still say that we need to get out LT prospect in FA. Another rookie will just go through the same learning curve Webb has and probably won't out play him anyway. Whatever improvement we need we need it now not three years from now.
I think where we pick we'd have to content ourselves with a RT type or look at an OG or and OC. There's always a chance a guy like Warmack (no pun intended) may fall on draft day like DeCastro did this year. If he does he may be the best pick. Better the best OG than the 4th or 5th best OT especially one who can't play LT.
I FWIW love Windy's mocks. Makes the long offseason a little easier and I appreciate the academic discussion they bring. Btw, the guy is damn smart too. I recall at various times last year him mocking Chandler Jones, David DeCastro, and Cordy Glenn to us in the 1st round way before I knew all that much about them (I don't follow college football all that much) and getting needled for it. Well, those that critiqued those options (me included) were wrong and he was right. Since OL looks likely to be a 1st round pick for us this year and that's his specialty, I hope he gets back here with plenty of ideas.Quote:
Originally Posted by soulman
Im not giving up on Shea by any means, but you gotta admit that the way it turned out any of those 3 guys would have been a better choice as it looks now. Eating crow...