Bears Buzz - Chicago Bears 2042 Onwards

[BeerCloud]

Good read as always dave.

Ya we all missed out on Watkins cause he's a homer and never really wanted to stray from Washington. It will be fun to see who you take at 1.1 and watch them progress through their careers. Good stuff.

[davehibb]

Thanks bud.

Although I don't think we were the highest overall bidder on Watkins, we offered him a ridiculous amount in guaranteed money, so disappointing we couldn't lure him. But then I saw his Play For Winner rating and figured that's why he didnt want to come to Chicago.

As for 1.1, I think we're pretty much locked into our guy. Will try to keep the suspense going a little bit longer though.

[Rawrster]

The Vikings are NOT happy about this....

[davehibb]

The Vikings are NOT happy about this....

[davehibb]

Bears Out In Force At Mariota, Winston Pro Days...

Chicago front office, scouting and coaching staff were out in force this week as they ran the rule over Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota at their respective pro days. Most draft experts still can't fit a sheet of paper between the two prospects, even give their different playing styles and perceived pro readiness.

Winston looked assured under centre and showed great pocket awareness, extending several plays with his mobility within the pocket. He was also perfect in the two minute and 3rd down drills, showing good accuracy as well as flashing an excellent deep ball too at times.

The only knocks on Winston were a couple of errant short and medium range throws that ended coming back the other way.


Winston headed to the Windy City?

Mariota's showing was equally as impressive. The older prospect showed great poise and a full range of throws, though once or twice the timing with his receivers was slightly off, as was his deep ball at times. However he showed great accuracy, especially in the 3rd down drills, where he also showed off his athleticism and scrambling ability.


Mariota, to be a Monster of the Midway?

Whispers around the league according to sources are that the Bears know their man for the first overall pick in this year's draft, even if the other 31 teams don't.

[davehibb]

2044 Free Agency Week 4...

The Bears brass opened the cheque book once again to sign wide receiver Willie Wissick from the Oakland Raiders on a 2 year deal. Wissick was the second ranked receiver in this years free agent class after Sammy Watkins. The 5th year pro started every game for the Raiders the last 3 seasons averaging 1,100yds and 6 TDS per year during that time.

Whilst generally considered a 2nd tier reciever, Wissick will still be a huge upgrade for the Bears at the postion and should prove to be a valuable safety blanket for either Winston or Mariota.


Wissick started 58 of 64 games for the Raiders,
racking up 312 catches for 3,899yds and 20 TDs.

At just 25yrs old, Wissick is the second young, ascending free agent signing for the Bears so far, following Maddox Sandhu, who was signed from the Vikings last week.

[davehibb]

The Pick Is In... 2044 Draft Class

Phase 2 of Da Rebuild and we hold the number 1 overall pick in this year's draft and the opportunity to draft the face and the future of the franchise. But will it be Winston or Mariota?

There can be only one....

With the first overall pick in the 2044 FFL draft...


The Chicago Bears select... Jameis Winston...

1.1 QB Jameis Winston, North Texas.

Height: 6'0" (Below Average)
Weight: 205lbs (Way Below Average)

Sol: 45
40 Time: 4.61
Bench: 20
Agility: 7.06
Broad Jump: 9'1"
Position Drill: 90
Dev: 29

Hibby's Guess: 85/85
Draft Notes: DA: 95vg5g. CC: 85-90 range. Scout: Underrated
Post Draft: 24/62
Post TC: 28/63 (+4/+1)
Ex 2: -/- (+/+)
EoS: -/- (+/+)

This was pretty much a no brainer pick, even with Winston and Mariota being graded the same. Winston blew scouts away at the combine, recording 4 red scores and 1 blue and the general consensus was that his ceiling could go even higher. The game tape shows great pocket awareness and arm strength, as well as accuracy and leadership as he often made crucial 3rd down throws and notched up numerable late, game winning drives. The one knock on him is his character and maturity and whether he can grow up quickly enough to fulfill his tremendous potential in the pros. GM Hibby will certainly be hoping so.


Cooper's combine... A bad day at the office?

1.15 WR Amari Cooper, North Texas.

Height: 6'0" (Average)
Weight: 199lbs (Way Below Average)

Sol: 29
40 Time: 4.42
Bench: 16
Agility: 7.14
Broad Jump: 10'0"
Position Drill: 44
Dev: 54

Hibby's Guess: 60/60
Draft Notes: DA: 23vg70g. CC: 50-60 range. Scout: Underrated
Post Draft: 47/60
Post TC: 50/61 (+3/+1)
Ex 2: -/- (+/+)
EoS: -/- (+/+)

I was surprised to see Cooper still on the board here. I did consider trading up for him but feel a bit better taking him here as I guess it is a bit of a risky pick. He reminds me a lot of Sams who we took in the 2nd round last year. Static bar far exceeding his combine score and underrated by our scouts. His BPR bar should be in the 50-60 range like it displays for White, Goodwin and Rodgers, who had the same combine score but instead it is way up in the 90-100 range, which hopefully means he just had a bad day at the combine and that his other bars will be underrated too.

Cooper's game tape shows true elite speed and that he's not afraid to take the ball at it's highest point in the middle of the field too. Cooper was also durable and never took a play off. The detractors say that his route tree needs some work to take it to the next level and that he drops the odd pass and could maybe make the first guy miss a little more often, but these are all coachable traits. Winston's big arm now has the college game's premier vertical threat to aim at. Bears fans must be excited at these to picks!


Marty Meadows, undersized but over produced
for the Deacons.

2.18 DE Marty Meadows, Wake Forest.

Height: 6'3" (Below Average)
Weight: 266lbs (Way Below Average)

Sol: 35
40 Time: 4.70
Bench: 30
Agility: 7.54
Broad Jump: 9'2"
Dev: 32

Hibby's Guess: 55/55
Draft Notes: DA: 33g. CC: 55-60 range.
Post Draft: 24/52
Post TC: 27/51 (+3/-1)
Ex 2: -/- (+/+)
EoS: -/- (+/+)

Maybe it's just me, or the fact that we were struggling to fill one of our more glaring needs, even in just the 2nd round, but this draft seemed to be top heavy talent wise and the drop off started right about here. Not that we don't think Meadows is talented. he should slot in nicely alongside Hutek at DE but we were hoping for a WLB or a S or a T at this point.

Meadows is undersized but he used finesse and technique, rather than brute strength to get to the quarterback in college. That said, he laid a few licks on people that made the highlight reel but he used his speed and smarts to carve out a very productive career for the Deacons. His combines back up the film for the most part, though he may struggle more in the run game in pros and be better suited at left end.

4.24 OLB Connor Hoover, Loras.

Height: 6'0" (Below Average)
Weight: 243lbs (Average)

Sol: 17
40 Time: 4.69
Bench: 20
Agility: 7.36
Broad Jump: 9'6"
Pos Drill: 34
Dev: 25

Hibby's Guess: 45/45
Draft Notes: CC: 45 range.
Post Draft: 17/47
Post TC: 20/43 (+3/-4)
Ex 2: -/- (+/+)
EoS: -/- (+/+)

Hoover was an above average coverage linebacker in college. Able against the run and with the explosiveness to jar the ball loose in the tackle, Hoover will join a crowded linebacker room but has a shot at the SLB rotation given our dearth of talent at the position.

5.10 SS Rueben Owen, Arizona.

Height: 5'11" (Below Average)
Weight: 195lbs (Way Below Average)

Sol: 35
40 Time: 4.54
Bench: 13
Agility: 7.09
Broad Jump: 8'6"
Pos Drill: 39
Dev: 37

Hibby's Guess: 45/45
Post Draft: 16/48
Post TC: 19/47 (+3/-1)
Ex 2: -/- (+/+)
EoS: -/- (+/+)

We really liked Byron Farnell, who the Giants took in the 4th to fill the void we have at strong safety but Owen was the number two guy on our list for that spot. Owen was a solid run defender and an above average man to man defender with the knack of getting in position to make a few picks too. Hopefully he can translate that into the pros but realistically he may be a short term fix and then a backup type of guy.

5.15 OT Courtney Schwarz, Southern California.

Height: 6'6" (Above Average)
Weight: 324lbs (Above Average)

Sol: 34
40 Time: 5.10
Bench: 25
Agility: 7.66
Broad Jump: 6'9"
Dev: 20

Hibby's Guess: 45/45
Post Draft: 12/38
Post TC: 16/39 (+4/+1)
Ex 2: -/- (+/+)
EoS: -/- (+/+)

We've strayed a little away from BPA these last few picks and gone more for need and man do we need some help at tackle. Schwarz actually scored pretty high for both run blocking and pass blocking drills at the combine but his average strength and question marks over his endurance caused his stock to fall I think. Schwarz has a shot at starting for us this year and he'll certainly be in the rotation. I'm hoping his bars are a little underrated given his combines but he's probably only going to be a swing tackle or marginal starter at best.

6.14 TE Kelly Cooley, Las Vegas.

Height: 6'3" (Below Average)
Weight: 252lbs (Below Average)

Sol: 23
40 Time: 4.68
Bench: 21
Agility: 7.49
Broad Jump: 8'5"
Pos Drill: 32
Dev: 33

Hibby's Guess: 45/45
Post Draft: 17/35
Post TC: 19/33 (+2/-2)
Ex 2: -/- (+/+)
EoS: -/- (+/+)

Another need pick as we have a glaring void at TE with Lingen's retirement and there not being much talent at the position in the FA pool. We're not going to get much out of Cooley as an inline blocker but once he's off the line he runs slick routes and is shifty once the ball is in hand and has the speed to break a big one here and there.

7.13 CB Ezekiel Frenck, Towson.

Height: 5'10" (Below Average)
Weight: 175lbs (Way Below Average)

Sol: 16
40 Time: 4.57
Bench: 14
Agility: 7.43
Broad Jump: 9'6"
Pos Drill: 45
Dev: 57

Hibby's Guess: 45/45
Post Draft: 18/33
Post TC: 21/24 (+3/-9)
Ex 2: -/- (+/+)
EoS: -/- (+/+)

Not a huge need at CB but we did need some depth and competition at nickel back. Frenck was a ball hawk in college and that came through at the combine but whilst the game tape showed he was above average in coverage, he did get lost in some of the drills. If his interception and ST bars hold then he has a shot at the roster.

[Dawgfan19]

Yep, you have your franchise QB. With that bench combine, Winston's big arm sets him apart from Mariota.

[davehibb]

Yep, you have your franchise QB. With that bench combine, Winston's big arm sets him apart from Mariota.

That 71 Volatility is a slight concern and I think Winston will throw a few more picks than Mariota but I think they will both be very good. I thought you might have sat Mariota for a year behind Tanner but I guess you're throwing him straight in.

[davehibb]

2044 Draft Class, Initial Thoughts...

We're obviously hoping we've struck gold with Winston at number 1 overall and I was stoked to see Cooper still on the board at 1.15. I figured I'd be able to pick up one of those top 2 or 3 tackles at that spot but having a top WR there was a bonus. That 90+ BPR is very intriguing and with him being scouted as underrated, I'm hoping it pulls his other bars up too and that we have a stud receiver on our hands.

Last year we were able to pick up a lot of value in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th rounds but this year I think the talent dropped off a bit and we tried to stay with our BPA which was DE Marty Meadows, who should slot straight in and bookend our line with Hutek. We didn't have a 3rd and our 4th round pick is a little underwhelming as Hoover looks like a so, so coverage LB but he'll be in the mix for us I think.

Of our late round picks I like TE Cooley and T Schwarz. Both have a real shot at starting and perhaps/hopefully becoming key backups if we can improve their respective position groups in coming seasons. Owen will be in the mix too at safety for us and Frenck might make the roster if his ints and ST bars hold but he's a bit of a long shot at this point.

So all in all I'm thinking 2 elite starters at QB and WR. A good starter at DE and a bunch of role players/backups with our other 5 picks.