We’ve shifted the focus of our offseason Chicago Bears’ roundtable topics to the NFL Draft for these last two questions.
Yesterday we asked you guys to give us the one player you are really hoping the Chicago Bears find a way to select in the 2019 NFL Draft. But today we’re going the other direction win our offseason topic.
Who is the one prospect you want the Bears to stay away from in the draft?
This could be a workout warrior whose tape doesn’t match the hype, a guy with questionable medical history, or maybe a guy that had some run-ins with the authorities. Or it could just be a personal preference.
I’ll go first today since I don’t have a specific player in mind, but rather a position, and that’s to stay away from drafting a kicker. I just don’t like spending a pick on a position that you are more likely to find “your guy” on the street. Look around the league. How many kickers are thriving with the same team that drafted them?
I’m not saying you should never draft a kicker, I’m just saying the Bears have just as good of odds adding an undrafted free agent to compete with the guys currently on the roster.
But with that being said, I’m not going to gripe if they use their last pick on a kicker just to ensure they get the guy they want.
Now let’s check in on what a few of our guys had to say...
Josh Sunderbruch - It’s easy to say one of the guys who has character concerns, but I’ll go with a mock draft I saw last week that made my head hurt--a trade up into the 2nd round to take Mississippi wide receiver A.J. Brown. Not only is trading up one of the last things the Bears need to do right now, trading up to take a wide receiver after repairing the position in 2018 seems like a really bad roster management.
Jacob Infante - A small part of me dies whenever I see the Bears picking an offensive tackle in the third round of any mock draft. The duo of Charles Leno Jr. and Bobby Massie is a reliable and, for their talent level, cheap offensive tackle tandem and does not need replacing this year. I would especially dislike it if the Bears were to draft Washington offensive tackle Kaleb McGary. He tested through the roof at the Combine and has great size, but make no mistake about it: the dude is stiff. His hips are far from fluid and he struggles with moving laterally on tape. He also struggles with hand placement and getting inside leverage on his defenders, and his pad level needs some work. Some team will overdraft him because he’s long and can run fast, but I’d prefer that team to not be the Bears.
Erik Christopher Duerrwaechter - Honestly, I don’t want to see the Bears drafting any kickers or punters. Period. It’s not to say there’s no talent available; Cole Tracy; John Barron II; and Matt Gay are all rock solid players. I’m just not a fan of drafting kickers.
Robert Zeglinski - At the moment, the Bears are objectively fine at tight end. The duo of Trey Burton and Adam Shaheen doesn’t profile as one of the league’s best, but they’re solid enough. I could see why folks would want the Bears to draft another tight end with their limited picks at the end of the month to change that reality. I’d prefer they didn’t. I’ve seen any number of mock drafts with tight end prospects pushed to the Bears in the third and fourth round. I think taking another tight end so soon admits defeat on the prospect of Shaheen’s career and to a lesser extent, an ill-advised investment in Burton. There’s no reason the Bears should be trying to cut any losses at tight end so soon.
Shaheen is no “Baby Gronk” and we can put any notion to the contrary to rest. But he has had a career ravaged by injuries to this point and possesses enough talent to carve out a fruitful place with the Bears if he settles in. One more year of effort on his part should be enough. He deserves another chance. Meanwhile Burton, as a versatile tight end that can catch 50-plus passes and play all over the field, is exactly what the Bears need from a player like him. He’s meeting expectations.
Focus on cornerback, running back, and some front line depth on both sides of the ball if you’re Ryan Pace. Don’t punt on your tight ends — with limited draft resources as it is — when you don’t yet have to.
EJ Snyder - Any choice of an offensive lineman early would confuse me. The Bears O-line is as set as it has been in years and only an exceptional slide by a highly-regarded prospect could make that move make any sense. On the other side of the ball, Jachai Polite may well be available after submarining his draft stock over the last month... but I’m not really sure he fits with the highly successful “we” culture that Nagy has built in the locker room. Polite’s skills on the field are absolutely top-notch, but everything else screams stay away.
Now it’s your turn.
Who do you hope the Bears stay away from in the draft?
from Windy City Gridiron - All Posts http://bit.ly/2KwQK78
No comments:
Post a Comment