Your Combine Crush?

[bearsfan1977]

He isn't considered a first rounder or even top 50 player by Daniel Jeremiah. PFF ranks him #40, just as the consensus ranking lists him at #40.

So yes Nolen is better than him as a pass rusher, but spending the #10 pick over the #39 pick better??

Only time will tell, but I don’t really care what Jeremiah says. He (like all “draft experts”) get it more wrong than right a lot of the time. To be fair, I’m just a fan, so I don’t study these guys nearly as often.

That said, I think he goes late 1st/early 2nd. But of course, maybe he does drop to 39.

 

[Xplosive]

I did not say Hurts is not good. I said he's not great ("Hurts is not a great QB by any stretch of the imagination"). Many think a team needs a great QB to be successful. Quite the difference in Barkley too once he got behind a good OL. How good do you think Love would be if he didn't play behind a good OL in GB? I personally think he's be in the lower half of the league statistically.

I hope the Bears find at least 4 new OL and that they strike gold. Otherwise, it will be another miserable year for the QB and the weapons who all stunk for the most part last year because of the OL.

A good DL also makes the secondary look better and even the LBs. I will always maintain that building the trenches should be paramount.

Fair point about Hurts... Barkley was good before he got to the Eagles, so was Jacobs before he got to GB. I agree Love is flawed but much like Hurts he is streaky. I would love 4 new OL but two will likely come in free agency, and the center position is weak in this draft so the Bears don't have to reach for one before the 3rd round.

That still leaves their top 3 picks available to find ONE additional OLineman. I expect another of those top 3 picks to go to DE or perhaps DT, again depending on the Free Agency...

Now we are down to ONE last pick out of the Bears top 3... There is a gaping hole on offense without Keenan Allen, and really even with him there was a gap because he is old and slow. Please don't tell me the Bears should look for more DEPTH with that remaining pick instead of upgrading the skill positions on offense...

It's as clear as day that WR/RB or even TE... are all reasonable options to add with one of the Bears top 3 picks.

 

[Xplosive]

Only time will tell, but I don’t really care what Jeremiah says. He (like all “draft experts”) get it more wrong than right a lot of the time. To be fair, I’m just a fan, so I don’t study these guys nearly as often.

That said, I think he goes late 1st/early 2nd. But of course, maybe he does drop to 39.

Jeremiah is one of the best and most accurate with mocks/rankings and I added other sources as well. I agree we are all just fans so its fair for each to have an opinion. Just based on draft history, DT's tend to go later than expected. Even the great Jalen Carter was being touted as a potential #1 or top 5 overall choice by tons of fans and the media, in reality he was #9 and thats not only because of his off field stuff.

 

[dabears70]

Allen is gone so that's a huge hole on offense. I think we all agree that OL is a focal point for anything to function. That isn't debatable, you get no argument from me. So beyond that point, there is a hole in the receiving corps and two slightly above average players in Swift & Kmet. How exactly do you explain the concept that just fixing the OL will raise this team from #32 in offense to an actually good offense?

You do realize that they are going to add to the WR room, TE room and RB room right? We don't have to use our #10 pick on a WR when we have 6 other draft picks and free agency money to do that with.

 

[Runruffshod75]

I agree completely that a DT should be able to put up around 25 reps but I can be somewhat flexible for guys with long arms. They need that kind of strength to face up against guards and double teams regularly, especially if he plans on being decent against the run. If Nolen's numbers match up with what you have listed, I will be on board if that's the direction the team goes. I will just consider it a sign that they want to move on from Dexter, who does have great lower body strength but his upper body strength was subpar his first couple of years.

Kiran has a wingspan on him, I think Dexter has something like 32" arms on him.

Dexter isn't a bad player and has value in a rotation, especially in a year where if the Bears do draft another DT or two they're going to spend their rookie seasons perfecting their run defense like all rookie DTs, above all else.

After Tommie Harris tore his hamstring from the bone I've hoped that the Bears would adress the DT position with a top tier rotation instead of putting all of their eggs in one basket with a dominant starting tandem and Ian Scott with Alfonso Boone as a backup plan.

If they add Nolen and Tyliek Williams with Dexter and Billings that's a God damn good DT rotation for any roster that will change the entire landscape of your rosters defensive play. There's no let up there. If you were able to keep Dexter with Nolen and Tyliek Williams long term then that's a proper spearhead of any 4-3 defense.

If you ad those two players on the interior, I don't care if they are stuck developing Booker off the edge, they're going to be tough to beat.

 

[dabears70]

Jeremiah is one of the best and most accurate with mocks/rankings and I added other sources as well. I agree we are all just fans so its fair for each to have an opinion. Just based on draft history, DT's tend to go later than expected. Even the great Jalen Carter was being touted as a potential #1 or top 5 overall choice by tons of fans and the media, in reality he was #9 and thats not only because of his off field stuff.

It's pretty much only because of the off field stuff and of course QB's always go high in every draft and then a few special type players which Jalen Carter was one of.

 

[bearsfan1977]

Jeremiah is one of the best and most accurate with mocks/rankings and I added other sources as well. I agree we are all just fans so its fair for each to have an opinion. Just based on draft history, DT's tend to go later than expected. Even the great Jalen Carter was being touted as a potential #1 or top 5 overall choice by tons of fans and the media, in reality he was #9 and thats not only because of his off field stuff.

Every year these rankings are all over the place depending on which person is being sourced. It’s not an exact science. The only reason Williams won’t go higher than late 1st/early 2nd is because of how deep of a draft DE and DT is this year. He’s a solid prospect. Solid (and obviously great) DT prospects don’t go later than expected. If anything, they go higher than expected. But again, this is a loaded DT class. For example, in another draft, a player like Alfred Collins would go higher than he’s projected to go this year because the depth of this DT class will push him down a bit. I think he’d be a great pick in the 3rd as a run-stuffing DT.

Jalen Carter 100% goes top-5 if there was no off-field stuff surrounding him.

 

[Runruffshod75]

Oh and how about another DT Combine Crush... how about at pick #72???

Jordan Phillips out of Maryland...

What about another great DT Alfred Collins?

This draft is loaded with DT's.. Zero reason that they have to take Nolen @ 10

It's loaded at the top. These guys are rotationals. Nolen is going to be another Jalen Carter with a bit better passrush.

As stated Nolen spent two collegiate seasons playing at 315 pounds for Texas A&Ms 2Gap defense and did a DAMN good job at playing all over that defensive line

In one offseason he got his weight below 300 pounds, he stepped into Goldings 1GAP and immediately put up the best season from a primary 3TECH in the nation with the versatility to play every single GAP technique fron the Headup 6 to the Ghost 5 at the other side of the formation and everything in between.

These other scrubs arent in the same league. Nolens only real mistake was not committing to Ole Miss in the first place.

 

[napo55]

Kiran has a wingspan on him, I think Dexter has something like 32" arms on him.

Dexter isn't a bad player and has value in a rotation, especially in a year where if the Bears do draft another DT or two they're going to spend their rookie seasons perfecting their run defense like all rookie DTs, above all else.

After Tommie Harris tore his hamstring from the bone I've hoped that the Bears would adress the DT position with a top tier rotation instead of putting all of their eggs in one basket with a dominant starting tandem and Ian Scott with Alfonso Boone as a backup plan.

If they add Nolen and Tyliek Williams with Dexter and Billings that's a God damn good DT rotation for any roster that will change the entire landscape of your rosters defensive play. There's no let up there. If you were able to keep Dexter with Nolen and Tyliek Williams long term then that's a proper spearhead of any 4-3 defense.

If you ad those two players on the interior, I don't care if they are stuck developing Booker off the edge, they're going to be tough to beat.

Rushing the passer is the primary need for the Bears defense. Run defense is also a need but the NFL is a passing league and if you can't influence the QB, you will lose.

 

[Raskolnikov]

The guy I am most curious about is Grant. That’s a big man that can move. Membou on the OL.

Yeah, I'm on Kenneth Grant, I think he helped Graham show out and I like them both but would think Grant can do for Dexter and Edmonds/Edwards what he did for Graham.

Love my nose tackles from dominant college defenses and it's a need as well.

Trade down target but at 10 it feels like the Wright pick. Don't love the value but love the fit.

 

[DefNextYear]

If he cranks out 29-30+ reps with a a 40 in the 4.8s or lower, and good splits then I'm all in.

He will skyrocket if he puts up these numbers.

 

[AZBarbarian]

The OP is right in line with the recipe that results in a disaster of an Offensive Line.

Your stud QB is getting sacked at a near record rate and can't settle in to pass to the quality WR you have? What do you do? Draft another WR. LOL.

My crush is Cam Skateboo who is a good compliment to D'Andre Swift. However, only in Round 4 or later.