Yes, he is. To be fair though there are three highly skilled DBs who should be considered top 10 prospects: S Minkah Fitzpatrick, S Derwin James and CB Denzel Ward. They are extremely good players who would make our backfield better but I'm not sure I would like that pick either. I believe we need to upgrade our front seven badly.
Thought this was nice affirmation of my impression of this draft: Elliot Harrison, NFL.com draft analyst in reflecting on the draft picked the Bears as having the draft he liked (the other mentioned team was Tampa Bay). Here's what he said:
Chicago Bears: Spoke to one of my editors, college buff Gennaro Filice, about drafts he liked. I played coy, not letting him know which hauls I thought were special. First team class out of his mouth: the Chicago Bears. Can't agree more. In Round 1, they got a stud in Roquan Smith out of Georgia (No. 8 overall). Over half the teams in the league could really use that LB. On Day 2, GM Ryan Pace grabbed a couple of players who could contribute sooner rather than later: offensive lineman James Daniels out of Iowa (No. 39) and wideout Anthony Miller from Memphis (No. 51). The latter's competitive nature and willingness to work (including coming back to the ball with those out-of-the-pocket scramblers) should make him a valuable wide receiver, even if it is as a third option. Fifth-round pick Bilal Nichols (No. 145) represents the organizational philosophy to run the football and play defense, supporting Mitch Trubisky in every way. Nichols should be a rotational player on the interior defensive line.
Thought this was nice affirmation of my impression of this draft: Elliot Harrison, NFL.com draft analyst in reflecting on the draft picked the Bears as having the draft he liked (the other mentioned team was Tampa Bay). Here's what he said:
Chicago Bears: Spoke to one of my editors, college buff Gennaro Filice, about drafts he liked. I played coy, not letting him know which hauls I thought were special. First team class out of his mouth: the Chicago Bears. Can't agree more. In Round 1, they got a stud in Roquan Smith out of Georgia (No. 8 overall). Over half the teams in the league could really use that LB. On Day 2, GM Ryan Pace grabbed a couple of players who could contribute sooner rather than later: offensive lineman James Daniels out of Iowa (No. 39) and wideout Anthony Miller from Memphis (No. 51). The latter's competitive nature and willingness to work (including coming back to the ball with those out-of-the-pocket scramblers) should make him a valuable wide receiver, even if it is as a third option. Fifth-round pick Bilal Nichols (No. 145) represents the organizational philosophy to run the football and play defense, supporting Mitch Trubisky in every way. Nichols should be a rotational player on the interior defensive line.
Couldn't really agree more. They really did have a great draft, maybe a few picks could be looked at as reached in the back 1/2 of the draft, but after rounds 2 or 3 it's all about how a limited players might fit into each team. It's why NE apparently normally only has 75-80 players on their draft board while most have 150, and why they are so willing to trade down. If they don't like a player, or see how he would fit into their team he's not on their board no matter how good he might be; and it's why the back 1/2 of most teams boards aren't going to be like any other teams no matter how big the board is, I guy like Joey I might have the traits the Bears want, but not what most other teams want, but there's no way for the Bears to know so they just take him where he's slotted; regardless of what the draft experts big board is.
Thought this was nice affirmation of my impression of this draft: Elliot Harrison, NFL.com draft analyst in reflecting on the draft picked the Bears as having the draft he liked (the other mentioned team was Tampa Bay). Here's what he said:
Chicago Bears: Spoke to one of my editors, college buff Gennaro Filice, about drafts he liked. I played coy, not letting him know which hauls I thought were special. First team class out of his mouth: the Chicago Bears. Can't agree more. In Round 1, they got a stud in Roquan Smith out of Georgia (No. 8 overall). Over half the teams in the league could really use that LB. On Day 2, GM Ryan Pace grabbed a couple of players who could contribute sooner rather than later: offensive lineman James Daniels out of Iowa (No. 39) and wideout Anthony Miller from Memphis (No. 51). The latter's competitive nature and willingness to work (including coming back to the ball with those out-of-the-pocket scramblers) should make him a valuable wide receiver, even if it is as a third option. Fifth-round pick Bilal Nichols (No. 145) represents the organizational philosophy to run the football and play defense, supporting Mitch Trubisky in every way. Nichols should be a rotational player on the interior defensive line.
Couldn't really agree more. They really did have a great draft, maybe a few picks could be looked at as reached in the back 1/2 of the draft, but after rounds 2 or 3 it's all about how a limited players might fit into each team. It's why NE apparently normally only has 75-80 players on their draft board while most have 150, and why they are so willing to trade down. If they don't like a player, or see how he would fit into their team he's not on their board no matter how good he might be; and it's why the back 1/2 of most teams boards aren't going to be like any other teams no matter how big the board is, I guy like Joey I might have the traits the Bears want, but not what most other teams want, but there's no way for the Bears to know so they just take him where he's slotted; regardless of what the draft experts big board is.
2 comments:
(1) After the 3rd round its all throwing darts at a board. (link at a Chief's site that shows a good breakdown of how later round picks on average have about a 10% chance of sticking) BUT, Your 4/5/6/7 guys are the ones who can turn a team around fast. If you hit on those guys, thats depth and starters that you in one sense are getting a year or two early. Hitting on a 5th RD CB means you don't have to trade/sign/higher-draft one the next year. The posters saying that you can reasonably expect a 4th rounder to be a starter are smoking the good stuff. IMO and from years of looking at drafts if you can look back at a draft and say 2/3 starters and 1/2 backups, it was a good draft.
(2) Comments like "Bears could have taken Joey I in the 5th and gotten more value with the pick" are meaningless from a team building point of view. Just because Pete "the draft king' Peterson (made him up by the way) had Joey I with a 5th round grade doesn't mean the Bears made a poor drafting choosing him in the 4th. 4th round on you are taking the guys that grabbed your interest for some reason, or are the guys your coordinators/scouts want.