I don't think we're ever gonna know that 'til the first seven picks have been made and Nelson either is or isn't available. I agree that he's being wise to add OL who can play inside but none including who we have would seem to come close to Nelson's potential. Still, no one knows him better than Hiestand so his input will be huge in all of this. JMHO
I get it and don't disagree Nelson is easily the cream of this years OL crop. I think we all agree on that.
But...there's a distinct possibility he's off the board by #8 and, despite him being a premier prospect, let's face it--there's a positional value issue at play here. Not saying iOLs aren't important, just that they're less important than other positions all other factors being similar.
The Bears already have a 1st and a 2nd round pick invested there (Long & Whitehair)
The Bears already have several other potential options to look at (Morgan, Kush, Watford, possibly even Grasu)
Guards rarely get drafted top-10. Cooper & Scheref are the only 2 I can think of recently and the former was a total bust here in AZ. Yes, upfront blocking shouldn't be neglected but Guards don't touch the ball, rush the QB, or force turnovers. There's a reason interior OLmen tend to get drafted lower. It's not a conspiracy LOL.
In fact, a lot of quality iOLs can be found and developed from the latter draft and sometimes even the UDFA markets (case in point: Scott Norwell, UDFA and many others)
Speaking of development, isn't Harry H supposed to be a guru OL coach? It would seem that we can afford to pass on a 1st round guard in favor of a down-the-draft pick.
The defense really needs some love. FA went overwhelmingly to O and the D suffered a net loss of depth. I'd like to see both the 1st and 2nd round picks go to Fangio.
Can we just get on with the draft now please???
LOL, this whole deal is getting beaten to death isn't it.
I don't deny great OL can be developed from later round picks and even UDFAs. But there's also nothing wrong with Dallas' approach to not passing on a top rated one when he falls in your lap and OL depth is also important as we've learned many times in the past.
I'll leave it at this. Positional value aside unless there is clearly no immediate need for a player whose on the board at #8 like a QB or a CB I would not pass up any BPA whose quite possibly a once in a decade type at his position. The other position we have a need to draft for can also be found in later rounds and developed as well so that reasoning alone shouldn't trump a solid BPA pick.
In fact in this draft there are quite a few second tier pass rushers who've had very productive college careers and while Hiestand is an excellent OL coach he's not a magician and couldn't create a chicken dinner out of chickenshit OL during his last gig as the Bears OL coach. Nagy is a very good offensive and QB coach but that's still no excuse for expecting him to make a Pro Bowler out of Mike Glennon vs Mitch Trubisky. Inherent talent and skills still rule the day.
Saw that. He's vet competition whose had starting experience just like a dozen other mid level vets we've tried to succeed with and failed Omameh being just one.
The Chicago Bears were busy Tuesday, signing two players to one-year deals.
Returning is running back Benny Cunningham, who will resume backup and special teams duties. In addition to Cunningham, Chicago signed former Cardinals guard Earl Watford to a one-year contract.
The Watford signing shouldn’t be ignored. He’s been given $550,000 in guarantees and can earn up to $2 million in 2018, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
Watford started 20 games over the last two seasons for the Cardinals after joining the club in 2014 as a fourth-round pick from James Madison.
The Bears have a hole at left guard after Josh Sitton was released earlier in the offseason, giving Watford a golden opportunity to earn the starting job. Chicago is a potential landing spot for Notre Dame’s Quenton Nelson in the first round of April’s NFL Draft, however, and if Nelson ends up a Bear, Watford’s role will be reduced to a swing backup.
