1st official "It's too early for this 2017 FA/Draft shit!!"

I'm not sure about the Massie cut. He isn't anything better than average, but he got better as the season goes on. If you get a better Player, sure, if you do it just to do it, no.

Cutler won't be here and Houston with all his injuries could get cut. Royal was good when he played, but he rarely Plays.

OK, here goes my first koolaid fantasy post of the looming offseason. To start we cut the following:

1. Cutler 14M
2. Houston 5.01M
3. Royal 5M

As of today we will have 48M in CAP space and now with these cuts we will have another 24M which gives us a total of 72M. Adding in 3.6M for AJ's suspension and also 650K for Freeman's 4 games gives us 76.2M.

Starting off with FA I think the following moves will help to shoring up both the D and O.

Other team's FA's we target
1. Sign Stephen Gilmore CB who is tall and a ball hawk (5 ints this year) to a 5 year 70M contract with 37.5M guaranteed. 1st year CAP
hit is 11M and his AAV is 14M (which is just below Norman's 5/75M). We have 65.2M left in CAP. A corresponding move could be to move Fuller if he is not cut to Free Safety.
2. Sign Tony Jefferson SS who is also tall and has come into his own this year as a very dependable SS for the Cardinals with 2 FF's, plenty of tackles and seemingly good in run support. The Bears could have nabbed him as a restricted FA last offseason but declined to for whatever reason. He gets a 4 year 24M contract with 14M (top 20 contract but not top 10) with a higher guaranteed amount to offset the lower AAV. His yearly CAP hit is an even 6M and does not break the bank. 59.2M left in CAP room.
The 3 moves of Gilmore, Jfferson, and Fuller (hopefully to FS) really go a long way to shore up the secondary.
3. Going out on a limb here to suggest we target Jermaine Greshem who spurned us last year. I am thinking he will hopefully see
that the Cards have to many of their own to resign and will accept decent money to come to us as a bridge TE to pair with Miller for
another 2 years. We give him the rumored 4/23M with 11M guaranteed. An annual CAP hit of 5.75M brings our total to 51.5M left.
4. Sign WR Vincent Jackson to a 1 year 4M contract. He has a lot of mileage and suffered a serious ACL injury that did npt require
surgery but IR. He has had his payday and may just want a one or two year prove it contract. Decent insurance policy against AJ bolting
and a huge receiver with a heralded past. Good for 6-8 targets a game and 4-5 catches. 53.45M left
5. Sign Sylvester Williams to a 2 year 4.5M contract with 2.5M guranteed and poach him from Denver to be our backup NT. He is ok against the run and can occupy a double but has fallen out of favor in Denver and has not had his 5th year option picked up. 51M left in CAP.

Our own FA's we target
1. Sign Alshon Jeffery to a 4 year 52M contract with 30M guaranteed. The other 22M is very incentive laden with game payed bonuses, etc. AJ has had a rough year but is the only big game threat on the receiving corps and noone is predicting the Bears blow a 1st or 2nd on a WR. This contract represents big money for Pace but is a trade off as he shaves off at least 2M on the yearly AAV. AJ gets almost as much guaranteed as if he would have signed a 5/65M contract. 1st year CAP hit is 12M.
39M left in CAP space.
2. Sign Matt Barkley to a 2 year 4M contract with 2M guaranteed. He is a quality backup at worst and can go into training camp with a shot to compete with whoever the Bears draft for the starting QB role. 37M left in CAP space.
3. Sign Corny Washington to a 2 year 4M with 2M guaranteed. He has shown an ability to rush and be disruptive. He can be a very solid
rotational DE. 35M left in CAP space.
4. Sam Acho is an ok OLB and can rotate on possibly 30-40% of the snaps. He gets a 2 year 3M contract with 1M guaranteed.
34M left in CAP space.
5. Sign Brandon Boykin to a 1 year 1M with 500K guaranteed prove it deal to see if he can crack the secondary rotation. 33.5M left in CAP.
6. Sign Deonte Thompson to a 1 year 1M with 500K guaranteed prove it deal to see if he sticks as a special teamer and WR rotation receiver. 33M left in CAP space.
7. Tackle Mike Adams can be given a 1 year 500K contract to prove his worth as a swing tackle. No CAP hit.
8. Guard Eric Kusk can be given a one year 750K with 500K guaranteed. 32.5M left in CAP.

2017 Draft:

I will immediately put out this koolaid disclaimer that this is the most far fetched and unrealistic of draft scenarios. The football Gods
would literally have to bless us with unparalleled luck and all the chips would have to fall our way for this to happen. Literally throwing
shit at the wall to see what sticks.

*** Round 1 tradedown *** We get extremely lucky and Jacksonville wins one of their last 2 remaining games and we secure the 3rd spot based on SOS (Strength of Schedule). We convince the Browns clueless FO that their rebuild options are much better with 2 top 3 picks. So we trade our 3rd overall (2200 points value) plus a conditional 2018 4th (worth between 100-110) points for the following picks:

1-9 Worth 1350
2-1 Worth 580
2-17 Worth 410

Worth 2340 total

Now we are ready to supplement and build upon FA with the following picks:

1-9: We pick Deshone Kizer from ND as our future franchise QB. He is 6.4 and weighs 235. He has been rated as high as a top 3 and as low as a high second. Kizer is capable of making beautiful touch passes with superb accuracy and ball placement while being under fire from the pass rush. His field vision is very good as he moves his eyes through his progressions, even with defenders bearing down on him. Additionally, Kizer has the arm strength to make all the throws and beat good coverage. He consistently shows the ability to drop in accurate touch passes downfield and the mobility to make plays with his feet. Kizer is an excellent pocket passer.

2-1: We pick O.J. Howard from Alabama as our future franchise TE. He is 6.6 and weighs 250. For the NFL, Howard has mismatch potential as a receiving target, but Alabama doesn't give him enough opportunities. Sources say that Howard can be a sloppy route-runner and needs to improve his blocking, but he is an intriguing athlete who could be dynamic receiving tight end and worth an investment at the top of the 2nd round.

2-3: We pick Ryan Rumczyk from Wisconsin as a sturdy geit warrior at LT. He is 6.6 and 300 and needs to put on weight. Ramcyzk has a lot of good qualities that could lead to him being a starting left tackle in the NFL. He is quick out his stance, fast to hit blocks in the
second level, and is able to get in position for blocks in space. In pass protection, he can play the type writer with his feet and
shuffle with rushers. Ramcyzk gets depth in his drop as well. Sometimes though, he can be slow to react and adjust to counter pass-rush
moves. Ramcyzk also needs to add more strength. He can get bull rushed and pushed back by rushers. His frame doesn't look maxed out,
however, and he should get stronger in a NFL strength and conditioning program. He can be looked at as a potential replacement to either
Leno or Massie, but the jury is out on whether he has all the right attributes physically to succeed at LT in the NFL.

2-17: We pick Cordrea Tankersley as a CB from Clemson which is one of the best defensive programs in NCAA D1. He is 6.1 and weighs 195. In 2015 Tankersley showed impressive ball skills with five interceptions and nine passes broken up on the year. He also had 48 tackles. While Tankersley played well, teams did throw at him more than Alexander. Tankersley has the size and coverage skills to be a starting corner on the outside in the NFL. Scouting sources say they view Tankersley as a first-round talent but with so much depth in this year's draft at DB I think he could be a nice sleeper until the 2nd round and a steal for us.

3-3: We pick Ryan Anderson as he drops from the late 2nd in some mock to us. He is 6.2 and weighs 255. I think he can transition easily
to a 3-4 OLB from a traditional OLB. Anderson is up to a total of 51 tackles with 17 for a loss, eight sacks, two passes broken up and
three forced fumbles on the season. He had impressive games with excellent pass-rushing contributions against USC, Ole Miss and many
other games. Some mocks have him with excellent "diamond in the rough" upside that should flourish in a solid NFL defensive program.
I think Fangio can get the best out of this kid.

4-3: We pick Noah Brown from Ohio State at WR. He is 6.2 and weighs 218. He complete the trinity of 6.2 and over receivers with AJ and
White. He runs a 4.49 40 which is not blazing but good. NCAA sources say that Brown has a lot of talent and upside. They have been
impressed watching him in practice. Brown could have a breakout year anytime if Ohio State gives him enough targets. This season,
Brown has 30 receptions for 385 yards and seven touchdowns. He had four of those scores against Oklahoma and was impressive against
the Sooners' top cornerback, Jordan Thomas. Brown has a nice skill set with quickness to go with size.

5-3: We pick Jarron Jones from ND as our backup or future rotational NT. He is 6.5 and weighs 315. He is a concern to drop because of
his 2015 MCL tear which kept him out all year. Jones recorded 45 tackles with 11 for a loss, two sacks, three passes batted and one
forced fumble in 2016, but was more active for Notre Dame than the numbers illustrate. Jones is a disruptive defender who makes plays
in the backfield in the ground game as well as puts heat on the quarterback. He has versatile size for a 3-4 or 4-3 defense. His stock
could really rise in the leadup to the 2017 NFL Draft. My hope is that the MCL concerns will drop him to the early 5th where we snag
him as another day 3 steal.

7-3: We pick Adam Griffith from Alabama as our kicker to replace Barf. Griffith is 19-of-26 this season with a long of 48 yards. He is
2-of-6 in the 40-yard range. Enough said.

UDFA's I will save for another day.

It's all good JABF. I really enjoyed drinking the koolaid and throwing crap at the wall.