Post by mpbears68 on Feb 6, 2024 9:54:31 GMT -6
I'm not down on Brax overall, just pointing out he had a mildly disappointing 2023 as did Nate Davis and you'd like to see both bounce back in 2024 before making any commitments.
I agree that WR or maybe Bowers is the bigger target and need with that 2nd 1st round pick and I kinda hope the top LTs go beforehand to push a WR down. Way too soon to know how the top-10 is gonna shake out. Guys will shoot up and fall down as combine and pro-day hype gets going.
Remember last year when that Northwestern DT (AA) blew up the combine and suddenly he was being touted as as a surefire 2nd round (or even late-1st round) pick? Yeah, well he ended up lasting all the way till the 4th round!
Similar thing with JPJ right now in my mind. Read some hype saying he's going in the 1st. Ok....maybe, but Cs rarely get drafted that high. There's been a few but it's rare and JPJ has only 1 year starting experience at C in college. I doubt he will go in the 1st by the time all the hype settles down in April. Bears should have a shot at him if they can wrestle a 2nd round pick away from someone in trade for Fields.
Regarding Braxton Jones, I'll say for the zillionth time - I like the guy and am glad we have him - but he is still (very much) a work-in-progress. The guy needs to grind and learn and get better. I think he will get better. I'm just not one to see these guys as either perfect or trash. They (especially young OL) are usually guys who make a lot of mistakes as they learn the game at the NFL level. Brax is a poster boy for this. Wright too for that matter.
Leno was a late round "surprise" find at LT. He was never an elite player but earned a 2nd contract by being a solid starter at a hard-to-fill-position and being very durable. Lot of us, me included, were surprised when Bears let him go and it proved to be a mistake. He's been a solid player for Washington. You'd like to have a Pro-Bowler at every position but that's not realistic.
So, if Brax can play 15+ games next year and bounce back, he will make himself a nice living in the NFL. If you can be a solid mid-range starter at LT and stay healthy, you're gonna make big bucks. There just aren't enough of them.
