We can get C in FA imo, and draft other one in 3 rd round. Go for pricier positions in draft
More and more I am thinking this is our best move at center. You really don't want a rookie center starting for a rookie QB1. Bring in the best veteran C you can get in FA, and draft one of the top centers in this draft (I guarantee you one will fall to us in that 3rd round) and let the youngster learn - and provide quality backup if necessary if the vet gets injured. But don't start a rookie C game-1 and have him for 17 games with your rookie QB1. That's just less than ideal.
If we also keep Fields, he can teach the new QB the finer points of running for your life behind a crappy C
More and more I am thinking this is our best move at center. You really don't want a rookie center starting for a rookie QB1. Bring in the best veteran C you can get in FA, and draft one of the top centers in this draft (I guarantee you one will fall to us in that 3rd round) and let the youngster learn - and provide quality backup if necessary if the vet gets injured. But don't start a rookie C game-1 and have him for 17 games with your rookie QB1. That's just less than ideal.
If we also keep Fields, he can teach the new QB the finer points of running for your life behind a crappy C
LOL. But seriously, I 100% figure the Bears will get a solid C in place this year. It is a good year to get one in the draft. And I'll bet there will be a good one in FA (for a bridge guy) too. This (thankfully) is an easy fix for the Bears this year. It seems like a great year for WRs too.
I am with JABF on this. I don’t want to just grab a guy like Kramer in third round, and Lorin Cox says that once Poles pays Johnson, there won’t be much to spend on free agents. Powers-Johnson is probably going first round for a reason. He’s looking like a plug-and-play solid starter. That’s what we finally need at center. Get the problem fixed. Stop dinking around looking for a lucky, cheap solution.
This draft has at least 4 centers who look special. Usually you don't see the first C go in the draft until the 2nd round. I feel pretty good about getting a C with our 3rd round pick in THIS particular draft. Some years it is lean for talented centers but not this year. Perfect year for the Bears I think. If they get a 2nd round pick and the top C is there, then sure, draft him. But I do believe the top 4 C's in this draft are on the "special" talent-tier THIS year.
I don’t believe that. Why is Powers-Johnson getting mocked all over the place in the first round and none of your other three? Reports were that he was dominant at the Senior Bowl. Scouting reports say he’s versatile and could also play guard. Bottom line: I believe if you wait to third round, you’re getting second best — not the cream of the crop.
If we also keep Fields, he can teach the new QB the finer points of running for your life behind a crappy C
LOL. But seriously, I 100% figure the Bears will get a solid C in place this year. It is a good year to get one in the draft. And I'll bet there will be a good one in FA (for a bridge guy) too. This (thankfully) is an easy fix for the Bears this year. It seems like a great year for WRs too.
I do like the vet C and drafted C scenario. I'd like to get one in the 2nd (assuming that would get us a better one than the 3rd). I really want a stud (not the wooden kind that you just step around like we have now) at that position. We need a good line that will provide time. No matter who the QB is, or we will have more sub par QB games next year.
This draft has at least 4 centers who look special. Usually you don't see the first C go in the draft until the 2nd round. I feel pretty good about getting a C with our 3rd round pick in THIS particular draft. Some years it is lean for talented centers but not this year. Perfect year for the Bears I think. If they get a 2nd round pick and the top C is there, then sure, draft him. But I do believe the top 4 C's in this draft are on the "special" talent-tier THIS year.
I don’t believe that. Why is Powers-Johnson getting mocked all over the place in the first round and none of your other three? Reports were that he was dominant at the Senior Bowl. Scouting reports say he’s versatile and could also play guard. Bottom line: I believe if you wait to third round, you’re getting second best — not the cream of the crop.
These guys get hyped like this and often the best C is not the hyped guy. Personally, I like Zach Frazier more than Johnson. And I would take Van Pran over him in a heartbeat. In fact, Van Pran would be a perfect fit for our outside zone blocking offense. If it were my pick I would NOT draft Johnson first over those other two guys. But that's just me, David. Frazier is a stud for sure. The next 3 guys, Limmer, Nugent & Haynesworth are not far behind the top-3 guys but would need time (I think) to develop. My point is that the "cream of the crop" at C is probably NOT Johnson... but he is obviously good and getting hyped by the sports talking-heads now.
I am with JABF on this. I don’t want to just grab a guy like Kramer in third round, and Lorin Cox says that once Poles pays Johnson, there won’t be much to spend on free agents. Powers-Johnson is probably going first round for a reason. He’s looking like a plug-and-play solid starter. That’s what we finally need at center. Get the problem fixed. Stop dinking around looking for a lucky, cheap solution.
This draft has at least 4 centers who look special. Usually you don't see the first C go in the draft until the 2nd round. I feel pretty good about getting a C with our 3rd round pick in THIS particular draft. Some years it is lean for talented centers but not this year. Perfect year for the Bears I think. If they get a 2nd round pick and the top C is there, then sure, draft him. But I do believe the top 4 C's in this draft are on the "special" talent-tier THIS year.
I was kind of curious about that bolded portion so I did some quick digging. Using Pro Football Reference, I counted 6 centers drafted in the first round going back to the 2014 draft (2 in 2018). That doesn't include any OL that were maybe listed as something else but moved to C. (i.e. Tyler Linderbaum was listed on the PFR site simply as OL, drafted at pick 25 and now plays as a center) So, 5 out of 10 years, there was a true center drafted in the first round. 6 out of 10 if you include Linderbaum and probably higher yet once you figure out what other guards or tackles may have been moved to center. So, we're looking at a center being drafted in the first round at least 60% of the time, likely more. I'm not necessarily advocating that we do it, but I wouldn't personally be too upset if we did and it wouldn't be a crazy outlier or anything.
We can get C in FA imo, and draft other one in 3 rd round. Go for pricier positions in draft
I am with JABF on this. I don’t want to just grab a guy like Kramer in third round, and Lorin Cox says that once Poles pays Johnson, there won’t be much to spend on free agents. Powers-Johnson is probably going first round for a reason. He’s looking like a plug-and-play solid starter. That’s what we finally need at center. Get the problem fixed. Stop dinking around looking for a lucky, cheap solution.
Im not sure what Lorin Cox is saying, but I can tell you how it is. As of now we have 48 mil of cap space. If we cut Jackson and Whitehair we get another 22 mil, which brings us to 70 mil. Draft signings will cost us about 15 mil and Johnson 20.
So, as it looks right now we will have 35 mil available for FA.
This draft has at least 4 centers who look special. Usually you don't see the first C go in the draft until the 2nd round. I feel pretty good about getting a C with our 3rd round pick in THIS particular draft. Some years it is lean for talented centers but not this year. Perfect year for the Bears I think. If they get a 2nd round pick and the top C is there, then sure, draft him. But I do believe the top 4 C's in this draft are on the "special" talent-tier THIS year.
I was kind of curious about that bolded portion so I did some quick digging. Using Pro Football Reference, I counted 6 centers drafted in the first round going back to the 2014 draft (2 in 2018). That doesn't include any OL that were maybe listed as something else but moved to C. (i.e. Tyler Linderbaum was listed on the PFR site simply as OL, drafted at pick 25 and now plays as a center) So, 5 out of 10 years, there was a true center drafted in the first round. 6 out of 10 if you include Linderbaum and probably higher yet once you figure out what other guards or tackles may have been moved to center. So, we're looking at a center being drafted in the first round at least 60% of the time, likely more. I'm not necessarily advocating that we do it, but I wouldn't personally be too upset if we did and it wouldn't be a crazy outlier or anything.
I guess my point is that drafting a C is not like drafting a QB1, or for that matter a LT. So in the most recent 10 seasons 4 didn't have ANY centers go in the 1st. That seems reasonable... I honestly didn't go through the drafts year by year and was going by memory only (not too good at my age). But my main point is that you can get a great a great C outside of the first round. Olin was a 3rd rounder. Hilgy has been nominated for the Hall of Fame, and one of the greatest Bears in their history (he was undrafted). Bears' C, Trafton was never drafted and is in the Hall of Fame. Heck, future Hall of Famer Jason Kelce was a 6th rounder. This is a good year to draft a C. There are some good ones on that top tier of talent.
I don’t believe that. Why is Powers-Johnson getting mocked all over the place in the first round and none of your other three? Reports were that he was dominant at the Senior Bowl. Scouting reports say he’s versatile and could also play guard. Bottom line: I believe if you wait to third round, you’re getting second best — not the cream of the crop.
These guys get hyped like this and often the best C is not the hyped guy. Personally, I like Zach Frazier more than Johnson. And I would take Van Pran over him in a heartbeat. In fact, Van Pran would be a perfect fit for our outside zone blocking offense. If it were my pick I would NOT draft Johnson first over those other two guys. But that's just me, David. Frazier is a stud for sure. The next 3 guys, Limmer, Nugent & Haynesworth are not far behind the top-3 guys but would need time (I think) to develop. My point is that the "cream of the crop" at C is probably NOT Johnson... but he is obviously good and getting hyped by the sports talking-heads now.
On the consensus Big Board, Powers-Johnson is projected to go #20 in the first round, and rates as the 31st top player overall in this draft. Frazier is #52 and Van Pran #73. Of the three, I admit Powers-Johnson is the only one I’ve seen, and I can testify that he has great raw power. He’d be a huge asset in the running game.
playing around with the sacred chart, I’d offer Bengals #9 for #18 and their second round pick we could use for a WR. We would get two solid starters at much need positions out of #9.
These guys get hyped like this and often the best C is not the hyped guy. Personally, I like Zach Frazier more than Johnson. And I would take Van Pran over him in a heartbeat. In fact, Van Pran would be a perfect fit for our outside zone blocking offense. If it were my pick I would NOT draft Johnson first over those other two guys. But that's just me, David. Frazier is a stud for sure. The next 3 guys, Limmer, Nugent & Haynesworth are not far behind the top-3 guys but would need time (I think) to develop. My point is that the "cream of the crop" at C is probably NOT Johnson... but he is obviously good and getting hyped by the sports talking-heads now.
On the consensus Big Board, Powers-Johnson is projected to go #20 in the first round, and rates as the 31st top player overall in this draft. Frazier is #52 and Van Pran #73. Of the three, I admit Powers-Johnson is the only one I’ve seen, and I can testify that he has great raw power. He’d be a huge asset in the running game.
playing around with the sacred chart, I’d offer Bengals #9 for #18 and their second round pick we could use for a WR. We would get two solid starters at much need positions out of #9.
David I'm a weird one because I don't go by anyone's "big board" other than my own :-)
And while I realize it is a one in a million shot, I am still hoping we keep Fields, do a tiny trade down that allows us to nab Marvin Harrison Jr, and then Newton. If we have procured a 2nd round pick - then by all means go C with that. I think all three of the top centers will be studs. I would be thrilled with Johnson, but my personal favorite is Frazier.
