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Jordyruns

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1st round has to be a playmaker on defense at any position except olb, because we drafted perry last year and already have Matthews and, ss because Burnett has shown enough this year where he should be a very effective starter next season. I don't care what position ( besides those two) as long as it is on defense and BPA.

Oh and to not resign Walden, that's a big need as well.
 
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HyponGrey

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1st round has to be a playmaker on defense at any position except olb, because we drafted perry last year and already have Matthews and, ss because Burnett has shown enough this year where he should be a very effective starter next season. I don't care what position ( besides those two) as long as it is on defense and BPA.

Oh and to not resign Walden, that's a big need as well.
I'll add ILB, because he won't see the field.
 

Jordyruns

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I'll add ILB, because he won't see the field.

I would agree with you that we already have 2 very strong ILB on the roster with Smith and Jones as more then capable backups, but a play making ILB would not hurt. We already use a ton of LB for many of our schemes, I hope Capers is fired but many 3-4 schemes use LB in an abundance so it's not like he would never see the field. There would be a training camp battle and as a result one of a possible group of 3 very solid ILB would not see the field all the time, but they would still be involved in many plays.

Besides that idk a strong hitting ILB who maybe can cover a little better than Bishop or Hawk intrigues me.

A top CB would be viewed as a poor pick for that same reason, but I dont feel TT should pass up on an ILB or CB if they are his highest graded player left on the board. OLB and SS are exceptions imo. (as a side note on my previous post I failed to mention how SS is an exception not just because of Burnett but also because of McMillan's excellent play as a back-up)
 
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HyponGrey

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I would agree with you that we already have 2 very strong ILB on the roster with Smith and Jones as more then capable backups, but a play making ILB would not hurt. We already use a ton of LB for many of our schemes, I hope Capers is fired but many 3-4 schemes use LB in an abundance so it's not like he would never see the field. There would be a training camp battle and as a result one of a possible group of 3 very solid ILB would not see the field all the time, but they would still be involved in many plays.

Besides that idk a strong hitting ILB who maybe can cover a little better than Bishop or Hawk intrigues me.

A top CB would be viewed as a poor pick for that same reason, but I dont feel TT should pass up on an ILB or CB if they are his highest graded player left on the board. OLB and SS are exceptions imo. (as a side note on my previous post I failed to mention how SS is an exception not just because of Burnett but also because of McMillan's excellent play as a back-up)
Remembered that we can cut Hawk after this year, ILB is fine. I think I still prefer the way we have it now, one run, one cover ILB
 

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A lot of good thoughts in this thread, but I thought I would add this:

Jennings is gone. Vincent Jackson got 5yrs and $50million last year, which prices us well out of the Jennings sweepstakes. He's made comments recently that heavily hint that he will not take a home-team discount to stay.

Our #1 draft need is nose tackle. Before everything else, including center. Pickett is older and Raji will be seeing free agency in a year or so and some team will probably pay him a boatload of money. We have to give Matthews a healthy payraise and then send a few C-130s filled with cash off to ARod. It's not strictly a matter of salary cap, but also sheer cash. Either way, my gut tells me that Raji will be gone. Which is a shame, because I think he's a fun guy.
 
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A lot of good thoughts in this thread, but I thought I would add this:

Jennings is gone. Vincent Jackson got 5yrs and $50million last year, which prices us well out of the Jennings sweepstakes. He's made comments recently that heavily hint that he will not take a home-team discount to stay.

Our #1 draft need is nose tackle. Before everything else, including center. Pickett is older and Raji will be seeing free agency in a year or so and some team will probably pay him a boatload of money. We have to give Matthews a healthy payraise and then send a few C-130s filled with cash off to ARod. It's not strictly a matter of salary cap, but also sheer cash. Either way, my gut tells me that Raji will be gone. Which is a shame, because I think he's a fun guy.

Jennings is gone.

He's best out of the slot, where Cobb plays. When Jennings came back from injury, Cobb's targets dropped like a rock. It's not about whether we can pay him a modest discount, considered in vacuum. It's more a case of a redundancy in life under the cap. I wouldn't be sure that we've even made him an offer. This looks like Cullen Jenkins redux. And the groundwork was laid when we drafted Cobb in the first place...a decision 2 years in the making.
 

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His home in GB is for sale, I've heard. No, I'm not being sardonic.

I have no problem with GJ leaving. However, we do need to reload the WR pool with a draft pick.
 
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HardRightEdge

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His home in GB is for sale, I've heard. No, I'm not being sardonic.

I have no problem with GJ leaving. However, we do need to reload the WR pool with a draft pick.

We will need depth at WR with Jennings gone, but what kind of pick gets spent is as much a function of what happens with Finley and what is done at TE scheme-wise. Finley plays split out half the time, and we have 3 WRs that range from decent to outstanding in a good mix of wide and slot, so there's not a lot of urgency for a WR if he's still around.

If Finley's gone and we pick up a less dynamic guy who's more a block/catch mix to beef up the run game, I could see us going higher for a WR. The passing scheme turned less TE-centric compared to past years when Finley was on the field. If Finley sticks and they work him back into a more prominent role in the offense, then a lower WR pick would be the more likely outcome.

In any case, I think we need a speed guy on the edge who can stretch the field forcing those troublesome cover 2 safeties to take a step or two back. A developmental guy like Cory Fuller could be interesting...6'2 track man who's not played a lot of football with a low pick in the "Finley sticks" scenario.
 
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I'd like for us to get a kicker late in the draft or as an undrafted guy .... have him compete with Mason.
Get a Nose Tackle and a Pass Rushing DE - a Fast coverage safety - a beefy OLB to take Walden's spot as the rotational backup guy. Best OT/OG prospect in the middle of the draft - a WR at some point.

Roll with Cedric and Dujuan as the stop gap combo for 2013 - draft a HB in 2014.
 

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This probably doesn't belong here but doesn't deserve its own thread. I heard part of a conversation on "Bears" radio this morning. They were talking to Rob from CBS Sportsline (Rob Rang I assume) and of course they were talking about the needs of the Bears. Rob said this draft is really deep on both lines with the exception of OC where there's very little depth after the "top guys". The Bears need a LT and Rob said they could get one in the first two rounds and maybe even in the third round. I'm assuming he's not talking about a developmental guy but a guy that could come in and start. I've heard others say this draft is deep in the OL and DL, but does anyone here have a handle on how many LTs are available as Rob described? Clifton was drafted in the second round and started as a rookie so it's not unheard of, but that's definitely the exception and not the rule IMO. I'm hoping for a defender in the first round but if the Packers could pick up a viable LT candidate in the second or third round I hope they do, in spite of having spent 2 first rounders on OTs in 2 of the last 3 drafts.
 
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HardRightEdge

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This probably doesn't belong here but doesn't deserve its own thread. I heard part of a conversation on "Bears" radio this morning. They were talking to Rob from CBS Sportsline (Rob Rang I assume) and of course they were talking about the needs of the Bears. Rob said this draft is really deep on both lines with the exception of OC where there's very little depth after the "top guys". The Bears need a LT and Rob said they could get one in the first two rounds and maybe even in the third round. I'm assuming he's not talking about a developmental guy but a guy that could come in and start. I've heard others say this draft is deep in the OL and DL, but does anyone here have a handle on how many LTs are available as Rob described? Clifton was drafted in the second round and started as a rookie so it's not unheard of, but that's definitely the exception and not the rule IMO. I'm hoping for a defender in the first round but if the Packers could pick up a viable LT candidate in the second or third round I hope they do, in spite of having spent 2 first rounders on OTs in 2 of the last 3 drafts.

Of course, jack, these kinds of rankings, being opinions, are like a**holes...everybody has one, even if the "professional" lists are remarkably similar. :coffee: (That's a picture of a professional draft tout googling what the other guys are saying.) Presumably, they've looked at tons of film, but that's just a presumption.

So I'll just throw out a couple of examples:

(1) http://www.nfl.com/draft/2013/tracker#dt-tabs:dt-by-position/dt-by-position-input:ol

An nfl.com grade of 85-100 ranges from "immediate starter" to "future HOFer". There are 4 guys in this group. Given the value placed on the LT position, the consensus of mocks have all these guys off the board in the 1st round, with a good chance they'll be gone by #26.

A grade of 70-84 is indicated to be an "eventual starter", which is a conservative way of viewing it. There are 8 guys in this group. While some of these guys are projected at RT, and some might even end up at G, Rang is probably thinking about one these guys for the Bears in the 2nd round (#50). Pick the right guy and "eventual" could mean immediately after preseason; the law of averages says most will struggle at game 1, play 1 at LT. Keep in mind that starting at OT for the Bears is not a high hurdle. Rang is probably thinking they'll find their Urlacher replacement in the first round.

(2) nfldraftscout.com ranks 12 OTs as potential 3rd. round or higher...pretty much the same guys in roughly the same order as nfl.com. If 1/8 of the picks in the first 3 rounds were OTs (not necessarily LTs), I guess that's a stronger than average class, but not notably so.

http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/probe.php?genpos=OT&draftyear=2013&sortorder=tsxpos&order=ASC

(3) espn.com shows only the top 32 in their rankings unless you want to pay. Again, the same 4 guys in the first round. espn's grades are very generous...everybody in the first round sounds like the second coming, everybody in the second round sounds like a sure-fire immediate starter, etc.

(4) If you google "nfl draft prospect rankings" you'll find a ton of sites, many of uncertain pedigree, who engage in this. And like most endeavors in life, particularly on the interest, there's a lot of group think in an echo chamber. I doubt you'll find much variation from the 12 in the top 3 rounds.

In short, I would not expect the Pack to be able to draft a guy in the 3rd. round who'd be better than Newhouse at game 1, play 1.

As for C, there's never any depth after the top guys. Colleges are not unlike the pros in this respect...if a guy has abundant talent, he gets moved to G or T at some point, unless he's short or has stumpy arms. Otherwise, the high grade C's are as much a fluke of concentrated talent on one team as anything else. Even Konz, last season's consensus first round C pick until he managed only 17 reps at the Combine, ended last season playing at G.
 

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1. Defensive Line - preferably someone that can play nose tackle
2. Safety - I don't completely trust any that we have and our best (Burnett) contract expires after this season.
3. Wide Receiver - J.Jones contract expires after 2013 season and we are losing Driver and Jennings. We need a for sure replacement of one this year and to draft another one in the1st three rounds next year as well.
4. Tight End - Finley has become something of an ongoing experiment. My guess is Thompson wants to get a new guy in place to get experience so he doesn't have to be put in a box next year and feel compelled to cave in to Finley's contract demands after 2013 season.
5. Inside LB - I expect Brad Jones to leave for a decent payday, Hawk is getting on in age for a LB, Bishop & Smith uncertain as to injuries. Manning will play this year.
6. Center - Dietrich-Smith needs a backup and competition.
7. QB - Harrell and Coleman both need competition.
 

Poppa San

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1. Defensive Line - preferably someone that can play nose tackle
2. Safety - I don't completely trust any that we have and our best (Burnett) contract expires after this season.
3. Wide Receiver - J.Jones contract expires after 2013 season and we are losing Driver and Jennings. We need a for sure replacement of one this year and to draft another one in the1st three rounds next year as well.
4. Tight End - Finley has become something of an ongoing experiment. My guess is Thompson wants to get a new guy in place to get experience so he doesn't have to be put in a box next year and feel compelled to cave in to Finley's contract demands after 2013 season.
5. Inside LB - I expect Brad Jones to leave for a decent payday, Hawk is getting on in age for a LB, Bishop & Smith uncertain as to injuries. Manning will play this year.
6. Center - Dietrich-Smith needs a backup and competition.
7. QB - Harrell and Coleman both need competition.
So you are actually satisfied with the RB by committee and who is here as well as the OLB position? Otherwise you pretty much mentioned every position except CB and ST.
 

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So you are actually satisfied with the RB by committee and who is here as well as the OLB position? Otherwise you pretty much mentioned every position except CB and ST.

Actually, I think Benson, Starks & Harris & even possibly Green are all potentially capable of being the #1 back in our offense. RB's by nature have a difficult time staying healthy through a 16 game season. I see no reason to believe that Ball, Lacy, Taylor or any other Rb in this draft would be any different.

McCarthy has always said that players tend to make their biggest jump between their first and second year. We've got two OLB's in this position and one whose contract extension is going to be a major priority. So that means they will want a fourth if they decide not to re-sign Walden or Zombo. It's possible that Lattimore could be that fourth as well. I just do'tthink OLB is a high priority in this draft.

The one position I'm not sure about is LT. Newhouse's contract expires after 2013 and I'm not sure as to how the staff feels about Sherrod, Bulaga and Barclay's future as starters.
 

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