Logic

With the 9th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears select Jared Verse, EDGE, Florida State. After quarterback, the other position on our roster with an absolute glaring, highlighted-in-red, five-alarm need is edge rusher. Montez Sweat did wonders for us last year, but we have absolutely no one beyond him. Enter Jared Verse. His first step, closing speed, relentless energy, bend, and hand usage all point to his being an early impact player off the edge. Like the Houston Texans last year, we hope that selecting a blue chip quarterback and an impact edge rusher with our first two picks will mark a turning point for our franchise and will catapult us into instant contention. **side note: the way this draft has played out so far was not ideal for the Bears. We liked Dallas Turner, who went right before this pick. We also would've had a hard time saying no to Rome Odunze, even though WR is less of a "need" than EDGE, simply because Odunze is higher on our board. Lastly, we would heavily consider trading down for more picks -- we don't have any in the 2nd round and want to build around Caleb Williams -- but trades are not allowed in this mock. Verse isn't a bad consolation prize, though.** @PastaJoe and the New Jersey Just-End-The-Seasons are now on the clock.

You sure that's not just a symptom of watching Mariners baseball?

Morning y'all. I'm a west coaster, so its perdy dang early for me. Just saw that I'm on the clock. Let me fire up a donut and a cup of coffee and I'll make my pick shortly.

Haha. Nope. I just figured "this is a clear April Fool's joke" and it didn't spend much more time on it. Are they amusing?

I totally understand the pick, I liked your reasoning, and I certainly don't have a horse in the race either way, but... I will be gobsmacked if the Commanders pick anyone but Jayden Daniels at 2 when the real draft rolls around. I should probably go find a place to bet real money on it.

With the 1st pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears select Caleb Williams, QB, USC Trojans The hay has been in the barn with this pick since Justin Fields was traded away. With his escapability, quick release, improvisational ability, arm strength, decision making, and general playmaking prowess, Caleb Williams appears to have everything the Bears could want in a franchise quarterback. Boasted an eye-popping 46-to-1 TD/INT ratio in the red zone since 2022. Was arguably the best quarterback in college football in 2023. Williams fits the definition and expectations of a modern NFL quarterback to a T. Phone case pigmentation relative to societal gender expectations and "feeling human emotions sometimes" did not count as negatives in our scouting process, and we believe we finally have our first true franchise quarterback since Sid Luckman. @Alphadawg7 and the Washington Commanders are now on the clock.

Someone nudge me when it's go time. I'll make my pick most expeditiously so that we can get this show on the road. We all know who the Bears are picking anyway. BRBA. Best running back available, baby.

Thanks as always. You know I'm in! 1. Chicago 2.Arizona 3. LA Chargers

You could've saved yourself a lot of time and typing effort in this thread by just saying "I am incapable of being unbiased and level-headed about this issue because it involves a Kansas City Chief, and I am downplaying the seriousness of this misdemeanor criminal offense because the player in question plays for my favorite team. If he played for a different team, my opinion would be different". There. That's the truth. Now you don't have to keep replying any more.

What Reddick has over Huff is that he's been good for a longer period of time. Double digit sacks in four straight seasons. But Huff had a career year last year and seems to be blossoming into an imposing pass rusher himself. As I pointed out in my post, they two players had an identical 22% pass rush win rate last year. As I also pointed out in my thread, Huff had just 1 less sack than Reddick, but on 289 less attempts. That's significant. So yes, I'm suggesting that what Huff became last year may be roughly equal to what Reddick is now. I admit that Reddick has the proven longevity factor that Huff lacks, and perhaps you're insinuating that Huff's 2023 success was a flash in the pan, not likely to be duplicated. Me? I'll take the 25 year old and the 2nd round pick over the 29 year old and the lack of that pick. YMMV.

Though I'm worried about Thomas, I'm fine with the Bills rolling the dice on him if they like what they see. Lord knows that they love supremely athletic physical specimens that they can turn over to their coaching staff for molding. If that's who the Bills want, cool. I'm just saying that height/weight/speed guys with limited collegiate productivity scare me a bit. I'm still studying the college WRs, but so far, I like Xavier Worthy (over 900 yards and 12 TDs as a freshman) and Troy Franklin a lot. I think both would help the Bills stretch the field. I also like Jalen McMillan and Ja'lynn Polk from what I've seen so far. I want explosivity, over-the-top ability, and separation ability, hence the guys I've named. I admit that Thomas has all of those things, and I understand why he seems to be the consensus WR4 in this draft.

As I just saw pointed out on Twitter: Yes, the Jets got 29 year old Reddick, but they LOST 25 year old Bryce Huff who is coming off a career year with 10 sacks. Reddick and Huff had an identical 22% pass rush win rate last year. Huff had one less sack on 289 (!) less rushes. So the Eagles got the younger, arguably equally productive player by signing Huff, then turned around and took advantage of the Jets' sudden need for a pass rusher by trading them the older Reddick and getting a 2nd round pick and $10 million in cap space in return. So the Jets added a good player in Reddick, yes, but its arguably a wash with having lost Huff, but they got older and gave up a premium pick to do it. Howie Roseman win, Joe Douglas loss.

Thomas scares the Bejesus out of me. Height/weight/speed guys who don't break out until junior/senior year are terrifying. I get Denzel Mims with a hint of Terrace Marshall vibes.

Right. And now it's likely to become a big story on ESPN, or at least to be trending on social media, and stoke a whole bunch of unnecessary and unproductive nonsense, time-wasting, and blood pressure raising. And for what? When an immature troll/bully comes around -- even a mentally unstable one -- it's always best to just ignore them.

AB is a truly sad case. It seems clear to me that he is mentally ill. I will not wade into the murky waters of the involvement of brain injuries or CTE in his mental decline or the activation of his latent mental illness, as I am not informed enough about the topic to speak on it. All I know is that he displays classic signs of a handful of mental irregularities. As for Hamlin, I don't blame him for being upset/frustrated, but in my opinion, it's a bad look for him to even sink to AB's level and respond at all. Just let AB's crazy musings draft into the ether. Don't magnify them. Just let it go. AB is like a sixth grader now. He WANTS to get a rise out of you. The only way to play it is to not give him what he wants, and he'll go find someone else to bother.

Thanks Gunner. I always look forward to and enjoy these, and your reasoning is sound throughout. I just can't seem to get excited about AD Mitchell. Maybe it's the tape that doesn't pop off the screen, maybe it's the talk of his taking routes off or having bad body language when he knows he won't be getting the ball in a given play, maybe it's that he's a jack of all trades and master of none. I just...don't look at him and think "now HERE'S a guy that's gonna take the Bills passing game to the next level". Am I wrong? Is there something you can tell me about him or a shine a light on that would make me feel better about his selection? Assuming the board falls how you have it laid out, I'd rather see the Bills trade back, gain a 3rd round pick, and take a different receiver in round 2.

I agree with the overall point of this post. I would argue that TE doesn't belong on a list of "potential jobs available", with Kincaid, Knox, and Morris all in-house and them rarely carrying more than three. I can certainly see an UDFA or two for camp or the practice squad, but that's about it. I'd also be very surprised if they took a QB, and even MORE surprised if that QB beat out Trubisky, given what they're paying him and how much Beane and McD seem to believe in him. Lastly, while I'd love to see three WRs taken, I think two is the sweet spot there. We can assume Diggs, Shakir, Samuel, and Hollins are locks, and I doubt they're ready to give up on Shorter. Even if they ARE ready to give up on Shorter, I don't see room for more than two rookie WRs on the roster. That's all picking nits, though. I agree with you that there are more spots available on this roster than usual, and that I wouldn't be against a larger youth movement. Unfortunately, given his history as head coach thus far, I don't think Sean McDermott necessarily shares our willingness to go so youth-heavy.

No, I'm not. That's why I said "you're right". If that's the linguistic nit you want to pick, you're correct. He has not been solely and exclusively a saint 100% of every day here. I'd still suggest that he has been a good soldier and a good teammate and a great leader far, FAR more often than he's ever been any kind of malcontent. It's not even close. The reputation does not match the reality.

You're right. He yelled at Josh Allen on the sideline one time. Another time, he left the locker room early after a loss in a big game. Cancer. Diva. Trade him for a bag of footballs.

I actually will look that up, because I DO like Greg Cosell, and I currently DON'T like AD Mitchell.

I have never seen MORE chatter for LESS good reason than that regarding Stefon Diggs. He has never -- NEVER -- publicly stated his dissatisfaction or desire to leave the team. Never demanded a trade. Never been anything but an A+ teammate, locker room presence, and team leader. Yes, he's fiery, and he wants the ball. So do all good WRs since the beginning of time. His fire FEEDS this team. Who do you most often see walking up and down the bench, getting in people's faces? That's right. Stefon Diggs. Yes, he could use some public relations classes on answering questions in a way that invites less speculation. Still, I feel most of the narrative that follows Stefon Diggs is completely unwarranted. Where's the endless, breathless speculation over George Pickens? AJ Brown? Garrett Wilson? All three of those guys have expressed more public dissatisfaction with their team, yet they don't get one tenth the coverage and speculation that Diggs gets. It's maddening. I wish everyone would find something else to do and quit creating drama where there is none.

Unless Brian Thomas gets within shouting distance and Beane trades up for him, I actually expect the Bills to take a different position in round 1, followed by a trade-up in round 2 for a WR. I'll say this: Round 2 success rates for WRs are just about as good as Round 1 success rates for WRs the past few years. You can ABSOLUTELY still get a playmaker in round 2. 2023 2nd round WRs who hit: Jayden Reed Rashee Rice (and Tank Dell was taken in the 3rd, and Puka Nacua in the 5th) 2022 2nd round WRs who hit: None. Okay. Bad example. 2021 2nd round WRs who hit: None again. Uh-oh. What's happening? 2020 2nd round WRs who hit: Tee Higgins No one else. Shoot. This is not going well. Ok, so...after doing that exercise, I've changed my mind. I genuinely expected to prove the "2nd round receivers are good, too" point, and the data the past four years said otherwise. WR or bust in round 1! 😅

Nothing says "offensive competence" quite like combining Russell Wilson with Arthur Smith. Add in a dash of angry George Pickens and you have the recipe for some knee-slapping entertainment. Not from the product on the field, mind you, but from the absolutely hilarious level of ineptitude on display. Personally, I'm just happy the Steelers seem pathologically unwilling to try to get a true franchise QB to go with their elite defense. They took a swing with Pickett, it didn't work, and now they're like "give us the ghost of Russell Wilson please". You love to see it.