About a B+


http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/fo ... story.html



Chicago Tribune staffContact Reporter
The Bears generally received high marks for their 2016 draft class, though not all evaluators were sold on first-round pick Leonard Floyd or the Bears' decision to trade up to get him.

Still, most reviews rewarded them for their later picks, and they averaged about a B+ among 20 grades.

USA Today: B+

"The Bears did a good job addressing their many needs, especially with their first-rounder, Georgia LB Leonard Floyd, who fits the profile of the type of pass rusher coach John Fox loves to coach."


Pro Football Focus: A-

"A first-round talent on our draft board, (Cody) Whitehair was the top-graded offensive tackle in the nation in 2015, and he can play any of the offensive line positions with his strong hands."

WalterFootball.com: B

"They found a quality pass-rusher in Leonard Floyd, but moved up to do so. ... Fortunately for the Bears, the rest of their haul was mostly strong. Cody Whitehair and Jonathan Bullard were excellent values on Day 2."

CBS Sports (Pete Prisco): A

"(This draft) will be defined by what (Leonard) Floyd becomes, but the rest of the draft was loaded with really good players. (Jonathan) Bullard will become the best player of the group."

Sports Illustrated: B

"The Bears may have reached a tad for Floyd unless they can turn him into an NFL-level pass rusher, but there’s not much to argue with otherwise."

ESPN (Mel Kiper): A-

"I have some concerns about Chicago's first-round pick, but the Bears made a bunch of good picks thereafter, so it's hard to call this anything but a really good class."

FoxSports.com: B+

"Pace and college scouting director Joe Douglas did the work on this one, identifying players that not only fulfill needs but could be seen as the best players on the board."

NESN: B-

The Bears upgraded their offensive line and added much-needed pass rushing with Georgia defensive end Leonard Floyd at No. 9 overall.

Washington Post: B+

"The Bears added likely immediate contributors in first-round LB Leonard Floyd and second-round G/T Cody Whitehair. "

Rotoworld.com: A-

"In addition to reeling off consistent value picks, Pace attacked needy areas on his roster and stockpiled quality football players who were productive in college. ... After having only six picks in his first draft, I think sophomore GM Pace hit a homerun here."

Yahoo Sports: B+

"Other than the Floyd pick, this class is good -- but it's also flecked with disappointment beneath the surface. The Bears tried in vain to land a quarterback several times, and getting jumped by the Packers for Indiana OT Jason Spriggs was a blow."

Cleveland.com (Chris Fedor): A

"I wouldn't be surprised to see the Bears get six future starters (Floyd, Cody Whitehair, Jonathan Bullard, Nick Kwiatkoski, Deon Bush and Jordan Howard) from this class. It's where Chicago's turnaround will start."

Bleacher Report: B

"No. 9 seems a bit high for Leonard Floyd, but nobody can argue the fit or need. Cody Whitehair is a steal."

NFL.com (Chad Reuter): B

"Chicago needed a pass rusher in the worst way, and Vic Fangio found one in Floyd. Not everyone is sold on his ability to be an elite player, however."

SB Nation (Dan Kadar): B+

"There was some talk about Bullard being a first-round pick, so getting him in the middle of the third round was one of the bigger steals of the weekend."

Kansas City Star: A

"Nice draft for the Bears, who moved up to nab Floyd, a gifted 3-4 defensive end who is a bit underpowered but plays with fire and has plus ahtleticism."

Sporting News: A

"(Deiondre') Hall and (DeAndre) Houston-Carson, two of SN's small-school sleepers will have impact in the secondary."

New York Daily News: B-

"The Bears leapfrogged the Giants to get coveted linebacker Leonard Floyd of Georgia, and they may have done Big Blue a favor: Floyd, while athletically gifted, is far from a sure thing, a player who could be the next Simeon Rice or the next Barkevious Mingo."

Sports Xchange: A-

"No team did more with less during the first two days of the draft than the Bears, who aggressively moved up to acquire the most explosive edge rusher in the draft in Leonard Floyd, nabbed one of the toughest and most versatile offensive lineman in the country in four-year starter Cody Whitehair in the second and scooped up run-stuffing base end Jonathan Bullard -- who will prove a steal -- in the third."

New York Post: B

"Threw everyone — but especially the Giants — a curveball by swooping into the top 10 to take Georgia outside linebacker Leonard Floyd, who needs to add some bulk before making a big impact."

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Why do people pay attention to Pro Football Focus?

Remember when Long could play any position on the OL coming out of college?

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Hub wrote about it in the DH. He said most of the Bears picks were best player available, meaning they got guys at a place below their pre-draft consensus ranking.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

I don't like how they handled the first 2 rounds.

I'm OK with what they did later. They potentially filled out a lot of depth which needs to be done. I just wish they'd gotten more with their first 2 picks and they could have but went with a defensive specialist that needs time who is already 24 and a guard when they could have gotten a talented LT and a solid DT to anchor both lines for years.

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https://twitter.com/DrKenCast

You can't really give them a good grade on this draft with what happened to them when the Packers stole their guy after he got way too cute with trying to get an extra guy who probably sucks.

I mean, even if the guy he picked ends up alright he didn't get his first choice by his own stupidity.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Pretty good article about the position battles for next year.

http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/competition-matters-a-look-at-bears-roster-battles-after-draft/




Last chance? When was his first chance? They've never let the guy take a snap.

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https://twitter.com/DrKenCast

Always good to tell me a draft will be evaluated by the performance on the field of the 1st rd pick....which is about as weak of a statement as an analyst could make.

If you gave me 7 guys that play regularily and contribute to a winning team, a busted first rd pick, can still be part of a very good draft.

Tell me Howard becomes the primary runner, Whitehair starts, Bush and Hall become everydown guys, Bullard gets real time, thats a good draft. Allows you to spend the big money on a single player each year. Its when you need to pay Rolle and Porter, $3 mill to make your team NFL ready that hurts.

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

I know a lot of people on this board have been bitching and moaning about Pace and his drafts, but I can't really complain with much of anything that he has done. In his two drafts, he has gone for a 1st round pick with the highest upside, then takes value the rest of the draft. He was able to put together a coaching staff that is respectable, even if you think Fox is a playoff choker. Hasn't blown his load in FA. Has been doing a good job adding quality depth to the roster and providing balance.

Nothing he has done is earth shattering, but he seems to have a pragmatic approach to the GM role and seems refreshing compared to Emery and the end of Angelo's tenure. I expect to see a steady in the Bears competitiveness year over year. He and Fox may not be the ones to bring a Superbowl, but I feel that making the playoffs regularly will happen with his approach.

I will say that Pace does seem to have a plan or generally strategy for team building.

The biggest issue I had with the Lovie era is that the GMs were drafting specifically to find guys to fit Lovie's system exclusively. It made for a haphazard process of team-building. To the point of drafting 10 safeties per year because they never could find a guy with the specific skills.

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https://twitter.com/DrKenCast

Pace would never do that.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I-L-L...

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His mind is not for rent to any God or government.

He has a history of making safe, middle of the road moves for players that the pre-draft projections can easily justify in the days immediately after the draft. He reached for Floyd when two other special players were there and does nothing in free agency. I liked Floyd before the draft, but there is no f-ing way I can fathom moving up when Tunsil or Lynch were there for the taking at 11. Unless he doesn't have the autonomy a good GM has, or he's still working on proving he's qualified for the job.

Whatever people see in Adrian Amos or Eddie Goldman, I don't. At all. I really I don't see them as anything more than the milquetoast guys that the Saints have brought in/drafted since 2010. No thanks.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

I don't know how this is going to work out with Lovie. It's going to be interesting. I wasn't Lovie's biggest fan toward the end but he's a smart guy and a good football coach and those are 2 things that have been lacking in the program since Mackovic.

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https://twitter.com/DrKenCast

I see a mix of taking the best player available and also drafting the most athletic. Drafting the most athletic is dangerous is it doesn't always translate to good play on the field. But...it does make them younger and faster which does help.

Hard to say it this point, but I wouldn't give them higher than a B. They missed on Tunsil....they should have stole him at 11 and been thrilled.

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I'm already penciling in Floyd at TE if turns out to be Shea 2.0 at pass rushing.

And Whitehair is already practicing snapping.

i wonder if internally have they already written off grassu as a bust?

I believe he played some center in college. Nothing wrong with having flexibility on the line. Bears are taking a page out of Theo's book.

Bears probably have him 3rd string after Grassu and Ramirez.

I still cant believe that they passed on drafting Tunsil.