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Bears, et cetera, brought to you by Miller Light with the voices of the Bears, Jeff Joniac and Tom Thayer.
Well, we hit the tape and crossed the finish line, covering the NFL Draft and the Bears adding weapons that will impact the twenty twenty five Bears season in so many ways, certainly in the locker.
Room and on the field in all three phases.
Welcome into our draft recap on episode one of the Bears et Cetera podcast with Super Bowl winning Bears guard Tom Thayer.
I'm Jeff Jonahak. We're brought to you by Miller Light.
Thanks to our producer Katie Fox for all our help this weekend on tap for this episode, a breakdown of the picks and how they impact roster in depth chart At advance of the mini camp and Ota portion of the offseason program, Tom interesting selections indeed, I know I mentioned depth chart.
That's one thing. There's no depth chart right now.
Well, Dennis Allen said the same thing when we got to meet all the assistant coaches. There's a first team that's going to go out there at practices, but there's not necessarily a depth chart. So you're going to have to earn your way onto that depth chart and then impress the coaches enough that they get an opinion of you so they know exactly where to place you before
the draft started. To me, I just like the fact that all of these scouts, Ryan Poles and his staff, they all have to have a crystal ball because it's not necessarily what can you do for me right now,
but what can you develop into in the future. And so when I look at some of the pieces they brought aboard, I think there's something for everybody here, whether you're an assistant coach like Antoine Randall l or Al Harris, a defensive coordinator like Dennis Allen, or a head coach and the organizer of the offense like Ben Johnson.
We had the Middle Light Chicago Bears Draft party back at Soldier Field on Thursday night.
Tommy.
We celebrated the tenth pick Colston Lovelin and enjoyed the live draft coverage and analysis. There were on field activities, There was the locker room tour, they had a close out sale and more a Tommy.
It was a fun time.
It was all sponsored by Miller Lyte, and I think they got a great taste of what the Bears are building right here.
You know, one thing about that draft party, The biggest thrill to me is when we get to reinterview a guy like Devin Hester, because you and I through the process of his growth and development as a young man to an adult. You can see the change and the confidence and why he was so successful throughout his career.
And I really.
Enjoyed interviewing these guys that come back. But then again we get to interview Roma Doonza for the second year, and you get to see what a mature guy that he is and how he's going to benefit the position, the locker room and everybody at his position and TJ.
Edwards.
But the heck, here's a guy that just got a new contract and extension. That's a Chicago Land guy that belongs in that locker room and on that team. And these lived by example so of all the friendly faces that we get to see out in the crowd. It's really neat to me when we get to reinterview guys and you can see their growth as a person.
Yeah, I got to thank ESPN one thousand with Wataw and Sylvie helping us out as well in the draft party and a part of their coverage as well for some eight hours. It was a labor of love, no question about it. And great job Caitlin Zicko, Bobby Hack for the presentation and help along the way. Paul's Orangler engineer as well did an outstanding job. Lot goes into that for sure for that one night.
All right, let's look at what.
Was addressed as the status and Hollis kicks in here three offensive editions Tommy in the first three picks three of the top fifty six selected in the twenty twenty five draft, and Michigan tight end Coaston Lovelin was first on that list at number ten. The way the draft fell,
the Bears had choices there, a couple tight ends. You had other players at other positions that they could have easily gone in that direction, but they clearly fell in love with this player and introducing himself to us right there on draft night and then getting to sit with him one on one later at Halisa on Friday. I can see why they like this guy. You they'll break down the tape. You look at the player first and
the personality second. What do you see from this almost six foot six, two hundred and fifty pounds tight end?
Yo?
Wwbd? What would Ben do?
I can't help but think the growth of the Detroit Lions and what Ben did there with the personnel that he had under his guidance and how he was able to develop it. This is a young guy, He's big, he still has potential ahead of him. What do you want him on the inline line of scrimmage? Do you want him lined up a little bit to the outside
to take advantage of a size mismatch? So when I think about what Ben Johnson can do with this tight end position and how it can compliment the overall performance of the entire offense, I can't wait to see this guy grow step by step throughout mini camps, OTAs, into training camp, and throughout the regular season.
Oh Ryan Pauls is a great staff along with Ian Cunningham, but also the senior director of Player Personnel, Jeff King. Let's listen into his observations on the new tight end for the Bears, Colston Lovelin.
You're adding a guy that's probably a culture changer. That's how we felt about him. So tough, smart, dependable, consistent, all the things that Coach preaches like this kid embodies. The more that we spent time with Colston, the more we just felt like he was the pick for us. We're adding somebody to our offense that we have conviction on, you know, a really good vision for obviously all of us being aligned with the pick. You know, just something
that somebody that we're super excited to add. You know, the versatility, what you can do with Colston and Cole, you know how they mesh together, I think is going to be something that you know, we can build upon for the next few years.
Some of the things you could hear, the excitement and his voice, Tommy, But the things that really stick out for me, and you've touched on some of them, but the separation at the top of the route, when you go back and watch his highlights and how he gets open, it's effortless. He's got the hip swibble, he's got the ability to stick his foot in the ground and make sharp cuts and that creates a lot of openings for
him and an easy target for the quarterback. But it's also physicality at the catch point rugged after the catch, and they really believe that his hips are able to allow him to really develop as an inline blocker when necessary, and that's not.
Always easy for taller people.
But at the tight end position, if you want to keep your defense on their heels, you gotta be able to do both and put them on edge.
Well, there's a couple things about Loveland.
First of all, I'm you know, playing in the Big ten in an outdoor stadium a majority of the time, either at home supporter of crowds or loud crowds on the road. That's not something that you're going to have to develop with him throughout time. He understands crowd noise
and all that. And then you talk about his ability to swivel his hips to get into the blocks, and he's got the length in order to get his hands inside properly, and he's got the feet and lower body power to be a blocker at the point of attack, to be a blocker on the backside, fullback, HVAC wherever they want to line him up. He's got a vertical jump and a catch radius that is almost going to
be unmatchable. There's not a lot of six y five cover guys out there, and so when you put Lvelin in a catchable position, whether it's on the line for play action, whether it's to the outside on third down and red zone. So he brings a lot of assets as a receiver, and now you got to take that time to develop him as the blocker he needs to be in the NFL in order to be and create more deception on the line of scrimmage.
Tom, I know you've done a lot of hard work in your life, both in the weight room and just being a thayer, but I'm certain you haven't put in wire fencing.
I have not.
And you know, listen, when I was reading about him, and you think about the work ethic that was instilled in him on a farm to support his family and help out when they needed those types of things. I'm glad he referenced back to thanking them for that, because there's a lot of people that would have that hard upbringing and want to get out of the house as quickly as possible. I think the reason that he was considered and to develop that work ethic into where he
was picked. It's because of some of the things that he had to do in his upbringing.
And now let's talk about the pairing. Because we talk about twelve personnel. That's one back, two tight ends. That means cole Comet, and I don't want people to think that this means that cole Comet is being marginalized in any way, shape or form. It's going to enhance cole Comet. Cole Comet will enhance co and Loveland the pair, and we've seen plenty of evidence in the history of the NFL where two tight ends can be quite the dynamic duo to really keep defenses stressed at all times. I
think this is going to help cole Comet. You tell me in what ways it.
Will, all right, So, first of all, the first thing a defensive coordinator does when they're playing against an opponent, they look at the personnel that's coming onto the field. So now you got Loveland on one side and Cole on the other, and now they're calling about the defense that they want to go against. So all of a sudden, they break the huddle and now Loveland's lined up as
a wide receiver. There's scratching their head going, oh my god, I got linebackers in the game, and now I got to cover Colston with a linebacker that I know can't cover them. So it's the like I talked about the deception at the line of scrimmage. You can put them in the game, but there's no guarantee where he's going to line up or vice versa. You put Colston on
the line of scrimmage and you put Coal outside. So they're really versatile athletes and so they can do a lot too, kind of in courage the defense to put the personnel to match up with a two tight end set when one of them's not lining up as.
A tight end.
But all of a sudden, like I said, whether it's the red zone, third down, first down, now you're trying to think, hey, how can we devise a scheme to line up against these two guys.
Potentially can we see a lot of big, safe, big nickel put in the lineup, because just a traditional nickel, there's not a lot of big nickels there. They're diminutive, most of them. They're on the smaller side. That doesn't mean they're not physical and can be nasty and and
and win the battle. But more often than not, like you said, because this is a three level both of these guys are three level players, and in the dirt catch the pass, also reach up and get the pass because of the wingspan, So that you're talking about a really difficult assignment to deal with.
All that and right, and let's not ignore DJ and Rome and the rest of the receivers because Rome is a big guy. He was sitting there on stage with us on Thursday night, and you kind of realize when you stand there eye to eye with them what a big receiver or he is. And Antoine's talked about that as well. And we all know what a great catcher and how tough of a guy DJ is. So when you think about putting those types of receivers out there, man, you can have a big nickel, you can have a
wide four receivers. Really, you can do anything you want with the tight ends and the wide receivers, because I believe they're all interchangeable. We've seen DJ out of the backfield. We've seen Rome take jet sweeps. We've seen Cole Comet take snaps behind the line of scrimmage and run a little quarterback sneaks or whatever you want to call them. So the versatility of the offense and how we've gotten
to know Ben from the other side of the microphone. Man, it's going to be exciting to want go in there and see his drawing board.
Yeah, no question.
And I think the Bears will be able to run the ball too in giving these situations because of light boxes, it's going to create a lot of mismatches. Brought to you by PNC Official Bank of the Bears, Our Bears, et cetera podcast. The second second round was Luther Burden.
The third This is.
An intriguing individual, number one recruit in the nation in twenty twenty two. He was highly regarded right from high school in East Saint Louis. This is a dynamic athlete six feet two ten two oh five and the yard after the catch and the ability to work his magic as a route runner, shedding people physically. He does remind a lot of folks of Dj Moore, and he reminds a lot of folks of him on Ross Saint Brown, and I think that's probably where Ben Johnson envisions him.
Yeah, I agree, he kind of When I look at what Ben, you know, did in Detroit with his offense and what he's going to do in Chicago, and then another piece in place he reminds me more inside that type of an offensive Almon Ross, Saint Brown, and I think that they talk about.
A lot of quick twitch passes.
He has either lateral routes at the line of scrimmage, quick hitter slants from beyond the line of scrimmage. And then you think of about incorporating this guy into a play action type of game where he's going to be open immediately. And again Ben talking about run after catch, and so I think if you can put it into his hands on the move, maybe against the.
Third corner or a slot corner, or.
Someone that maybe is not as you know, doesn't have the profile of Rome or DJ yet, so they're not putting the number one guy on him. He's going to be a guy that you may be able to take advantage of early in the season because of the coverage responsibilities that the opponents are going to put on him.
All right, let's listen in to the director of cottage scouting, Breck Actley on Luther Burdens traits and skill set.
The excitement comes from alignment.
You know, you got a guy that scout Twinton saw electric with the ball in his hands.
Everybody really liked them.
Coaching staff comes in in the spring, they get involved in the evaluation process and they see it the same way we do. So to me, the excitement comes when everybody's aligned and sees the same vision for the player, and then you can certainly see translate to our offense and getting targets.
You talk about the traits, I believe eighty five percent of his snaps out of the slots. Yeah, that's right in the wheelhouse. So the head coach and play caller Ben Johnson, is it the yak? Is it the ability to escape, the contact, balance, the force, miss tackles.
That's exactly what it is. We think he's the best rack player in this class his ability. He can beat you with speed, he can run through you physicality, and he can also elude you. So he's got three ways to win with the ball in his hand. He's a dynamic player with the ball in his hand who can separate from the slot, can also win outside. So all of that combined makes them the total package.
What kind of impression did he leave across the board?
Passion Like, that's what I would say competitiveness, loves football like That's what came across with them is you roll the ball out and he loves to play football.
Toughness, I think is a part of his makeup. Is that something that fits Ben Johnson's culture and identity right now?
Absolutely? Absolutely.
I think it's easy to see with him when you turn the tape on the way he plays with the ball in his hand, the physicality, you know, I think it's easy to envision that in the UR offense. The way coach talks about the things he's going to ask our receivers to do.
I think he fits right in line with that.
And no block, no rock. So does he like to do that?
Yeah, that's absolutely part of the deal. Coach has made that very clear that I promise you he wouldn't be on the board to be available to be picked if he wasn't doing that.
One of the first comps that came up is DJ Moore and when you really as soon as that hit, I'm watching the highlights. Oh yeah, you see a lot of everything I just said. The contact balance, behind the line of scrimmage, busting tackles, going deep is something there. With the chemistry you can build with this group of now potent weapons that kind of fits all together.
I think that's exactly it.
I think the cool thing now is the way we're structured and build is like the skill set of all of them allows them to move around and be multiple, which is what coach is looking for obviously, but his skill set, the route running, the ability to play inside and outside and then get them the ball in space, like it's going to be hard to cover DJ obviously rome skill set and you throw him in with now the two tight ends like now you're rolling.
Ben talks about a basketball team on offense and this individual Luther Burden or it could have been an NBA player, couldn't everybody talked about he was a great basketball player. This is almost a literal, a literal thing going on you with this skill set of all these guys, right.
That's what yeah, And that's that's an intentional thing. Like we talk about that. One of our jobs is not only you scout the player, but then you also have to where does he fit in our roster and how does he produce for us? And with him it was easy, you know, you do see the basketball type short area movements. That's what allows him to separate. That's also what allows him to make people miss with the ball in his hand.
So it shows up all right.
How would you describe off the field in the sense of getting to know him, what you learned about him with the fans want to know what the person's are.
Yes.
So he's a low key guy. He's from that area of Saint Louis. He's close with his family. He goes to school down the road at Columbia. You know, has a girlfriend that's strong in his life. But he's a low key guy. He's just kind of a low key good dude that likes to play football. That's the main thing I'd say about him.
A lot of high praise there for Luther had a chance to meet him and visit with him. Man, he is he's all about football time. He is so dialed in and serious about where this is edit for his career, loves being a bear and I just think he's taking it all in and and this guy is he's a very serious person.
With the leadership he's.
Going to have there in the locker room in that group with a guy like DJ Moore and Roma Dunzay could show him the way a little bit after his rookie year and his experiences, I think it's a nice, a nice blend.
Well, every interview I hear with him after the draft, his attitude kind of sounds like mine because I was so disappointed to be drafted in the fourth round. I always held that inside and motivated me. I think Luther wanted to and thought he would be drafted higher. But I think he's going to make a lot of good
people pay for that. And so when you come in with that kind of you know, feeling and confidence about yourself and the way you want to go out there and perform and put you put your talents on display. Know one other guy's passed you up, I think it's really important. So I like listening to the interviews by Luther because he's a little contankerous about not getting picked a little bit higher.
Yeah, thirty ninth pick in the draft, though, I think when your top forty man, that's that's quite the honor.
But I think he thought he wanted to go higher. He no doubt he.
Never said this out loud, but I believe he believes and knows that he's the number one receiver in the draft.
So hey, listen, I thought I was better. And I'm sixty three years old and it's still in the back of my mind. So it's not something you're ever going to lose the thought of it. It's only trying to make yourself better. So people remember you.
Yeah, I know, and his buddy and a guy who played with him in high school, not at Eastaint Louis, but the other high school he was there in the Saint Louis area is Jamison Williams. He calls him his little brother. And so Jamison Williams was filling him in on Ben Johnson, and Ben Johnson was getting filled in on Luther from him. So and then you know, you talk about mon Ross.
Saint Brown was a fourth round pick, a fourth round.
Pick, and Ben Johnson has turned him into a two time first team All Pro and a three time Pro Bowler.
At the draft, you're only picked accordingly. It doesn't say what how your career is going to turn out. Because we've seen guys picked a lot higher that have kind of fizzled than we seen guys that are picked a lot lower and that have flourished into Hall of Famer. So I just like Luther's attitude when he gets interviewed about how successful he wants to be.
Hey Bears Fan Steinhoffels is a proud partner of the Chicago Bears, are now opening Orland Park. Steinhoffels is Chicago Lands furniture and mattress leader with the largest selection to fit every style and budget, and as one hundred percent employee owned shop in store and online at Steinhoffels dot com. All right, let's move on to the third and fourth picks of the draft for the Bears. At number fifty six,
tackle Ozzie Trpilo of Boston College. At at number sixty two, Schamar Turner, Texas A and M defensive tackle, two interesting big bodies at the line of scrimmage. Everybody was in us included talking about just beefing up the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Before we get your thoughts, let's let's get the perspective from directive of player personnel, Trey Coles.
You on both these guys.
You can't have enough big bodies, right, and so you know the consistency and dependability that Ozsie showing throughout his career. Obviously, you know Ryan and I have a lot of touch points there at BC, and you know have a chance to follow his career over the past four years, it's spent a lot of fun, so thrill for the Bears, are really happy for Ozzie too.
There's probably energy in the draft room because of that. The Boston College connection, that's one thing, but you guys know that whoever comes out of BC, especially offensive line, there's a certain amount of toughness there. It's almost like a conveyor belt of that over the history of college football. Would you agree, and as is that a part of his game?
Absolutely?
And I think when you look at the measure of consistency in his play and dependability. So we always talk about smart, tough, dependable, right, And you know, you can watch Ausie's game and you know what you appreciate is no matter what game you turn on, everything.
Is so consistent. It all looks very very similar. You know.
So not only was he well coached and well prepped and and all that, but you know, just the way he plays, there's a there's a calmness and dependability about.
His game, which which you really admired at the tackle position.
So let's let's dive into the scouting part of it. So left tackle is one year and then three at right tackle athlete there and then it was you know, Bill O'Brien, so an NFL touch point. Just give us some traits and qualities beyond the satisfactor and the and the violent play factor.
Sure, I think there's there's a high level football intelligence, you know, and that comes from all the experience that he has. He's played a ton of snaps there, obviously being a three year starter, playing on both sides, so you know that speaks to the development that they've had through you know, a couple of different systems up there
at PC. So when you've got a guy who you know moves well for a big man and also has a high degree of football intelligence and it's technically sounded, it checks a lot of boxes you at the tackle position.
Is there a game or moment that stood out that if you close your eyes, that helped you make this decision?
You know, with with somebody like Ozzie, I think it's you know, I keep using the word consistency with him, but you know, he had a chance to go against some really good players, you know, and rushers coming out of the ACC over the past couple of years, and it's just impressive because it's you know, no matter what the task at hand. No matter who he's playing against, it it all looks it all looks the same.
You know. He just finds a way to get the job done, playing and play out.
So, yeah, did you interview him at combay and if so, what impressed you about that experience?
The maturity, I mean it felt like talking to a five year NFL that, you know, just the presence that he has as a person, The maturity, the intelligence, you know, all that stuff to go along with the mental and physical toughness that you see with the kids, right, Really impressive, really impressive.
Yeah, beaar boxes. I don't know if they've changed my mind with a new coaching staff, but we know his mentality or Yeah, as you work with Ben Jackson and what we're building here.
I think we hit on it.
I mean, this is this is a gritty, hard nose player, right, doesn't miss time.
He's been healthy, he's been durable, he's smart, he's tough.
The dependability factor, you know, I think for an offensive lineman, when you talk about the makeup, it's it's critically important for us, you know, and that's something that you know, we've tried to make some additions in the off season, and we love the group of guys that we have, and we're really excited to throw Ousie in the mix because he's fitting the blueprint of what we're trying to establish.
Okay, motion, when Shamar Turner comes aboard, if there's a man who plays with a violent approach to the game, a lot of knock back in his game, yeah.
Yeah, we were thrilled that we were able to get here.
Here's another guy that we've been tracking these these last two days and we weren't sure if he would be there, and we're absolutely thrilled because he's he's embodying what we're trying to do defensively with Coach Allen and fun player to watchman.
We're thrilled to have him.
Coach Allen likes length, right, that's just a small part of what he likes. What else does he throw on the table that fit what he's trying to look for?
Well, I think you hit it. It's violent, it's knocked back, it's relentless play. But you can tell that this kid loves football by the way that he plays the game.
Right.
So it's snap in, snap out. You know you're going to get somebody who's going to change the line of scrimmage and give you everything he's got to empty the.
Tank, all right. From the scouts break down, break it down for me, and the trades and qualities stand out besides all of what I just said.
Yeah, so this is a guy that played some defensive end earlier in his career and then kicked inside full time this year. So you see the athlete, but you also see explosive power coming out of his hips. You know, you see a guy who can play with low bad level and change the line of scrimmage and can overpower
blockers and builth the run and pass game. So I think he's still scratching the surface of his potential as he continues to feel comfortable and learn playing on the inter But you know, really physical, violent, aggressive, you know, everything you want in a defensive line.
Any standout moments games or stories you heard about Shamar.
Shoot, you know you watch them and A and M gets you know, obviously in the SEC he's playing against a lot of NFL caliber players week in and week out. But you know when you cut the tape on within him,
it jumps out right. You know, who's five, Who's that guy that's going you know, consistently knocking people back in the backfield, and Chason plays and obviously we watched a lot of Texas A and M defensive line tape, you know, with his two teammates going in the last two days as well, So they did a heck of a job done.
There are you looking at him at least at the moment, Coach Allen as a three technique or across the board because he did play many spots. And that being said, a guy like Greedy Jarrett with so much experience, is that a nice guy to have him learn from a little bit here?
Absolutely? You know, Grady's the consummate pro. Right, the Guy's played at a high level for a long time. And I think either fun part with these rookies is you throw them in the fire and you see how it all shakes out in terms of where they play best, what the vision is. I know that he can play interior, and you know, I think that the more big bodies you have that you can play in the rotation, the better the Bears are going to be.
All Right, Tommy, you heard the excitement in Drey's voice, A former Boston college guy himself on Ozzie Tripidolet's let's take one at a time, Ozzie Tripillo, and then you can have Shamart Turner as well.
You know, Jeff we talked about, I've always liked Boston college players. No matter what position they come out. They're very disciplined. Football means a lot to them. They kind of have that East Coast toughness in them. I knew Ozzie's dad, and I'm familiar with his his bloodlines. The thing about Ozzie is it's kind of a develop along this Dan Skipper that played for Detroit, where you're that
sixth lineman. Dan Skipper is six nine, three thirty. Ozzie is six eight, three hundred and seventeen poundsish, And I think when you're trying to get feed some reps to a guy that you really think has the ability, the toughness, the dedication, that all the kind of traits that you need to be an offensive lineman long term in the NFL, if you can feed him those sixth linemen reps, you can put them a little bit at right tight end, you can put them a little bit at left tight end.
You can put him in motion, you can put him in a scenario where he can really benefit the strength of the side that you use him. So I really think that's when you get to tap into the creativeness of a guy like Ben Johnson, when you have an athlete like Ozzie. But it's gonna be hard to deny when you see him in pads or autopads for the first time of how big of a man this guy is.
And I think that he still has a lot really development to go through in terms of NFL weight room, NFL dietitians and all this stuff that he's going to benefit from.
When he gets to Tallas Hall.
But you know, he will compete for a starting job.
Yeah, I know, but I'm telling you you're gonna You're always gonna be competing for a starting job.
That's never gonna stop.
But how you expedite that competition is by feeding those fifth offensive lineman reps. Get him in the game, make it comfortable, let him hear the crowd noise, let him get in a stance, let him face a defensive end, all those types of things that can speed up his development. I think it's a great option and opportunity for him.
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You're gonna love this guy when you meet him. First of all, he sat down across from me. He never stopped moving.
He was so wound up and excited about this opportunity. It just hadn't hit him yet. Even a day after when he was just shaking his head. He just cannot believe what has happened here. He believes in himself. But the fact that he is a Chicago Bear and the kind of physicality and violence he plays with, I think the fans are going to love him.
To me, the best thing that happened to him is coming to a team that has Grady Jarrett. Because for Bears fans that don't know a lot about Grady, and you're going to see a fast twitch muscle. You're going to see an explosive defensive tackle. You're going to see a guy that you want every defensive tackle to develop
those traits that come along for the Bears. And if you're a young guy coming out of college and you are kind of the alpha male of your defensive line room, and now you're not necessarily not the alpha male, but you're learning from guys that have a world of experience at this level. And then you start on understanding how to line up, how to get more of an efficient stance, how to anticipate the snap count, how to make sure I work efficiently against the guard and the center.
So all these.
Little things that this young defensive lineman can learn from an experienced defensive lineman like Grady, I think it can speed up his learning process as well.
I mean, he says he can play all across the defensive line. Do you think that that Eddy has. Yeah, But when you think.
About Dio a Dembo, you talk about Jervon Dexter, you talk about all the guys up front Grady, the mixing and matching that they could do to create Also, much like an offensive coordinator tries to create mismatches, can you create mismatches with the current collection of Bears and Montes. Wet included an Austin booker to get this best one on one matchups you possibly can upfront.
You know, first of all, I think that Dio and Dexter could both play to the outside. They could play all the way to the outside shoulder, a tight end to tackle. They have that type of size and athleticism. But yeah, Jeff, you know when we played in you know, kind of a bad memories for me. When we went and played the Washington Redskins in nineteen eighty six, they started playing a five man defensive line.
They took out one linebacker.
Now, every single offensive lineman has a one on one matchup. There is no sliding, there is no helping, and it was something that really benefited the Washington Redskins at that point. So when you take a look at the talent that the Bears have and he said, okay, I'm going to start playing a five man front on third down, the
Bears have the five caliber athletes to do that. And if now in modern day football, yeah, why doesn't everybody play the forty six defense because you don't have the personnel. But when you have the personnel to go out there and play a five man front. You could do it, and I think Dennis Allen probably in the history of his career has seen it and hopefully have done it before.
In the fourth round, Tom Maryland linebacker Hippolyte A five eleven, two forty. The dude can fly. We know a lot about the traits. He tested very well. With the loss of Jack Sanborn off to the Dallas Cowboys, there's going to be competition for that third linebacker spot.
You know, one thing I like about Hippo is he's really difficult to block. When you go back and you look at some of his tapes, he reacts so quickly that he gets in a winning position against the offensive player who's dedicated to block him. And one thing about it is you don't want linebackers that necessarily square up the big offensive lineman. You want linebackers that are on
the shoulder or are giving really little contact space. And I think when you're talking about what you can do on special teams and what Dennis Allen needs out of is that second tier of defensive players, the linebacker. I do think that he's a good fit for this defense. Dennis Allen wants his defensive lineman to engage and disengage quickly on the offensive lineman, so that gives these linebackers
a little bit more free him to run. And so when you talk about a guy and I've seen a forty attached to him at four three nine, you know this, this dude can run all right.
Another four to three upper four threes. Za Frazier on a ut San Antonio. He was a fifth round pick for the Bears. Tall, long, bump and run corner, six interceptions and had a lot of pass breakups. But is the mold of what Dennis Allen's gonna want in the future. He wants to play a lot of press, and he wants speed. He wants speed everywhere on the defense.
Yeah, but I would put my desk right in Al Harris's office because when you talk about a young player that has the length that he has, and now you have to learn the footwork that's going to put you in the best position, the quickest and throughout the entirety
of the routes you're facing. I don't think there's a better coach right now than Al Harris because of the similarities in their size, their length, and the type of things that Al Harris had to learn from the time he went to Tampa Bay to Philly and then how he flourished after that. So I just think that the Bears put him in a really good position to learn develop from one of the brighter ex playing coaching minds in the league.
And it was Al Harris who really was interested in this guy and said, Hey, Ryan, Hey Ian, Hey Jeff King, let's take a look at this guy. And I think it's that smaller school attitude Al Harris came from that probably caught his attention to what these guys have to do to get to the NFL.
And you know, Al's a big guy. You know, he's the type of guy that had to learn athleticism that's going to compete at an NFL level, and then how his assets can be used on an NFL field. And so when you're taking a young guy like that that has untapped potential but he's got unique length and size, I think it's a great opportunity for you know, Al Harris to help him develop and grow.
And Al went to Texas A and m Kingsville on his way to the NFL on a long career and a lot of great defensive play all right. In the sixth round, Tommy back in your neighborhood there, offensive guard Luke Newman out of Michigan State, strong dude, rep. Twenty nine on the bench during his workout. He was a holy Cross left tackle and an FCS on American one
year at Michigan State. They played him at left guard, but it was his center snaps at the East West Shrine game that really got the Bears attention watching him in practice during that week and showing that he could do that, and I think that's.
Probably where he's gonna do a lot of reping. Well.
You know, the thing that he had to show first is he could transfer his talent from Holy Cross to Michigan State in the Big Ten and compete not only on the practice field, but on the game field. And he showed all those types of traits and that's what starts getting you recognized of having the talent to get invited to bowl games and then ultimately get yourself drafted.
And when you go from Big Ten football and come to compete at the offensive guard position, if you're comfortable and that left handed stance, I think that speeds up the opportunity because if your right handed guy still is a little bit of a transition to play out of a left handed stance, and if he's comfortable there, I think he can come in and compete immediately.
And the seventh round Tom finally they got their running back. They wanted to get one, and they did Rutgers Kyle Manungui. He is a durable, reliable, dependable running back at just over five eight. The biggest stat I think that sticks out with everybody aside from his production, is zero fumbles in over seven hundred snaps.
And a willingness to pass block.
You know, you get a guy that's tough enough to carry the football without having a ball stripped out of here, or you know, having the reputation of a fumbler. I think it's unbelievable. But I think if you have that reputation and the willingness to stand up into the line of scrimmage and bury your head into the middle of a blitzer, I think that is one of the true
talents and qualities that it's difficult to teach. But if you already come in here and it's one of the things that compliment you for it can go a long way to get you on the field.
Much like Boston College Tommy with the offensive line, of the toughness of the tight ends. I think Rutgers, I think also tough. I think of Isaiah Patchecko run of the football. I think of this guy running the football. There's just something about the edginess of those schools on the East Coast.
Would you agree? Yeah, Rutgers. It starts with our head coach. Because our head coach is an all time tough guy. He does nothing to make these guys comfortable. He demands toughness out of him, and so I think that's a trait that every one of these guys leave their college program.
With and that would be great.
Schiano, former Bears assistant coach as well. Brought you by PNC Official Bank of the Bears. All right, before we depart and dig in more to this as we go throughout the course of this offseason, let's take a look at the NFC North Detroit drafted four players in the trenches and added a wide receiver in Isaac Tislaw from Arkansas. Minnesota.
Two in the trenches and a wide receiver Ty Felton who is uber talented Green Bay Or in the trenches and two wide receivers in their top three picks, Matthew Golden, the speedster, and Saveon Williams, who's like a Deebo Samuel type of player that could do a lot of different things.
Is everybody beefing up?
I guess because this whole division wants to run the football as well. That's a stated point forget about quarterback play for a minute, just adding speed all of them and adding more in the trenches on each side.
Of the ball.
What does that tell you about the division and what everybody's looking at.
You know, there's a lot of young guys that they hope that they can develop into NFL caliber offensive lineman and eventually earn and compete a job. But then you look every single one of these teams that brought free agent veteran offensive linemen, and the Bears are brought in three, the Minnesota Vikings brought in the center, the Green Bay
Packers brought in a guard. So it's not like they've ignored the importance of the offensive line by you know, bringing some veterans in, but they also need they also know that at the beginning of training camp, you better have about fifteen offensive linemen that are competing for those seven to eight game day spots.
Also on the defensive line that the Packers went four to five and six with defensive ends and defensive tackles, and that has been a big part of Minnesota's restructuring as well. On the defensive line with Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen. I mean, it's it's going to be a I still believe, and correct me if you disagree, and
tell me if I'm wrong. But it's to me the most intriguing division in the NFL because it's going back old school a little bit here, but with the creativity of these offensive minds, whether it's the head coach calling the plays, which is in the case of three of the division, three of the teams in the division, or the tough attitude of the head coach up there in Detroit.
I just think it's a fascinating division.
It's all about trench warfare, Jeff, you know that, and that's what football is always going to be about. And then the creativity of the other pieces in place, that's what it's going to be.
The Miller like Chicago Bears draft party was a great time. We appreciate their sponsorship of it, and we'll look forward to the next one that comes along in twenty twenty six.
Four time there, I'm Jeff Joniack. Thanks for listening.
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