2020 Offseason post draft

  

   Things are moving slow with this pandemic situation, Ryan Pace is still trying to fill the gaps on the team with FA players while Matt Nagy is already starting his virtual camp sessions, this season is going to be a mess if there is even a season to consider this year, with stupid people not helping the cause and idiotic government personnel in charge in many places of the world doing even worst damage, there is no way to know when this is going to get stabilized. But I will keep going with my life thinking there is a shot of a 2020 NFL season just for kicks and some sanity.

  The biggest move Pace made this offseason was trading the 2020 4th round compensatory pick for Nick Foles, I wouldn't had a problem with this move if it wasn't for the massive contract attached. This deal to me means that Foles is the starter or should be, you don't pay a QB 15 million a year just to sit on the bench even when the team says it will be a competition, Mitch Trubisky is almost certain to be on a spot to fail, he would become Foles backup to then be let go on 2021 when his contract is done and will be labeled as a bust 1st round pick making him Pace's third 1st round bust he has drafted with the Bears, even with the mid round gems he has found thru his 4 years as a GM, this will badly taint his reputation as a good personnel evaluator. Trubisky should get his last shot as the starter but it's really hard to envision this scenario with how much money they are investing in Foles and how little they would lose by letting go of Trubisky if Foles works out, Pace and Matt Nagy would get another year to find the Bears future franchise QB. Getting really ahead of myself, what if Foles struggles early? When do you decide to take him out for Trubisky? in the case Foles starts and he is taken out because of production for Trubisky, Pace will place his job on Nagy's hands to save both his asses while trying to make Trubisky play his heart out. Fun right? Well with how this draft ended up being, specially the first two picks, this Foles/Trubisky thing can be viewed maybe in the same way. Pace drafted TE Kole Kmet with his first 2nd round pick while the board was falling with other better prospects on other positions available that Pace could have picked due to value, instead he drafted his 10th TE on the roster, then with his next 2nd rounder 10 picks after Kmet he drafted a stud DB in Jaylon Johnson. So, does it matter if he chose a better pick after a not so good one in regards of value as a prospect? Other things come into consideration but the main thing is that if Trubisky starts and Foles sits at the beginning of the year, I could view it as just salary total for the QB position not regarding who is owner of which contract, problem is if Trubisky thrives in 2020 then how do you keep the guy? do you go all out with Trubisky and franchise tag him while showing Foles the door? do you retain both for insurance while paying them top dollar? or do you let Trubisky go and try to get a good compensatory pick in return, draft a top QB in 2021 while retaining Foles? Does Pace sleep at all?

   In other lesser stressful news, Pace went on a mission to get speed for the offense by drafting 5th rounder Darnell Mooney and by signing FAs Ted Ginn Jr. and Trevor Davis. Mooney seems to play hard even with a really slim frame, he will need to keep that flame alive to get a shot against the veterans, right now I believe it's Ginn's spot to lose while Davis can contribute more on ST's. Ginn doesn't make the slot position solid, he’s a former speedster that relies on his knowledge of route running more than his physique, Davis and Mooney are question marks for now so even if Pace found some talent, it's still a wait and see scenario.

   The EDGE position got some help in the 5th round as well, going up for Trevis Gipson who shows good shedding and burst to get to the QB, can bend somewhat but helps that he shows a good motor to finish the play. Can be a good rotational guy behind veterans Khalil Mack and Robert Quinn.

   The other 5th rounder that Pace went up to get was DB Kindle Vildor, a hard nose corner who doesn't shy away from contact with really good agility, his size doesn't help him against big receivers, but he will go all out no matter what. He is bound to play on the inside of the secondary be it at nickel or safety, but he will be a good addition to special teams. The addition of Tashaun Gipson clearly will make him the starting choice at SS, others that can compete for this spot other than Deon Bush and Vildor could be Stephen Denmark and newcomer Jordan Lucas.

    Seventh rounders T Arlington Hambright and G Lachavious Simmons will fight to climb the depth chart to get a chance to play or probably more likely to make the PS. This is a statement from Nagy, not drafting top talented prospects Olinemen to plug Kyle Long's spot and get real competition for at least Bobby Massie says to me that he is convinced that what happened last year was a fluke, that the 2018 OL is the reality of this unit and can get back to being as they were. I don't buy it, at least at the RT position, Massie is getting old and was never a dominant player, he won't get better and can easily regress, to not have talent behind him is a dangerous game, I just hope Alex Bars is a diamond in the rough and can be that guy, there's still the signing of Jason Spriggs to look at and see if he can get coached to be the player the Packers thought they were getting. Germain Ifedi is still believable to hold the RG spot but again who is behind him pushing him to be better? Pace could have gone OL at the draft and gotten Matt Peart or Netane Mutti who where my favorite late picks for this draft that could have pushed the competition.

   Getting back to the two top picks of the Bears draft in Kmet and Johnson. Johnson looks to be a player that is very similar to how Kyle Fuller plays corner, he is tough with good size and plays with instincts to know when to attack the ball, he doesn't show recovery speed so if his instincts fail him he is going to get in trouble. Saying that we would have two Fullers on the field doesn't sound bad, but who would cover the speedster? every team is searching for their Tyreek Hill in regards of deep threat receivers, I'm not all that sure that they can cover speed that well without help from the safety. Now Kmet is another statement form Nagy, one that makes me believe that he is not a good coach, by drafting Kmet as a priority with their first available pick this says to me that Nagy is unable to coach if he does not have the "right" TE corps, he is unable to mold his offense depending on what he has on his roster and I find that limiting his ability to coach a team and that is what would bother me on the Kmet pick, I understand that there is scheme involved but how much talent do you need to have on one position to make it work? do you really need a carbon copy of a player for Nagy’s offense to function properly? No pick is a sure thing but going blindly for one guy not even considering the other options available is shortsighted for the future.

   There’s still some depth missing at RB and ILB that Pace can try and fill at FA but if nothing else changes from here to the start of the season, the roster is solid at defense and questionable at best at offense of course, OL and QB will tell the tale of the 2020 Chicago Bears season, if there is one.