Rebuilding the OL: Think Tank

[wiscbearsfan]

[Madmike90]

It won’t surprise me at all if we go into the season with Jonathan Scott as starting RT…he obviously isn’t a standout or anything but in 7 starts last year he only gave up 1 sack & 1 false start penalty…Emery outlined how well he had played when answering the question of why we hadn’t done more to improve the Oline last offseason...

We need to improve across the board but I think the interior is even more concerning than the tackles right now.
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Adopt-a-Bear 2013…Martellus Bennett…48 Rec…545 Yards…11.4 Avg…5 TDs

[Superman(DH23)]

[AZBearsFan]

[WindyCity]

[KG1187]

If Webb and Scott are the starter’s who plays swing tackle?

I am with Windy, if you look at the composition of the free agent class and compare it with the draft class you must sign the tackle and draft the guard. There are about eight of tackles worth inking.

Long
Albert
Clady
Bushrod
Vollmer
Smith
Cherilus
Loadholt

On the flip side there are about 4 OG's who could be taken in the first two rounds of the draft.

Warmack
Cooper
Fluker
Warford

I highly doubt all of these guys will be selected in the first round so you could conceivably trade down and accumulate more picks addressing other needs on the team.

If you sign the tackle and draft the guard it gives you way more options to pick from. Signing a stud RT like Smith, Cherlius, or Vollmer is a great idea assuming the price is right. More flexibility, less risk, and plenty of fall back options if the draft or free agency don’t break as planned.

[WindyCity]

OT

OT is a more difficult position to draft, which we have proven with Carimi and Williams, and this draft appears to be a little shallow in potential LTs and early starters.

I would sign a solid starting calibre OLmen, we do not need to go crazy for a top tier guy and over spend and we secure the OT position with a free agent and Webb and allow Scott to be a swing backup and spot starter. It is OT there is a good chance Scott will play this season.

Option: Sign OT Gosder Cherilus [Lions] 5 years 22.5 million/10 guaranteed

OG

This draft class is stacked with OGs/Cs and the elite talent goes deep into the 2nd round with 7 players likely to be taken within the top 50 picks.

Warmack
Cooper
Warford
Fluker
Jones
Long
Frederick

While the free agent pool seems rather small and we are going to see guys like Levitre and Vasquez get paid a ton of money because they are the only 2 young guys available.

Option: Draft C Jonthan Cooper in the 1st round, Draft OG Jordan Mills in the 4th round.

Depth Chart

LT: Webb

Gets a year to work with Kromer and see if he has more success with better coaching and a new system.

LG: Louis, Brown [If Injured]

Louis moves over to help the stress on his knee and Brown backs him up if he cannot go the first couple of games of the season.

C: Cooper, Garza

Garza backs up for a year while Cooper starts and then Garza goes when Cooper shows he can handle the position full time and for the next 10 years.

RG: Carimi/Mills

Carimi competes with the big rookie Mills and the winner starts at RG. It allows the Bears to try and salvage some value out of Carimi while developing a big mid round rookie like Kromer has done in the past.

RT: Cherilus, Scott

Cherilus solidifes the position and has shown he can hold up in a pass happy offense and he brings some edge and nasty to a unit that was pushed around way too much last season.
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WindyCity "He will start week 1 because while he is raw he is shockingly athletic and can pass block. Long is a bigger risk than Cooper and Warmack, but I think he has just as high a ceiling."

[Mudderfudder77]

I'll eat my hat if we draft Cooper in the first round. I'll eat my hat if we draft an interior lineman (not named Chance) at 20.

I'll film it and post it for everyone to watch.
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Adopt-a-Bear Kyle Long

PFF Grade through Regular-Season Game 3: 2.7 (20th in NFL) Highest rated rookie OL

Highest rated OL in the Pre-Season

[Superman(DH23)]

[CBears019]

[Mudderfudder77]

[WindyCity]

[DaMike]

[WindyCity]

Whether we go

1[20] OG/C Johnathan Cooper [UNC]
2[50] LB Khaseem Greene [Rutgers]

or

1[20] LB Alec Ogeltree [Georgia]
2[50] OG Larry Warford [Kentucky]

Either work for my plan and by signing an OT we can get more flexibility to do what we want in the draft and drafting OG or C, 1st or 2nd round.
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WindyCity "He will start week 1 because while he is raw he is shockingly athletic and can pass block. Long is a bigger risk than Cooper and Warmack, but I think he has just as high a ceiling."

[mteward]

Cooper & Greene would be perfect in my opinion. Unless of course Chance falls to us in the 1st