transcript

Speaker 1:
[00:10] What's up? Welcome in Hoge & Jahns. Back with you, one last episode before the draft, and as always, presented by Old National Bank. Every play matters, whether it's on the field or in your financial life. The best teams win by delivering excellence at every level. Old National Bank, where relationships and results matter. Remember FDIC, those relationships and results. Maybe coming through this weekend in the draft, we shall see. Jahns, we've had a great run of guests here, leading up to the draft.

Speaker 2:
[00:43] We really have.

Speaker 1:
[00:44] And despite us both juggling some spring break vacations, I'm in there with the families. Very happy with how that all came out, but it felt like a good day to just get back together. Just you and me right before the draft, we've taken in all this information. We got our final mock draft that went out this morning on allchgo.com. And we're just going to kind of unload all of our final draft thoughts before the Bears make their selection tomorrow night, barring a trade back potentially into the second round. They should be, they should have a new player tomorrow night.

Speaker 2:
[01:18] And you gave me an assignment, which I completely misunderstood last. So that'll be a fun conversation later in the show.

Speaker 1:
[01:24] I was wondering when I texted it, I was like, I hope he understands what I'm getting at. Maybe he doesn't. So we'll maybe we'll let the people in the comments. It was a great, how well you did with the assignment. But yeah, the appreciate everybody being here live with us and in the comments, we had to bump this one up an hour early this morning. So it might be a slightly different viewership, but if you're here, maybe for the first time, hit the subscribe button. We are here year round talking about Chicago Bears and have been doing so as I believe I'm starting to lose count. I think we're going into season number 12 on this show. Since John Fox 2015 was the first season we survived this podcast and survived the John Fox era.

Speaker 2:
[02:12] That should be a t-shirt. Sounds like a t-shirt. We survived John Fox.

Speaker 1:
[02:16] We not only survived, we launched during the John Fox era.

Speaker 2:
[02:19] Survived and advanced.

Speaker 1:
[02:21] Like those first three years were rough. It wasn't...

Speaker 2:
[02:25] There was something.

Speaker 1:
[02:25] I mean, if you look back on it, especially 15 and 16, well, I guess Cutler was still around and there were some exciting games in there, but those teams weren't good. No.

Speaker 2:
[02:36] All right.

Speaker 1:
[02:38] Now it's a new era. The Bears have won a playoff game and beaten the Packers and they're trying to continuously build this thing up with Ben Johnson. So we made it through the rough days. We're here. These are exciting days. We're here. We're happy you're here with us as well. Let's get into the conversation. Jahns about the mock draft that we put together and release. So we've done four of these now. And I find it interesting. In fact, let's go ahead and do this because I don't think we had this anywhere else in our in our rundown today. Katie, can we do our Xfinity big takeaway here? Because I do have a thought as we just go into the our final mock draft. This is the big takeaway presented by Xfinity. Imagine that, you know, we this happens every year when you do three or four mock drafts and you see how it kind of the conversation evolves going from the All-Star Games to the Combine to after free agency. But I feel like Jahns this year more than any other. I was looking back at our first mock draft we did a few months ago to now like we have had we have had players go from like the third round of the first round from the my first pick was Caleb Banks who at the time and I still view him as like a first round talent but I put in there like this foot injury thing is going to be interesting to watch and then he went out and broke the foot again after that mock draft came out he might I don't know where he's going to go third fourth round you know that's a major red flag I'm glad you brought this up because early on we had this obsession with defensive tackles because we thought well the trenches it needed to be fortified for the Chicago Bears specifically on defense I hated my first pick this is nothing against Lee Hunter but when I turned that in I'm like I don't know if I like this he's an older defensive tackle can he get after the passer I'm very indifferent about that and if you're a team drafting a player and you feel indifferent about the player that you're selecting that's not a good draft pick that's not a home run pick that's not one to be celebrated in the draft room that's not one to fake a celebration over because the video cameras are on you it has evolved since then now obsessed with the offensive tackles you are you are and to to to the same point you this is kind of flipped Lee Hunter looks like he'll be a second round pick now at best and you will I don't want to give it away yet we're about to talk about but the guy you end up taking a mock draft 4.0 I took in 3.0 but in the second round and now he's probably as we've seen more and more information come in he's probably gonna be a first round pick so that's kind of the point it's just this happens every year but this is the it kind of supports this idea of a wide range of outcomes that are out there and also bring up Peter Schrager because Peter Schrager has a pretty good track record with in the past I know he put out multiple mock drafts this year now that he works at ESPN but in the past he would put out one mock and it'd be like the day before the draft and it was compared to like most if you're trying to go for accuracy in these mock drafts which you could do it different ways like this is who I think a team should take or this is what I think will happen. He usually does the this is what I think will happen thing and he's pretty good at it and like if you read his mock draft that came out this morning he's like I have no idea what's going to happen like it's just it's a weird year like that with very few top and elite prospects so I think it makes it more fun for us this weekend honestly just the the unknown and the different combinations of things that could happen.

Speaker 2:
[06:20] So that's your big takeaway. Anything can happen after Fernando Mendoza.

Speaker 1:
[06:26] I mean honestly they don't know who's going number two right now.

Speaker 2:
[06:29] I believe it.

Speaker 1:
[06:30] So and you know there's going to be I'm not sure I liked what Jeff King said yesterday about like how some of these executives, anonymous executives and some I think even on the record have come out and been like there's going to be a lot of trades. And he's like yeah they always say that. And then you try to call them and make a trade. And they're like I don't know if I'm buying the idea. There's going to be a ton of trades.

Speaker 2:
[06:50] Agreed. Agreed. It takes two to tango. You can say what you want publicly in the smoke of mirrors time of the pre-draft process. But once it happens when you're on the clock, it takes two to tango.

Speaker 1:
[07:04] All right. That was the big takeaway presented by Xfinity. Imagine that. Let's get into mock draft 4.0. And Jahns, you, for the second mock in a row, went offensive tackle.

Speaker 2:
[07:16] I did. I did. Let's get this name right. I went with Arizona offensive tackle, Max Ihanichor. I think I got that right.

Speaker 1:
[07:26] Nice job. I mean, if you're going to draft him in the first round, you better not say his name.

Speaker 2:
[07:29] Absolutely. Absolutely. So the dilemma for me was Ihanichor or Caden Proctor. Initially, I had turned in a photograph to Patrick Norton, our editor for Caden Proctor. But maybe it was the Nate Tice father and son episode, where they're talking about Proctor. He's a physical outlier. He's an immense player, 6'7, but 3'52. But because of his size, there's not a lot of comparisons for him. He's kind of an outlier. He's freakish of...

Speaker 1:
[08:06] Successful comparison.

Speaker 2:
[08:07] Yes, successful.

Speaker 1:
[08:08] There's other guys that have come out and not made it at that size.

Speaker 2:
[08:11] Correct. Correct. So that kind of scared me a little bit. He might be too big for offensive tackle. There's already rumblings about some teams wanting him to play offensive guards. So Ihanichor started to stand out to me more and more. The more I dove into him, just like your thought process, the more research you did, the more you started to like him, the more you moved up your own draft boards. I wouldn't be surprised if he's a first-round pick, especially late on day one, obviously. He didn't start playing football until junior college. I think that's the best way to put it. You could say he's only been playing football for five years, but he didn't start until junior college. A few years after that, he's the full-time starting right tackle, prayers on a state. Obviously, I think there's a projection, the left tackle. To me, the Bears' situation could be perfect. If you want to bet on a player with a lot of potential, a lot of upside, a lot of the intangibles, the right size, the right makeup, if you need to give him some time to get acclimated to left tackle, the Bears can provide that to him with the future in mind.

Speaker 1:
[09:16] So, I obviously like Ihan Achor, too. I had him in the last mock, although in the second round, he's not going to make it that far. We've learned that at this point. I'm okay with the Bears taking him in the first. Quickly on Proctor, because I'm there with you. There's just something, it's kind of like what you were saying earlier about taking Lee Hunter in your first mock. Like, there's something there that I'm struggling with. He's so big, he does have explosiveness, and he's hard to get around. And I think it was in Schreger's Mock this morning, actually, where he had the Lions trading up to go get Caden Proctor. I thought that was an interesting decision there, because the one thing he lacks that I see, and I think Mike Tice talked about it on that pod too, it's that finishing grit. It's that thing that Dan Campbell, it's kind of non-negotiable for him. So I thought that that was an interesting spot for him to land with the Lions. And it's also one of the reasons why I'm struggling putting them on the Bears, because it's, there's just something inconsistent there where I feel like he's relying on his size a little bit too much. And there's a lot of chatter that he might just be better off at guard. So I like the Ahana Chorepick here. And I'm sort of sharing some of those concerns about Caden Proctor. Now I ended up coming full circle with my position, going back to mock draft 1.0, but it's a different player. And I have gone back and forth this entire offseason, Jahns, between is edge a bigger need or is defensive tackle a bigger need? And I've kind of flip flopped on this daily because the answer is both, obviously. So if there's a world in which you could take the best player available in either of those positions, you're not doing it wrong. But having to make a selection here, I think I'm siding towards defensive tackle actually being the bigger need. And some of this is I mentioned this on CHGO last week. I happened to stumble upon the Bears-Bangles game on the NFL Network while the Blackhawks were getting murdered one night. And I was like, OK, let's change the channel, find something else. And if watching Austin Booker in that game made me go back and rewatch some of his tape late in the season, and I just. This is a Ryan Poles drafted this kid. He is getting better. He finished the season really, really well. I just I have to think that this organization still really thinks highly of Austin Booker and still thinks that there's a ton of development there and Montez sweats still. Now that shouldn't preclude you from drafting another edge of the right guys there. But when I start to think about that with the addition of this team hasn't stopped the run well in a couple of years now, and you need to stop the run before you have the right to go rush the passer, I've kind of settled on defensive tackle being a bigger need. Now, the problem is, I think, is the supply is not there to meet the demand. And I'm honestly at the point where there's just one guy I would take here, I think, in the first round, and that is Peter Woods from Clemson. And I'm still not totally in love with it. If I could execute a trade back and still land him, that would be ideal in my opinion. But when it comes down to between him and Cady MacDonald, I like Cady MacDonald. Cady MacDonald would come in day one and fix, probably fix the Bears' run defense. He's that good and that big of a plug in the middle, but he doesn't offer enough pass rush upside to me to use a first round pick on. There's just not enough there. I think Woods does both. He's good against the run, and he has the quickness to be that disruptive three and five technique that I think that this team has been lacking basically well before Ryan Poles even got here. And so I've kind of settled on Peter Woods, his quickness, he throws guys around. There's a couple of concerns here, obviously. The production dipped last year. I think he has a decent enough explanation for that. This was a team that went three and five. They asked them to do different things. There were other good players on the defense. It's not a perfect excuse, but it's enough there when you look at the upside and the talent that he has. Now, the length, he can't do anything about that. He does have shorter arms. If that ends up being a deal breaker, that's a deal breaker, but for me, it's not.

Speaker 2:
[14:03] I was going to ask you, that was my question. How do you justify taking a defensive tackle with less than ideal arm length, minus the 33-inch threshold? Now, I know that's usually used for offensive tackles, but go ahead.

Speaker 1:
[14:18] That's what I was going to say. He's not playing left tackle, so now his arms are like the shortest of all, like the top 20 defensive tackles, and so without a doubt on the shorter end, they're shorter than Grady Jarrett's too, but overall, he is similar in stature to me, is Grady Jarrett, and I think that's notable because the Bears did sign Grady Jarrett after Dennis Allen got here, so it shows a tolerance for that size of a defensive tackle. I think also, I think Grady Jarrett would be a tremendous mentor for Peter Woods to get the best out of him in his rookie year, even if Grady Jarrett's not here beyond this season, and I also cannot get Fran Duffy's comp out of my head. Fran Duffy has him 15th overall and has him comp to Tommy Harris. You know, Fran knows what he's talking about, so I love that. And then here's the kicker, the bonus, not an actual kicker, I'm not going to draft a kicker in this mock.

Speaker 2:
[15:19] You wish.

Speaker 1:
[15:21] 15 offensive snaps, Jodzy or Peter Woods. Eight carries, 15 yards, two touchdowns used in short yardage and goal line situations. I have a feeling the Bears head coach.

Speaker 2:
[15:35] So Ben Jodzy gets a fullback.

Speaker 1:
[15:37] Gets a fullback too. So they used Daniel Hardy last year as a fullback.

Speaker 2:
[15:43] Yes, they did. Was it Luke Newman too, briefly? Yes, it was Luke Newman.

Speaker 1:
[15:52] You don't need to go back to using offensive linemen carrying the football. Defensive linemen, let's go.

Speaker 2:
[15:59] Do you want to continue this conversation, this defensive tackle slash defensive end debate after the next break here, or do you want to do it right now, our second round picks?

Speaker 1:
[16:12] Let's knock out the second round here too. Okay.

Speaker 2:
[16:15] So you're right. The supply doesn't meet the demand at defensive tackle, but defensive end, edge rusher. I think the supply does meet the demand for the Chicago Bears. So I've been obsessed with this idea of, if your board tells you to take an offensive tackle in round 1, you do it if you're the Chicago Bears. You know why? Because there is a deep class of edge rushers that you could take advantage of on day 2, especially with the 57th and 60th pick. Those picks just strike me as a great opportunity to bolster your pass rush. So my second round picks, I'm gonna give you both of them right now. And this is one player we really haven't discussed at all on Hoge and Jahns, or really at all city. Defensive end, Derek Moore from Michigan. I took him with pick 57 and Gabe Ockis, a return from mock draft 3.0 for me. Defensive end from Illinois with pick 60. So I double up on defensive end in round 2. Derek Moore comes to mind when he came to mind when Jeff King said that the Bears are looking for competitors. And I just look back at Derek Moore's, well, his work at the Senior Bowl, where he went viral with his bull rush for putting an offensive tackle on his behind with the bull rush. And maybe it's just all the bull rushes that he has on film, because he's darn good at it. Like that type of tenacity, that type of strength, that type of power that he shows, that he showed throughout his final season in Michigan. I just think that's a Dennis Allen like player, who brings some of that edge, that tenacity and some of that power off the edge. I know a lot of analysts, even Fran Duffy, our friend, are lower on them than others. I just think he should be in the conversation of the Chicago Bears on day two, if you're looking for competitors like Jeff King said.

Speaker 1:
[18:17] Yeah, it's interesting with that bull rush, because that's one of the things that Fran somewhat questions. He writes in his draft guide, which of course you should be a diehard and get access to all of this. But he says, at his best, I see a player who profiles as a complementary starter upfront with scheme versatility off the edge, but he'll need to get more technically proficient and or consistently powerful to reach that at his floor. I see a high effort backup who should play for multiple contracts in the NFL. So I think Derek Moore is in the category of guys, though, Jahns, that see going in the second round, I can see going to the third round, I can see going to the fourth round and lasted all the way until Saturday. I mean, there's just a lot of guys like that this year. I think it's kind of pick your flavor. Wouldn't shock me though if someone takes him in the second.

Speaker 2:
[19:09] And he strikes me as. There's no such thing as a safe pick, but you feel good about what you are getting just in terms of motor, that effort, that energy, that bravado you want your defense to have. All right.

Speaker 1:
[19:27] Well, I see a comment from our guy, Karm wanted Stroud, which is always a good reminder to remind everybody that Karm wanted Stroud the position that seems like it needs a lot more competition is corner. They had right over Stevenson, let right walk for six million bucks tells you what they think of Stevenson. Yeah. Well, it tells you they still like this Stevenson as a potential starter, but I agree with the idea that they need help here at corner. And this is where John's in the second round. I attacked the secondary. I am surprised that this consensus now on D'Angelo Pond seems to be that he's going to fall to the second round and potentially even be available to the Bears later on in the second round. I view him as a much better player. Fran has him as number 22 overall, but I also understand the idea. Not only is he short, he also has shorter arms. So he doesn't necessarily fit the Nashawn right size and length situation, and he hasn't played much inside. He's been an outside corner at Indiana. He's going to probably kick inside next level because of that size. But man, can he play, dude? One of these years I'm going to do this because I say it every year, just like my all football player draft team. I don't care what the measure will say. This guy's a football player. He mixes it up. He's going to be a good player at the NFL level. So if he falls to the second round, I kind of look at this like losing a burden following the second round last year. Like if he's there, you just got to take the really good player. And I don't necessarily care if he has to kick inside because the obvious question then becomes, what happens with Kyler Gordon? We saw Dennis Allen last year mix and match his corners all the time, use dime packages. I think that if you look at what they're doing right now, I think they're trying to find more versatility and more speed. So you add guys that have speed and can move around a little bit, which brings me to my second second round pick. And that's Kianti Scott, who we both took in this draft, but I couldn't wait.

Speaker 2:
[21:41] Fun fact, I had Scott's name in the mock draft first.

Speaker 1:
[21:45] Yes.

Speaker 2:
[21:45] But in the third round and you jumped me. But that's what happens in the draft. And I'm okay with that. I pivoted. I like my third round selection too.

Speaker 1:
[21:52] Did you end up changing it? Oh, you did.

Speaker 2:
[21:54] I did. I did. Quickly on what you were saying. This strikes me as a draft by the end of it, where I would not be surprised if we hear whether it's King or Bears GM Ryan Poles up there. Why did you take him? That's not a position of need. You have Tyrick Stevenson, you have Jalen Johnson. Well, he was the best player on our board. Because of all the unpredictability that you were referencing earlier that Peter Schrager has been referencing, that everyone's been referencing about this draft, or everybody's draft boards this year are going to be so different, especially the later it gets, where you have players like Luther Burden available, and you're just like, well, he's the best player, didn't think he'd be here, we're taking him. I think that's going to happen this year. I would not be surprised whatsoever given how unpredictable it is after the first few picks, after the first pick.

Speaker 1:
[22:51] Oh, I mean, I can already picture it like if you, if this played out on Friday night where they take D'Angelo Pons and then Keontae Scott just a few picks later, and safety, you know, I even wrote in the mock, like there's some redundancy there with Pons, Scott, and what you do with Carlyle Gordon. But look, there's ways to mix and match it and make it all work for one year and it gives you a lot more competition and depth in the secondary which you need right now. And then, you know what, if I hate throwing names out like, but we saw what happened with DJ Moore, he ends up getting traded. Well, then maybe someone gets traded after next season because you created that redundancy by going best player available. Scott is, he's a 25 year old rookie. I think he's, he's on the older side. I think he's going to be able to play right away. And he can play pretty much ever. Have you watched the Miami film? Set the edge on the outside. He can go inside in the box and play linebacker. But he has four, two, I'm sorry, four, three, three speed, four, three, three, 40 time. He can run and play deep as well. I just think he's a real, I'm really excited about Keonate Scott wherever he ends up. So yeah, I could not wait till the third round. I had to jump you on that one.

Speaker 2:
[24:01] He's a good, he's a good football player. This is an example. Scott is an example of a player that you find out like the team that you're covering has interest in. And then you start doing research as to why. You start seeing the highlights, you go into the more film, you start reading more draft reports like, oh, okay, he fits almost everything that Dennis Allen wants, whether it's versatility, whether it's tenacity, whether it's the willingness to tackle. That's important for secondary, that's important for defensive players. But you know what? Not all players display that. Every single play. So it made sense to me, like the barest interest in him made sense to me once he started to do the research.

Speaker 1:
[24:40] This is, and this is, as we head to a break here, this is the last thing, I just, when we talk about secondary, and perhaps linebacker too, in this draft, just keep in mind what they've been, what they've been emphasizing this off season. And it's not just what they've been saying, they did say it, but also what their actions have been. More speed, speed in this defense. Guys that can run with those fast packer wide receivers, right? They need speed and they want versatility, right? I think it's going to come up here in this conversation we're about to have with safety as we talk about some of our top, our favorite players that could potentially go at 25 to the Bears. So the full mock draft is available to DieHards, allchgo.com. You can use code Jahns to sign up, scan the QR code. And you will, I mean, you'll get the mock. You also get Fran's entire database of information for the weekend, which is worth it.

Speaker 2:
[25:38] Our draft coverage coming up this weekend.

Speaker 1:
[25:40] Yeah, it's, you're getting a great deal there for $36 plus a free shirt. I saw somebody comment about the shirts earlier.

Speaker 2:
[25:47] I got the class.

Speaker 1:
[25:47] This is your free shirt as well. It's all there in the merch store. All right, we will take a quick time out. We come back. We're going to talk about basically our guys, our guys that we would take at the positions of need that the Bears have at 25. If push came to shove, that's coming up next.

Speaker 2:
[26:03] But first, we're going to take a quick look at the baseball team.

Speaker 1:
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Speaker 2:
[28:13] Let's run down my selections really quick here. With Adam Hoge moving up in the draft and stealing my safety, I pivoted. Hey, it happens in the draft. That's what I said. I took Traden Stukes' safety from Arizona with round 3, pick 89. Older player, torn ACL. So I feel like everyone is high on him, especially in the Bears world. But when you have a player of his age, a player with his injury history, torn ACL again in 2024, not too long ago, like grades will fluctuate. But he's a versatile defender. Can play really everywhere, outside corner, single high safety, in the slot. I believe most of his final college season where he became a 13 All-American, he was in the slot. But this is a player to me, who went from a former walk-on to a two-time Catholic, a 13 All-American. I like those types of intangibles. My other picks, real quickly, round four, Jaeger Burton, center from Kentucky, very athletic, still learning the position two. Then in round seven, I took Penn State tight end Khalil Dinkins. I think tight end is a position that will always be in the conversation with Ben Johnson. Then Desmond Reid, running back out of Pittsburgh with my final pick, pick 241 for the Chicago Bears. If you're looking for an exciting player, a do everything, just a good football player, and has a player comp. So, we have a guy named Tariq Cohen, meet Desmond Reid who was 5'6, 174. He could do a bit of everything. He's good out of the backfield. He's a good running back, and he is quite the return man as well.

Speaker 1:
[29:55] Yeah, that's another guy. I have no idea where he's going to go. I think I had him in the fourth round in our first mock.

Speaker 2:
[30:00] Desmond Reid?

Speaker 1:
[30:02] Yeah, but he can go anywhere on day two or day three, I mean. All right, quickly for me, this is a guy I don't think has been getting enough attention. Obviously, Francis Moenoa, the... The right tackle for Miami is getting all the attention as a top 10 pick potentially. But Markelle Bells, their left tackle, and this dude is a little bit like Caden Proctor, except he's even bigger. He's not quite as athletic. Those questions that you brought up about Proctor earlier, about like is he almost too big, I think probably apply here too. But he also is 36 and 3 eighths long arms. It's just massive. Nobody can get around this dude if you watch the tape. He doesn't need to have the most fluidity, which by the way, he can still move. I think there's some of the similar Caden Proctor talk here. But here's the thing, remember what I was talking about with the gradiness in the finishing? I actually see it more on Markelle Bell than I do in Caden Proctor. So we're talking about the third round. I feel like you're getting better value here with a potential left tackle in Markelle Bell than you would be here in the third round, than you would be with Caden Proctor in the first. So I'm willing to take the swing here and take the chance because I think his floor is like pretty good reliable swing tackle at worst.

Speaker 2:
[31:33] I believe it was Derrick Moore. Markelle Bell was the player.

Speaker 1:
[31:37] Oh, it was the one that got him?

Speaker 2:
[31:38] Derrick Moore put on his behind with his bull rush. So take that to the Mockgraf bank.

Speaker 1:
[31:47] Let's see. It's a senior bowl practice. Let's relax there.

Speaker 2:
[31:56] All right.

Speaker 1:
[31:58] Wisconsin is making it harder and harder for me to come up with my token badger every single year because, yeah, they're just kind of bad now. This one barely counts because he was there for like five seconds. But Mason Ryger. I'm surprised it's taken. Have either of us taken a local kid yet?

Speaker 2:
[32:15] Like for once? That's your thing. I did. Wait, there's so many. I believe I did. I think I took. No, you took Kugin.

Speaker 1:
[32:26] I took Pat Kugin. Yeah. Ryger went to Conan in Hoffman Estates. He is, this is an interesting one because he was a former walk-on. So it took him a while at Louisville to even, when you're a walk-on, you're not going to start right away. You got to, unless you're Jimmy Leonard and then you got to kind of work your way up. By the time he got kind of worked his way up into a role where he was playing and could become a starter, he needs knee surgery. Gets complication, infection, all these things happen. It lasted all the way, five years at Louisville, all those complications. Even last year after he transferred to Wisconsin, he had to sit out the spring because he had a rod put that leg. So this is like red flag galore, right? He comes out, he looked awesome last season and he looked explosive. And his get off, like he looked, if you didn't know anything about his knee or the knee history there, you'd be like that, that dude is like a day two pick. Now he's got those questions with the medicals. We're talking about here in the fourth round, I'm taking a swing because he's six, five. He looks like he's a four, three defensive end. He's put a little bit more strength on, but he has the room to do it. And again, he's got that get off. So I think this would be a good edge rusher to take later. Xavier Thomas, wide receiver out of the LSU, super fast, 4-2-8, getting the guy like that with Ben Johnson, get the ball in his hands. I love that. That was my seventh round pick. And then just shooting a dart at Roman Hemby in the seventh round running back Indiana. Doesn't do anything necessarily special, but he's just kind of a good solid all around back that I think will be a number two or number three in the league for a long, long time and contribute on special teams. So those were my picks.

Speaker 2:
[34:09] Would it surprise you with my selections? I went with the tight end and running back in round seven. Like the later you get in the draft, the more, like the more I feel like that draft room will just be trying to give Ben Johnson some weapons, some swings, players that he likes, some difference makers. Maybe they have to move around a little bit, but that's what happens on day three.

Speaker 1:
[34:30] I don't know what round it will be, but yes, I feel like at some point, whether it's the running back out of pit, who's you said like was Trey Cohen, it's just anybody, someone who runs a sub four four, thrown in there at some point just as another weapon for Ben Johnson to work with.

Speaker 2:
[34:50] Absolutely.

Speaker 1:
[34:51] 100 percent.

Speaker 2:
[34:52] You have to. All right.

Speaker 1:
[34:54] The next thing we're going to do here is calling it five guys because I'm hungry. The Bears essentially have five positions, like really high positions of need, I would say that we've kind of all settled on and talked about. Now, that's not how you draft, right? Best player available. This is to have a fun conversation on this podcast. This is what I wanted to do. So those five positions of need, put them in any order you want. That opinion is going to change. But we've talked about edge rusher. We've talked about defensive tackle. We've talked about safety. That's the one spot they have a glaring hole in their starting depth chart. They need a safety. Offensive tackle has been debated about, does that need to be addressed in the first round? Same thing with cornerback. But those are the five spots, offensive tackle, edge, safety, defensive tackle, and cornerback. So with that in mind, I want to talk about our go-to picks at number 25. You can put them in any order in terms of how you rank these players, but you got to pick one guy each of those five positions. That was the assignment. Don't think Jahns followed that.

Speaker 2:
[36:11] I did not. So my brain, and I think this happens in draft rooms too, it completely shuts off players that I don't think are going to be there. That's why you have to entertain such conversations. I did with Anthony Herron last week. What if Kenyon Siddique happens to be available at number 25? What do you do for the Chicago Bears? Those are fun conversations to have. They actually do happen in NFL buildings because you have to be prepared for anything and everything. But my mind outside of a building, an NFL building, it shuts down players that I don't think is going to be there. When we had to talk about Ruben Bayne last week, like, OK, can I foresee a situation that he's there? I don't know, but we'll talk about it because things happen and stories happen and new information becomes public, even though the rest of the league knows about it. So to me, I completely shut down. I'm not talking about David. I would love David Bailey, but it's not going to happen.

Speaker 1:
[37:15] That's probably why I didn't do enough job explaining. I did not just select the top guys at each position here. I picked from a crop that I think could be available. Now, ultimately, I think three of the five guys I picked here probably won't be, but the whole point is that you want at least one of them there, right? That you feel comfortable taking at 25. That's kind of how it works.

Speaker 2:
[37:37] So let's talk about safety because that's where we were on the same page, at least. You have Dillon Thienemann on your list. I have Dillon Thienemann on my list. I also have Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, the safety from Toledo. If I'm the bear... Go ahead.

Speaker 1:
[37:52] No, so I was going to say, this is where we did this a little bit different because in my mind, it was you have to pick one, right? So I'm picking Dillon Thienemann, and I like both of these players. But the reason I'm doing that is because I think he's a better fit for what the Bears are trying to do here at safety. I think when you look at what they did with the Kobe Bryant signing, and what Dennis Allen wants to do, I think they want speed and they want them to be more interchangeable than they were last year. I think Emmanuel McNeil-Warren is going to be a really good player, but I think you put him in and he's more of your box safety and Kobe's more of your free safety. I just think you put Theinemann out there with his speed and his range and his willingness to go up and tackle too, which they both have. That's where I think I could be wrong. I could beat my words tomorrow night and Emmanuel McNeil-Warren is a bear, but this is more instinct, more of anything I've heard. I'm just trying to view what the Bears have done. To me, Theinemann feels like the better fit to the Bears. Also, just in my opinion, I like him a little bit better, but I like both of them. By the way, have you noticed Emmanuel McNeil-Warren? There's a lot of chatter, he's going to follow the second round all of a sudden. Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[39:15] Well, we had this conversation in our previous show, like the separation with Theinemann and Emmanuel McNeil-Warren is the competition. I'd like, while it's positive in my opinion, that he stuck at Toledo, like he was loyal to the program. That's a positive in terms of intangibles. It still affects the projection when facing better competition. Theinemann did that at Purdue and then later at Oregon. He was a difference maker and they had ducked secondary, and he's fast as hell.

Speaker 1:
[39:51] Let's shift to offensive tackle now. By the way, I do like Emmanuel McNeil-Warren. If the Bears were to trade back in the second round, add draft capital and end up with him with an early second round pick, I think that would be phenomenal. So don't get me wrong. But in this exercise trying to pick one of them, I went with Theinament. Now, I'm going to go. I did actually put these in order, Jahns, of like how all five of these players rank overall to to me. So let's go to offensive tackle here, because you once again, you went with two offensive tackles. I do not think this player is going to be there, but I said this on CHGO yesterday. So far, he's the only player I've come across watching film, doing my homework on, that I actually feel like I would be OK with the Bears trading up to go get. Monroe Freeling out of Georgia, left tackle, I think he's built like a left tackle, he's played left tackle, he got better and better and better, especially his last season went along, and he's got long arms, the biggest hands out of any of the tackles in this class, 6'7, 3'17, he can move, he's smooth when he moves, he's got quickness, like the strength was a little bit of a question mark, but I thought that that came along as the season went along, he played in the SEC against top competition, this is the one guy that I just feel like I have a lot of conviction on, if he somehow slips to 25, you just take him and fix your left tackle situation and just like end it there, because I think he's going to play pretty quickly too, but he's also still got so much upside. You know, I'm going to take that last part back, he probably still needs a little bit more seasoning, so I don't want to say that he's just going to be throwing in there as your starter right away, but I think you put him in that competition with Jedrick Wills and Braxton Jones and the whole crew, I think he would end up winning it, honestly. I'm really excited about Monroe Freeland. Now the problem is I don't think he's going to be there. I think he's probably gone by then, probably doesn't get past the Steelers, maybe a few picks ahead of the Bears.

Speaker 2:
[42:09] So the two offensive tackles I listed in this misunderstood assignment by myself, it was Caleb Lomu from Utah and Ihanachor again from Arizona State. Two players with a ton of potential, a ton of athleticism, but at the same time, require time to probably will catch up to the position. With Lomu specifically, he just needs to get stronger, a little bit bigger. But he's played left tackle. I would rate him higher than Ihanachor if I'm the Bears, if I'm an offensive lineman coach, because Lomu has played left tackle, while Ihanachor has played solely right tackle. That's a projection to switch sides. There is little tape. You have to go back to junior college to find it on Ihanachor playing left tackle. Lomu has specifically played left tackle. So to me, that's where I would rate Lomu above Ihanachor. But I'd be comfortable with the Bears selecting either player at number 25. Both make sense to me. If you want to continue to bolster your trenches, to really fortify them for years to come, not just later this year when they catch up to speed, but well into the future, Lomu and Ihanachor continue to make sense to me at number 25. I think both will be in that range in the 20s for the Bears and other teams interested in picking an offensive tackle.

Speaker 1:
[43:32] We got a few more guys to get to, which we will do on the other side of the spring. We also have a fun little thing coming up here with the 57th overall pick. Don't know if you guys saw this yesterday, but it involves Devin Hester, who was once the 57th overall pick. Good marketing campaign. We will explain that when we come back, but first. All right, it's time to upgrade guys. Mother's Day coming up. We need to do better than just the flowers. I would still include the flowers, but let's go above and beyond that. Check out Aura Frames. We have one in our house and it is awesome. It sits right there in our front room. We use that room a lot for just kind of relaxing. My wife sits in there a lot during maybe the middle of the day when the house finally gets quiet for a little bit. And to just have those photos scroll through so many great memories of our family, the kids, it's just simply, it's an awesome gift. And it comes with free unlimited storage. So you can add as many photos and videos as you want. You can preload the photos before it ships. If you're shipping it to somebody else. There's a reason why this was named number one by Wirecutter. You can save on the gifts that moms love by visiting auraframes.com. For a limited time, listeners can get $25 off their best-selling Carver Mat Frame with code CHGO. That's auraframes.com, promo code CHGO. Show the support for the show by mentioning us at checkout terms and conditions apply. And, once again, a reminder from IDOT, Illinois Department of Transportation. Let's keep our eyes up out there on the road. Staying alert for pedestrians is a part of every drive. When you're on the road, remember to watch for those pedestrians. Be ready to stop. You don't know what's going to jump out in front of you these days. Got the bikes, got the robots downtown. All these different things are riding alongside traffic and sharing the road. Give them space when you pass. Check your mirrors. Always look twice before turning. Let's make sure everyone reaches the end zone safely. If you're coming out to our draft party this week, Thursday and Friday at Joe's on Weed Street, it is sponsored by IDOT and they want you to know. If you're coming out and you're going to have fun, maybe you're going to get that drink package. Make sure you plan ahead and have that designated driver. If you are driving, again, stop for pedestrians. It's not a game. A few more players to get to. I gave you my offensive tackle. It's Monroe Freeling. Gave you Dylan Theinman, my safety. Wedged in between there just so we're clear, Jahns. I got Monroe Freeling number one of these five guys. If all five are available, which they're not, that's who I would go with. Number two on my list is an edge rusher, who I also had in a previous mock, but I'm also worried he's going to be gone, even though he's 25 and has some injury concerns. That is a key message door. I think with where the Bears are at right now and the fact that they can win now, I don't care about the age. As long as the medicals are cool, the Bears doctors and all that. We heard Jeff King talk about that yesterday, how important that part of it goes into the evaluations. If they sign off on Macedora, I'm all in because I think he's pretty much a plug and play guy that can come in an edge rusher. So if he's still sitting there at 25, that would be my number. I would actually take him over Dylan Thienemann and that is more of a because of a premium position idea. I think you can survive a little bit more at safety. Whereas adding a guy like Macedora, I think can cause havoc right away. I would go get him.

Speaker 2:
[47:03] So I'm actually okay with taking older players because you still get four years of a player who could be a high performer for you. Not every player gets a second contract. They just don't. You can't always be obsessing over, oh, he'll be 29 when he gets a second contract. If he gives you three good years, four good years, that's a long time in the NFL. It really is. Kobe Bryant gave the Seattle Seahawks four good years. They couldn't resign him. Now he's a Chicago Bear. This happens. So I'm okay. But to me, my stomach for taking the older player, it changes later in the draft. Day two, I'm okay taking a guy who's 24, 25. Day one, I feel like projection and upside still comes more into the conversation. Maybe Mesadour is a finished product. I think he would upgrade the pass rush. But that would be... To me, if I'm in a draft room, that's an interesting conversation back and forth with my defensive end coach, with Dennis Allen, with everyone involved in such a decision. What's their projection?

Speaker 1:
[48:09] So again, Freling, Mesadour, and Athene-Aman. Now we go to defensive tackle. Already gave this away earlier in the show. Peter Woods was my pick in the final mock draft. I have him fourth, though. So just so we're clear, I would take Freling above him. I would take Mesadour above him. I would take Freling above him. Fortunately, I think there's a good chance all three of those are gone, which is why I took Woods in my final mock. But he is my defensive tackle I would take. And then at the last position in need, which I just, I feel like we have not talked about cornerback enough. It would not shock me at all. But there is this guy, Jermod McCoy, who's another interesting story, Tennessee, because I think he could be a top 10 pick, top 10 talent. But he not only is coming off a knee injury, but he didn't play last year. It was like kind of surprised some people that he actually came out the draft. Now, I don't know why, because he could still go in the first round. But it is interesting and some are concerning. He didn't play and then there seems to be some rumblings about there's still being concerns about that knee. So again, this one's a heavy medical decision that there's just we can't, we don't know the ins and outs of whenever going to know these things. But if he's medically cleared and he falls to 25 because of that, and the Bears feel like he can contribute, this dude is really good and he gets hands on the football. I think he has the potential to be one of the better cornerbacks in this league for a long time if that knee is okay. So of all the corners, if there's a situation where I think he actually could be available at 25, I would take.

Speaker 2:
[49:43] That would be the pick where everyone's wondering, why did you take a cornerback when you have four guys?

Speaker 1:
[49:50] Especially your hurt cornerback.

Speaker 2:
[49:52] But at the same point, it's going to be the same answer as Luther Burden last year. He was the best player on our board. That would make, again, 100 percent sense to me because this is the way this draft I think is going to play out. So since I misunderstood the assignment, I think I've said that about five times now. My final player was Derek Moore. But let's shift this conversation just a little bit before we get out of here. Because I think this range in the draft, to me, it's, do you take Mezador over Lomu? Do you take Lomu over Mezador? Do you take TJ Parker over Peter Woods? These are the players that we're talking about. So let's throw a few more names out there like Malachi Lawrence, Zion Young, Kaljic Falk. Do you think he falls all the way to 25? Where do you put these players, these pass rushers in the conversation with the offensive tackles? And, well, Peter Woods, your favorite defensive tackle.

Speaker 1:
[50:51] So if Kaljic Falk falls, I have, I would take him at 25, but I would not trade up for him. Like if you start getting close there, I'm not moving up a couple of spots, and I'd still actually like to trade back a little bit. He just lacks that twitchiness that I really want to see the Bears add more of. I just think he's a little bit stiffer, but he checks a lot of boxes, the character is outstanding. Who are the other ones you mentioned?

Speaker 2:
[51:17] Zion Young, a popular mock draft pick, and then Malachite Lawrence, who is rising up draft boards or at least on the outside looking in, and then TJ Parker, who was actually Peter Strager's final mock draft selection for espn.com.

Speaker 1:
[51:32] I'll start with Parker. Same thing, I'm a yes, but I would rather get him after a trade back. Good length, motor's always running. He's got a great long arm move. Same thing though as Peter Woods on that Clemson defense. They both saw their production drop, which almost like to me helps both of them. This was a team that started three and five last year. It was kind of a messy season. They finished strong. I know the defensive scheme and the assignments were a little bit different. The fact that happened to both of them and they're both first round talents tells me like they go to an NFL team with some good coaching. They could be turned around. So I'm a yes, but would rather trade back. Now with Zion Young and Malachi Lawrence, I am yes, but I want them both in the second round. And that makes it tricky because I'm not sure either one's going to last all the way to 57, which is the next thing we're about to talk about here. But I just I'm struggling. So maybe on a trade back, if the Bears trade back to this early second round, add some draft capital, I would take Zion or Malachi Lawrence. I think I actually prefer Lawrence, though. I like how he tested. I think there's a little bit more upside. Zion Young, I have in my notes, like kind of like Montez Sweat. You know, like he's good, he's powerful, but he's not going to be like the bendy get-around-the-edge guy, but he's big. There's no question, six, five and a half. It's the length, the ideal build for four, three defense event that we know Dennis Allen likes.

Speaker 2:
[53:10] If there's one player that like, like I'm watching as this, as the picks come off, like that I think will shake up the Bears draft room. Like to me, it's Dylan Theoman. I'm curious if you have a player in mind.

Speaker 1:
[53:24] That would fall.

Speaker 2:
[53:25] No, not just fall, but like you're watching with great interest. Is it Peter Woods? Is it one of the offensive tackles?

Speaker 1:
[53:35] I think Woods will be there. To me, it's Freelane. I think if Monroe Freelane is there, if he's still around at like 20, I'm going to say my intent is going to start going up.

Speaker 2:
[53:47] Yeah, like he's part of your wishful thinking list. I'm with you.

Speaker 1:
[53:50] Yeah, same thing with Macedor as well. Maybe Reuben Bain. Maybe Reuben Bain is the answer to that one too, that with some of the questions and he's got really short arms. Maybe it all adds up to him falling. All right, quickly here's some fun at the end. I don't know if you guys saw this, but Heinz, the ketchup company, 57, Pittsburgh. There's so many connections here, why this makes sense. They came out yesterday and said that they are going to give Mr. 57, so whoever's drafted 57 in this draft, lifetime ketchup, lifetime supply of Heinz ketchup and the opportunity to partner with Heinz, cementing their place in a new kind of draft legacy. This is relevant for a couple of reasons. One, the Bears have the 57th pick. Now, do they trade it?

Speaker 2:
[54:47] That's what I'm thinking. You know what this means? The Bears are definitely trading up or trading back off 57.

Speaker 1:
[54:51] Right. And as somebody that will never put ketchup on my hot dogs, this seems like you have to trade the pick now, just out of principle. Don't get me wrong, I like ketchup, just not on hot dogs. Actually, I don't even mind ketchup on hot dogs, it's just out of principle. Like you can't do it, right? It's the Chicago thing. I'm not saying it tastes bad. But this is a fun thing. Bears have the 57 pick, so we could be talking to somebody who's getting a free lifetime supply of ketchup here if they keep the pick.

Speaker 2:
[55:19] Could you imagine Pat Finley in that press conference article?

Speaker 1:
[55:22] Oh, my God. Yes, unfortunately.

Speaker 2:
[55:24] Get out of the way, everybody.

Speaker 1:
[55:26] I'm probably going to have a nightmare about it on Thursday night. It's probably all I'm going to think about is what questions Pat Finley drills the 57th pick with about ketchup. Now, this is also relevant because 57th pick back of the day, Devin Hester. So shout out to Hines. Look at this photo, man. If you're watching on YouTube, I start with the red Hines fit Mr. 57 jacket, the ketchup. This is a well-done promotion. This is good marketing. Good job by Hines, all the connections, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Hester. It's this, very few times, Jahns will be like, all right, let's give this some attention because these things can be very gimmicky. This is, I got to give a round of applause. This is well-done.

Speaker 2:
[56:14] The jacket, is it the hue? Is that the right word to use here? Like it is like right on with ketchup. It's not just like a red, but it's like the ketchup red. Very good.

Speaker 1:
[56:25] That's a ketchup jacket.

Speaker 2:
[56:27] Ketchup red.

Speaker 1:
[56:28] Yeah. Tater tubes, a smart move by Heinz. They know damn well that no Chicago and it's using that lifetime supply. Wait until the Steelers straight up though. And they take that pick at 17.

Speaker 2:
[56:45] So or the, or the, or the chiefs, you know, where they got Patrick Mahomes who puts ketchup on everything, right? It's true.

Speaker 1:
[56:55] Don't put ketchup on steak.

Speaker 2:
[56:56] Come on.

Speaker 1:
[56:57] Because I have some respect. Respect the cow. I mean, come on. That's ridiculous. All right. This was a fun show. I'm excited for the draft. We we got here. Appreciate everybody watching, listening. As always, hit the like button on the way out. It's the easiest thing to do. It's a little thumbs up. And all it does is help, you know, expand the reach of this episode and the channel. Also hit subscribe. We got to get those subscriber numbers up. So if you're if you're here for the first time, just please hit that subscribe button. And we also appreciate people that take the link and send it off to some of their Bears friends. I know you guys have chat groups with tons of Bears fans. So send the link off, ask them to subscribe. Helps helps our numbers here, help support the show. And we greatly appreciate it. Don't think we have any supers on the way out. So I think we're good. We will be back Friday morning, as we always do the week of the draft to react to the Bears pick. We will be live Friday at 10 a.m. to react and bring you all the reaction from Halas Hall as well. Johnsy will be at Halas throughout the weekend. I will be at our draft parties at Joe's on Weed Street. We will have live coverage watching along with you guys. 7 o'clock Thursday night throughout the entire first round. Friday 6 o'clock throughout the entire second and third round. If you want to come out and join us at Joe's on Weed Street, we'd love to see you there. And if not, make sure you are watching live on YouTube on the CHGO channel there. We will be back here on Hoge and Jahns Friday morning. And we will also wrap things up at the end of the weekend as well here on this channel. So again, hit the like button, subscribe so you don't miss any of that. You can also use the notification button as well. It should be a fun weekend. Can't wait to talk about it. And we'll see you on Friday morning. See ya.