NEWSLETTER
A challenge I’m finding in reintroducing myself to society is figuring out how much allergy medicine I need to properly enjoy being outside for extended periods of time. It’s a small price to pay, but I’ll be sure to make the most of it.
• I like that Brent Robleski (Bleacher Report) goes off the board when it comes to the Bears’ one rookie to watch at OTAs. Sure, Justin Fields is the obvious choice here. But all eyes will be on him anyway. And when it comes to the non-quarterbacks, the happenings at cornerback should be the most interesting camp battle going at in Bourbonnais Lake Forest. Graham has the potential to be the latest late-round find for this front office. If Graham can adapt to being a rookie in the NFL in the same way he did as a true freshman working his way into a sizable role at Oregon, then I like his chances.
• Graham’s style was fun to watch in college. You can see why the Bears were digging him as a possible late-round steal:
• It’s a crowded secondary, to be sure. Graham joins Artie Burns, Kindle Vildor, Duke Shelley, Teez Tabor, Tre Roberson, and Xavier Crawford vying for a niche role. And if things breaks well, it won’t take much to imagine someone besting Desmond Trufant for a starting spot. Yeah, I’m still a bit bummed to see Bashaud Breeland head to the Vikings on a small dal. But there’s enough competition to grab my attention.
• Can’t wait to see Allen Robinson II get an opportunity to work with the best quarterback he’s had in his career:
David Carr has Justin Fields and Allen Robinson ranked 1st in his QB-Vet WR rankings.
To be honest, 2nd place should be "big gap" because it's not really that close. pic.twitter.com/pWBCNXuCNv
— Max Markham (@MaxMarkhamNFL) June 5, 2021
• And I can’t wait to see Robinson get the love he deserves. Cynthia Frelund (NFL Network) maintains Robinson remains one of the league’s most under appreciated players. Frelund cites Next Gen Stats, noting how Robinson is one of just five players who have a catch rate over expected of least +5.0 in each of the last two seasons. I don’t need advanced analytics to tell me Robinson is good at catching footballs, but I feel good knowing the metrics pass the eye test. Seriously … get this man a quarterback who can throw and a line who can protect said quarterback, then watch Robinson shine.
• Julio Jones is taking his talents to Tennessee. There were reports a team was willing to send a future first-round pick in a Jones deal, but the general consensus was that it would be the Titans getting it done with just a second-round pick. At that price, part of me wishes the Bears could’ve gotten in on the action. But to be fair, Atlanta settling for a second-round pick suggests to me the first-round pick offer was from an NFC team (and possibly one on the Falcons’ schedule). In other words, it sure seems as if the Falcons were set on sending Jones to a non-NFC team. Which … fine by me.
• I love when teams think outside of the box when adding to their roster this time of year. But the Titans went totally off the board with their latest offensive line addition, signing All-American heavyweight wrestler Adam Coon. The Michigan product hasn’t played football since high school. But he put together an all-time great wrestling career in the Big Ten. That’s not inconsequential. At least, not in the eyes of Titans talent evaluators. Here’s to seeing Coon play when the Bears and Titans play in the preseason this summer. If it works, I imagine Coon won’t be the last wrestler to try and make the jump.
• Speaking of future Bears opponents, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger says his team’s new offense requires extra studying, but is a fun challenge. At age 39, I didn’t think Roethlisberger would have time for being a bookworm. But he doesn’t have much of a choice at this stage of his Pittsburgh career. The Bears and Steelers are on the Monday Night Football schedule in Week 9 on November 8.
• In case you’re curious about the rest of the schedule, this post is for you.
• Someone (read: me) had fun on their weekend trip to Wisconsin:
Tell me you’re looking for QB help, without saying you’re looking for QB help. I’ll start. pic.twitter.com/YpZEl1RS5S
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) June 5, 2021
• Projectors, underwear, lanterns, air purifiers, and supplements are among the Deals of the Day at Amazon. #ad
