Good Advice For Rookies, Looking Back at the 2016 Draft, Fashionable Bears, and Other Bullets

May 25, 2019

There’s nothing that Zanzibar Chocolate ice cream from your favorite candy shop can’t fix. Happy Saturday!

In case you missed it, the Jets requested to interview Bears Assistant Director of Player Personnel Champ Kelly for their open GM position. Joining Kelly on New York’s short-list is Joe Douglas, the Eagles’ Vice President of Player Personnel. To me, this says a lot about the type of people Bears GM Ryan Pace has hired/is hiring. It also speaks volumes of the front office strength of those Saints teams throughout the years. Good front office leaders tend to surround themselves with great co-workers. Replacing those guys is hard, but it’s looking like Pace has a feel for finding quality talent evaluators.

Perhaps it’s time to give Ernie Accorsi some love. Accorsi was a long-time NFL executive and a former New York Giants GM who was hired as a consultant to aid in the Bears’ search for a new general manager and head coach. Accorsi raved about Pace in an ESPN interview in 2015. Maybe he was onto something.

Here’s hoping Pace is onto something with his latest rookie class, which received its first look at Soldier Field:

Welcome home, rookies. 🐻⬇️ pic.twitter.com/DPiPwiaWbD

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) May 24, 2019

Get a good look now, because it might be the only one you get if you don’t play up to your potential. Take it from Olin Kreutz, who played a few games at Soldier Field over the years:

Don’t get comfortable still gotta make the team https://t.co/0Wr8A3mTAV

— Olin kreutz (@olin_kreutz) May 24, 2019

Good advice!

It’s impossible to fairly grade draft classes immediately. We can have takeaways, thoughts, opinions, ideas, hopes, and dreams. But a fair grade after one season? That’s a stretch. So with that being said, I’m digging the positive remarks Dane Brugler (The Athletic) has regarding the Bears’ 2016 draft class.

More teams received a “D+” or worse (5) than an “A-” or better. Chicago didn’t get an “A” grade, but came close with a “B” from Brugler and teammate Adam Jahns. That class features plenty of players who will play important roles for the team in 2019. There are two legitimate starters (Leonard Floyd, Cody Whitehair), a spot starter who plays a role as a key reserve (Nick Kwiatkoski), and a pair of rotational players (Jonathan Bullard, Deon Bush) at positions where depth is a strength, and a special teams ace (DeAndre Houston-Carson). That’s a pretty darn good haul.

Whitehair has been the best and most consistent of the bunch, but let’s not forget about Jordan Howard. No, Howard’s time in Chicago didn’t have a Hollywood ending. And I’m not convinced he is going to be a workhorse back for the Eagles (or any other team he lands on in the future). But what Howard provided for teams that had little offensive talent and minimal postseason dreams shouldn’t be overlooked. Players who work hard through adverse situations and still find a way to perform should be applauded for their efforts. The Bears might not miss Howard on the field because what they have done to re-shape the backfield, but there is something about a guy who did a lot of heavy lifting when times were rough.

The Bears were #good last year:

After leading the league in team defensive grade, the Bears led the NFC North in overall team grade from the 2018 season. pic.twitter.com/Sxk4RTNvqb
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) May 24, 2019

Not only are these guys good on the field, they’re ridiculously fashionable:

Charles Leno Jr. might’ve had the best outfit on display, thanks in part to the freshest kicks. Grape Jordan V’s? That’s way beyond my grasp.

Happy birthday to a legend:

HBD to Hall of Famer @BUrlacher54!
🐻⬇️ https://t.co/y4fMjFj6Fb

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) May 25, 2019

If Brian Urlacher gets after birthday cake the way he attacked ball carriers over the years, my guess is that he’ll have a wonderful birthday.

I’m glad to know I wasn’t alone in being miffed by Urlacher’s place in the #Top100Bears:

"My biggest disagreement with the list is that star middle linebacker Brian Urlacher deserves to be higher than No. 14."@LarryMayer shares his own hot takes on the #Top100Bears.
🔥: https://t.co/zd1ROMPyvQ pic.twitter.com/usFJulPqfg
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) May 24, 2019

Over at BN Bulls, I chimed in with some thoughts on a pair of available point guards reportedly on the Bulls’ radar:

Terry Rozier and Patrick Beverley Are On the Bulls Radar as Point Guard Hunt Begins https://t.co/oBVTam9A4R (via BN)

— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) May 24, 2019

written by

Luis C. Medina

Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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