NEWSLETTER
The NFL is home to some of the most storied rivalries in sports.
Bears versus Packers. Steelers against Ravens. Tom Brady and proper ball inflation. The list goes on and on for as long as you want it to go. But one of the newer entrants is Bears Twitter vs. Pro Football Focus.
However, I think a truce will come down the pipeline once Bears fans read how the team graded out in the wake of the 2021 NFL Draft:
https://twitter.com/PFF_Fantasy/status/1388643183429554177
https://twitter.com/PFF_AustinGayle/status/1388641221308989440
2021 Bears #NFLDraft draft class and their PFF grades:
#11 QB Justin Fields (Elite)
#39 T Teven Jenkins (Very Good)
#151 T Larry Borom (Average)
#217 HB Khalil Herbert (Elite)
#221 WR Dazz Newsome (Average)
#228 CB Thomas Graham Jr. (Elite)
#250 DI Khyiris Tonga (Above Average)— Lee Sharpe, Fully Vaccinated (@LeeSharpeNFL) May 1, 2021
Boom! An overall A+ grade. Favorite status among one of the site’s analysts. Seven draft picks, with none grading below average. Three prospects with “elite” grades. I won’t even apologize for the stream of consciousness that comes out in the rest of this post. Giggity, giggity, goo! I’m legitimately over the moon reading about the Bears’ draft getting rave reviews. Someone will need to call NASA to bring me down eventually. Just not right now.
Justin Fields was PFF’s third-ranked overall prospect and is described as having “special talent” and a “ceiling as high as any passer” in the draft class. Teven Jenkins was lauded as one of the draft’s top run-blockers, who also pass-blocked well enough. Even the selection of cornerback Thomas Graham Jr. drew praise. Impressive, considering Graham didn’t play in 2020 after opting out. That Graham put up three years of “quality play as a starter” before 2020 speaks volumes of what PFF’s analysts think of his talent.
This is certainly the best I’ve felt after a Ryan Pace draft. And evidently, I’m not alone. That’s a feeling I’d like to get used to now that I’m settling into it.
All of this feels earth-shattering because the Bears haven’t fared too well on PFF’s grading scale in recent years. And because of Mitchell Trubisky’s issues, he was often at the center of it all. For the most part, the Bears Fans-PFF beef felt more like that Animal House where Otter says He can’t do that to our pledges, with Boon chiming in Only we can do that to our pledges.
And while I’ll admit there were some moments that ruffled my feathers, there was nothing too egregious. So on behalf of Bears Twitter, I’d like to present an olive branch. We cool? Because I think we’re cool now.
