Sometimes, late at night, I’ll be searching for something to take my mind off of stuff. And every once in a while, I’ll stumble upon a WatchMojo video I’ve never seen before. It ultimately takes me to a happy place.
This was last night’s video:
- There are just 23 days until the 2023 NFL Draft. And that has me thinking about how well the Bears have done with the No. 23 in recent years. Devin Hester was a second-round pick in 2006, wore 23 throughout the entirety of his career in Chicago, and will (eventually) get into the Hall of Fame. In 2014, the Bears took Kyle Fuller with a first-round selection. Fuller would go on to be a lockdown corner while earning Pro Bowl and All-Pro recognition while playing for the best and most competitive teams of the post-Lovie era. Even Jerry Azumah, a fifth-round pick in 1999, did well after rocking the No. 23 and would make a Pro Bowl in 2003. TL;DR โ Draft a good football player, let him wear 23, and watch them shine.
- Potential Bears draft pick Jalen Carter was in for a visit at Halas Hall on Monday. NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport shares that Bears GM Ryan Poles spent “considerable time” with Carter at Georgia’s pro day. More on the UGA standout from RapSheet below:
- That this was Carter’s second time linking up with Chicago’s brass intrigues me. Maybe this is rooted in the Bears doing their due diligence. But perhaps Carter is saying the right things as he tries to climb out of the hole he dug himself with his off-the-field issues and a whack pro day. I’m not wholly opposed to Chicago choosing Carter. After all, this is a player who has been a consensus No. 1 prospect throughout the pre-draft process. But good teams exhaust every avenue to get background on a player before making a top-10 selection. And the Bears better be doing this, too.
- I have a small interest in seeing how the Bears would handle drafting a player with notable off-the-field concerns. After the Ray McDonald fiasco, the Ryan Pace era avoided signing and drafting players with high-profile red flags. Carter’s situation now and what McDonald was dealing with at the time are very different. But both fall under the same umbrella. For what it’s worth, I do believe in giving second chances to those who earn it. If Carter can do that, I’ll be interested in following his career arc if it so happens to include a stop in Chicago.
- Some more mock draft stuff from our friends at BN NFL:
- At this time last year, we didn’t know what direction the Bears would go in because they had so many needs and didn’t have a first-round pick with which to address said needs. One year later, I still don’t know which way the Bears will go. Part of that has to do with this team still having a ton of needs. But some of the uncertainty has to do with there being a bunch of players who are conceivably good fits. And we’re still dealing with a regime that is in just its second year with the franchise. There are so many great unknowns, which makes this more exciting than usual.
- Last year’s Bears ground game was so good, but a huge chunk of it had to do with Justin Fields. This isn’t to say Khalil Herbert and David Montgomery didn’t carry their weight. They did! But Herbert was more explosive. And as Robert Schmitz explains, leaning on speedier runners could lead to the other ball carriers making a bigger impact:
- Speed is good. But if Herbert and D’Onta Foreman can display the combination of speed, vision, and anticipatory skills, they can truly leverage the cut-back lanes that Bears offensive linemen create. I mean, a much-maligned O-line group created a ton of holes in the running game last year. What could an upgraded group with a re-worked interior and new starter at right tackle do for an encore? I don’t know about you, but part of me would be down to fast forward to September in order to find out.
- Speaking of the offensive line, CHGO’s Nicholas Moreano got to talk to Brandon Thorn. If you’re unfamiliar, Thorn’s O-line evaluations are among the best in the biz. In other words, if Thorn is talking trenches, then I’m listening. More from Moreano:
- Those Jordan Love interceptions are gonna look GREAT in 4K:
- Weird baseball beef is back:
- The Bulls are playing in a big game tonight:
- At least one piece of the Blackhawks organization has playoff plans:
- Just a little bit of cross-promotion here:
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