May the 4th Be with Your NFL Draft Picks, Scott vs. Stevenson, Why Not JMS? And Other Bears Bullets

Luis C. Medina

May 04, 2023

Chicago Bears

The Force is strong with these guys:

#MayThe4thBeWithYou 🐻⬇️ pic.twitter.com/5Z1dThj3pZ
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) May 4, 2023

May The 4th Be With You, to all who observe.

At this time last week, we were gearing up for night one of the NFL Draft. One week later, I’m curious to know how you feel about what went down in Round 1.

I think, for me, it is as simple as this: The Bears added future draft capital by trading back one spot with the Eagles, still got the top player on their board, and were able to cross a huge need off the to-do list. If I had a Jedi’s ability to look into the future, I’d be able to tell you how that decision will turn out. Unfortunately, I don’t have that ability. Not yet anyway. But I can say, with confidence, that the process GM Ryan Poles went about en route to making the pick was a strong one. This team seemingly went through an exhaustive evaluative process with linemen, then picked the best one on their board. Here’s hoping good process yields equally good results.

Feedback regarding how the Bears did on draft weekend continues to roll in. And while we’ll dive into some grades later, I found this to be an interesting way to evaluate how teams did on draft weekend:

Most Total Value Added in 2023 Draft Class
Based on Daniel Jeremiah’s Top 150 Prospect Rankings
Value#Colts 591#Eagles 581#Lions 576#Steelers 575#Bears 572
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) May 3, 2023

Sure, this bit of analysis is based on one person’s boards. But Daniel Jeremiah is one of the most respected NFL Draft analysts. So when the Bears are passing the smell test based on his grading, I feel like they’ve done well. At a minimum, they’ve done well in terms of maximizing value. It’s better than the alternative of questioning if the Bears got the most out of their assets. Doing the most with your assets is a very different thing from your picks doing well. But we’ll cross that particular bridge when we get to it starting later this summer.

For some, drafting Minnesota’s John Michael Schmitz would’ve made for a perfect draft. Considering the Bears’ need for help and stability along the interior of the line, not drafting a player like JMS was something of a head-scratcher. But Kevin Fishbain’s explanation via his mailbag at The Athletic gives the Bears’ decision to pass on Schmitz some context and perspective (bold emphasis mine):

Schmitz, the Homewood-Flossmoor product, was high on Bears fans’ wish lists, but he wasn’t a priority on the Bears’ board. This isn’t to say their evaluation is correct, but remember that Schmitz was on Luke Getsy’s team at the Senior Bowl. They got an up-close look at him and chose not to take him. His athletic profile, which might not match his tape, also didn’t line up with the rest of the class (he had a relative athletic score of 7.89). And the Bears didn’t feel the need to add at center.

A cold, but necessary reminder that our evaluative eyes as fans and those of the guys calling the shots aren’t always the same. This isn’t to say one side is right and the other is wrong. It’s just that sometimes it is easy to get lost in the sauce regarding our love for a prospect that the other side might not feel the same way. And it works the other way, too. Sometimes, teams get too invested with a prospect and lose sight of the big picture. Seeing the forest through the trees is a challenge we all deal with from time to time.

If we see Tyrique Stevenson and Gervon Dexter Sr. in starting roles early, then we’ll probably not find ourselves looking back at this pick. Although, this keeps center high on our list of positions that I’m not sure the Bears have a long-term answer at right now. Then again, we knew the Bears weren’t filling every hole this offseason. I’m curious to see what the offensive line will look like in Week 1 this September.

In asking five questions ahead of the Bears’ weekend rookie minicamp, Alex Shapiro (NBCS Chicago) has me looking forward to seeing what it looks like when Stevenson takes on fellow first-year player WR Tyler Scott.

Speaking of Scott, he and Roschon Johnson pop up on this list:

The NFL Players Association invited 45 players to its annual NFL Players Rookie Premiere event May 18-21 in L.A.

The full list, from an NFL Management Council memo to clubs: pic.twitter.com/L5S63owkkX— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) May 4, 2023

The annual Rookie Premiere event is an opportunity for first-year players entering the league to get a taste of the other side of football. There are business, marketing, and professional aspects that the rookies get a chance to get acclimated to during the event. After all, there *IS* life after football. Getting a feel for that and rubbing shoulders with your contemporaries for a weekend in L.A. is a good deal in my books. I hope the Bears rookies have fun.

I love it when a headline brings some juice to my day, via the Trib’s piece by Colleen Kane: “GM Ryan Poles drafted them. Now coach Matt Eberflsu goes to work with the Chicago Bears rookies at camp this weekend.” Simple. Effective. And lays the groundwork for what’s to come.

Some news from Packerland:

Packers’ QB Jordan Love officially signed his one-year contract extension that ties him to Green Bay through the 2024 season.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 3, 2023

That sound you heard was the collective cheers from defensive backs around the NFC North.

There are a bunch of fun tidbits in Patrick’s BN NFL Bullets, including an anecdote about how Bill Belichick screwed the Jets on draft night.

Sheesh:

"I think the important thing for fans is, while they want you to win championships, they want to know that when you get to the last month of the season, you still have a shot." – Jerry Reinsdorf

Grab a pillow to punch. Jerry Reinsdorf said stuff.

More – https://t.co/jODlHdtdxE pic.twitter.com/KiocIbLKkp— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) May 3, 2023

Wander Franco has too much sauce:

Wander Franco Flipped the Ball to Himself Mid-Play, Just Becausehttps://t.co/m13kP2Lspl pic.twitter.com/9QxHKOfcdx
— Baseball is Fun (@flippingbats) May 4, 2023

The Cubs lineup has been sauceless lately, but today is a good day to go 1-0. David Ross’ starting 9 features Miguel Amaya’s big-league debut and the return of Nelson Velásquez. (BN Cubs)

Hjalmmering the point across that the NHL Draft Lottery is coming up soon:

How many days until the 2023 NHL Draft Lottery? #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/pN7tzdaWPC
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) May 4, 2023

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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