Hypothetical: Would you draft David Ojabo if available at 39 or 48

[LIBlue]

He was a top 20 player at a vital position - pass rusher - but he tore his Achilles and is scheduled to be out six months. Would you take the risk?

 

[doctorbear]

I would’ve focused purely on offense in free agency and draft and trade as much of the bloated defense as possible and use that money and picks on offense too. As much as possible to make Fields succeed. So no I wouldn’t

 

[modo]

He was a top 20 player at a vital position - pass rusher - but he tore his Achilles and is scheduled to be out six months. Would you take the risk?

He's only a one year starter...and he's out for an entire year. I would not use high draft capital on it. at this point a draft rich team may use a 3 or maybe a late 2 I think at best.

 

[Enasic]

At 39, no. At 48 maybe? But still probably not. Go double WR in round 2 or WR and OL

 

[Dragon Slayer]

Poles first pick being a Pass rusher coming off an Achilles tear? ?

Not a chance

 

[Rob219_CBMB]

FUCK NO

 

[greg23]

A one year college starter off an off season injury out for 6 months at 39 or 48?

Fuk that.....trade up for the guy!

Signed

Ryan Pol....errr.....Pace!

 

[pdxbearsfan]

He was a top 20 player at a vital position - pass rusher - but he tore his Achilles and is scheduled to be out six months. Would you take the risk?

I'm the wrong guy to ask, I'm not usually big on Michigan players and with all our needs I would not take a guy with a major injury as our 1st pick.

 

[TexasBearfan]

I read some statistic somewhere about lengths of careers post achilles, Cam Akers and the kid from Indy are aberrations, the vast majority of them are out of the league in 2 years or something like that i wouldn't touch him w a 10 foot pole.

 

[Black Rainbow]

No more pre-injured players, please.

 

[Montucky]

I don't mind taking defense in the second round but the idea of taking defenders who are pre-broken with major injuries is a little too far. Maybe if the Bears had a first round selection it'd be more palatable.

 

[fatkid73]

Man, I was thinking about this when I saw him go down with that injury. On one hand we have a ton of holes to fill on both sides of the ball, and DE is not near the top of the list at this point. However, he is a top 10-15 pick talent wise that could be had in the 2nd round. If the plan is to shop Quinn next off season, it would be nice to have a replacement already rostered. DE is a premium position and typically does not come cheap in the FA pool. Taking Ojabo this year is basically like getting 2 first round picks next year.

I would not hate the move, as I'm not sure how competitive we are going to be this year anyway.

 

[OBearsWon Kinobi]

Achilles injuries are brutal to rehab from and who knows if his explosiveness off the snap will ever come back to even near what it was. I’d take a 5th round chance on him but not one of our day 2 picks.

 

[cameronkrazie86]

Achilles injuries are brutal to rehab from and who knows if his explosiveness off the snap will ever come back to even near what it was. I’d take a 5th round chance on him but not one of our day 2 picks.

I preface this all with I am not an elite athlete nor anywhere near it. I also didn't have a world class medical and rehabilitation team.

That said, I had "minor" Achilles surgery as part of my reconstructive ankle surgery. Of all the stuff I had to rehab as a result of the surgery, the Achilles was the worst part of the rehabilitation process. Again, it was "minor" Achilles surgery, nothing major like a torn Achilles. It took me close to 10 months to feel "ok" and almost 2 years after surgery to be completely pain free.

The rehab sucked and was painful but the part that sucked the most were the setbacks. Every setback I had was tied to the Achilles and it was the most minor part of the entire procedure. A few examples: random, painful cramps when trying to sleep. It sounds silly but even doing something as simple as standing on my tippy toes for more than 5 seconds was a problem for a quite a while. Then having to "re-learn" how to walk, run and jump. All simple stuff we do every day. The whole rehab sucked so much that there were times I regretted getting surgery even though I needed it done.

So to answer the original post, would I draft someone coming off an Achilles in the 2nd round? No. I would consider using a late round pick on him but I would not, under any circumstance, play him next season. Regardless of what Akers did this past season (which will forever remain insane to me), if I were drafting Ojabo, I'd "redshirt" him for 2023 and give him ample time to get better in hopes of having a nice, long career.

 

[Collins77]

I would leave it in the hands of my medical staff. If I got a 100% he will recover and be back to 100. I would do it. He's a top 10 if healthy. Sit him a year or so and have one less need in 23.