Mock Offseason: FA signings and a trade

[rawdawg]

How can I take this seriously if you don’t have a replacement for Mustipher? Whitehair can be replaced and Leatherwood is being evaluated. If Leatherwood pans out, then replace whitehair. If leatherwood sucks, then get conklin.

There's nothing Leatherwood can do in the last 4 weeks that would make me comfortable with him as the starting RT next year. If he looks great, as he did in 10 plays Sunday, then best case scenario should be competition from an early round rookie and LG and C severely upgraded.

 

[baselman1974]

I agree rawdawg.

If leatherwood pans out, use a 2nd round draft pic as competition. If he doesn’t, get Conklin and use early draft pick for whitehair eventual replacement.

For center, get best FA Center possible.

 

[dentfan]

There's nothing Leatherwood can do in the last 4 weeks that would make me comfortable with him as the starting RT next year. If he looks great, as he did in 10 plays Sunday, then best case scenario should be competition from an early round rookie and LG and C severely upgraded.

I agree rawdawg.

If leatherwood pans out, use a 2nd round draft pic as competition. If he doesn’t, get Conklin and use early draft pick for whitehair eventual replacement.

For center, get best FA Center possible.

You’re both right. I edited my mock offseason to add in Jenkins. He can actually play IOL and RT. There are enough FA C that we can get another should we need to. I mocked us a very good RT from Maryland in the 2nd. If Leatherwood can be the man, good for him. If not, there’s the rook.

 

[wazzupi]

Why would you sign Elgton and move him to Center are we paying him center money ?!?!

 

[dentfan]

Interesting. I think you're way too low on the money. I think Payne may get 2nd highest DT money in the league. Obviously, not getting Aaron Donald money, but DeForest Buckner makes 21M/year. I think you're looking at 5/100M+ for Payne, who will be getting paid at a younger age. Edmonds at 16M/year is also low when the top off-ball LBs are getting over 20M these days. You also lowballed Montgomery, who I'm not sure why you are bringing back and drafting a RB top 10.

But putting it all together

QB- Fields, Siemien
RB- Montgomery, Robinson, Vaughn add in VJJ (with Ebner and Jackrabbit back to the PS ) here
WR- Mooney, Claypool, Allen, Washington, Mingo fucking lethal, right?
TE- Kmet, Kincaid
OL- looks like same as a bad line this year, but with Duncan, since you have no other OL moves listed Elgton Jenkins at C

DE- Clowney, Davenport, Baldonado, Robinson, Gipson Lethality
DT- Payne, Benton, Jones
LB- Simpson, Edmunds, Sanborn there’s the kid we picked up from Indi here, too.
CB- same but with Avery Young
S- unchanged

I will say you added some star power on this roster. Still looks like Fields will be running for his life though on straight drop backs, but at least you got RBs and WRs out the ass.

 

[dentfan]

Why would you sign Elgton and move him to Center are we paying him center money ?!?!

Nope, actually the MEDIAN of top G and RT. Yeah, he costs us. But can be the safety issue for Leatherwood and be a plug and play C should the best case scenario of a Leatherwood NOT needing to be replaced occurs.

FA costs more than we want to pay. It is what it is.

We need a dude to cover our bases. Should we need Jenkins at RT, we would have 16 mil in cap to get a cheaper vet to replace him.

 

[Anytime23]

@Anytime23

 

[gobullschi]

I agree rawdawg.

If leatherwood pans out, use a 2nd round draft pic as competition. If he doesn’t, get Conklin and use early draft pick for whitehair eventual replacement.

For center, get best FA Center possible.

Whitehair isn’t a FA for 2 more seasons. No need to use an early draft pick for his replacement just yet. Maybe Poles can find a middle/late round pick to fill that spot.

 

[dentfan]

Whitehair isn’t a FA for 2 more seasons. No need to use an early draft pick for his replacement just yet. Maybe Poles can find a middle/late round pick to fill that spot.

I agree. One of the beauties of signing Jenkins is that he can play LG. If he is beats out Whitehair, he can have the spot. I doubt it would be necessary, though.

I think putting Jenkins at C also gives a veteran presence who knows Getsy’s system where he needs a good voice.

 

[dentfan]

@gobullschi I moved your post from my mock draft to here.

Marcus Davenport is such a polarizing player. From a physical standpoint, he has all the traits to be a dominant DE. Plus, when you turn on the tape, he jumps off the screen, constantly collapsing the pocket and causing havoc. Then you look at his stats and they just don’t match the tape.

His stats reflect the time he’s lost due to being injured. His upside and potential is why we throw so much cash at him. He’s very young and coming off his first contract as a first round pick. He screams a Poles guy. It’s why we have to sign Clowney to create a rotation and have a legit backup plan. You’re not wrong. He’s a gamble.

He carries a lot of risk too, because he’s struggled to stay healthy for most of his career. If he is willing to only sign a 2-year deal, that minimizes a lot of the risk, and the Bears can always look to the draft for an eventual replacement. I’d be OK with that signing.

I’m not a fan of the Keenan Allen trade. It’s not realistic, but I respect the outside the box thinking. It makes more sense for the Chargers to move Keenan Allen for cost controlled draft capital and sign or draft RB.

I’m not sure why people are saying it’s not realistic. Spotrac has the Chargers over 13 mil in the hole! There aren’t too many teams who want a contract that accounts for about 9% of the cap. They may shop him, but who can afford him at his risk? They send him to us and never have to worry about playing against him. We can afford the risk. We either get him on a 2 year deal or there’s an out next year. He has basically this year to heal up. If he is healthy, holy shot. If not, GTFO. They may want draft capital; they’re getting a backup rb and a half eaten ham sandwich we left on the porch for a week.

My high value positions are QB, OL, WR, CB, DE, & DT. I don’t like spending north of $20M on a LB like Tremaine Edmonds when there are more cost-effective players available. It’s not that he’s a bad player, I just have a different view on which positions high draft capital and money should be allocated to.

As for your mock draft, I absolutely hate nearly every selection. Using a 1st round draft pick on a RB like Bijan Robinson?!? If you look around the league, you’ll find plenty of starting RB talent found in the later rounds. I like him as a player and he would help the Bears win games, but it’s a poor use of assets. Find a RB in the later rounds.

If Bijan was a rb that only took handoffs and caught the occasional pass, I’d agree. He’s what the league has been looking for with Deebo, just better hands and route running. He’s what we need, especially coming out of the slot.

You then follow it up with using another high draft pick on another player (Trenton Simpson) that doesn’t play a high value position. Similar to Roquan, you end up being forced into a position where you’ll have to pay a LB north of $20M. No thanks.

Simpson is a huge dude and an athlete. I don’t see why he couldn’t be a savage pass rusher off of the WLB, especially with Sanborn having his back.

I don’t mind the Jaelan Duncan selection, because he has a lot of upside and could be an eventual replacement for Whitehair. That being said, it’s hard to use a 2nd round draft pick on a guy who won’t start for 2 seasons. If he could be had in the 3rd round, I’d feel more comfortable with it.

I like the Habakkuk Baldonado pick.

I think he’s going to be real good. He fits what Poles is looking for.

I encourage you to check out Dontayvion Wicks. He’s been rising up my big board.

I like this guy and was between him and Mingo. He’s a good kid and a dynamic athlete.

 

[SugarWalls]

You may be right, but, since we have the space, wouldn’t he be just the hype of gamble worth rolling the dice on?

1.) he’s on the last year of a deal that could potentially be two.
2.) he is going to want to ball out to get another big payday. He has very incentive to play.
3.) if we have cash available, wouldn’t he be the dude you’d want Fields to throw to?

If he’s done, we spent money we can afford to lose. We’re not betting rent money. If he stays healthy, holy shit. We would have VJJ, Claypool, Money, and Kmet to take some pressure off of him. For a D, can you risk what Allen could do?

This is a guy you gamble on.

Rather keep Herbert at this point. Also, no point in adding a weapon that you know for sure is going to be injured. Has Keenan Allen had a single season he has been able to play fully? If so when was the last time?

 

[redgrange19]

I do not want Keenan Allens washed up ass on this team. We can do better.

 

[dentfan]

I do not want Keenan Allens washed up ass on this team. We can do better.

You may be right, but, without having to give up draft capital and for a pure salary dump, I’m not sure who else comes close.

Rather keep Herbert at this point. Also, no point in adding a weapon that you know for sure is going to be injured. Has Keenan Allen had a single season he has been able to play fully? If so when was the last time?

I see no real reason to keep Herbert. What he does well is a dime a dozen. What he doesn’t do well causes a tell for the opposing DC. He will never be a starter due to his failings. The O loses dimensionality when he’s in.

His value is at his highest right now. I’d trade him for a late round draft pick or a salary dump like Keenan Allen.

 

[dentfan]

Potential salary dumps due to salary cap:

Michael Thomas NO 15 mil+ Fuck no.
Courtland Sutton Den 15 mil+ Maybe?
Chris Godwin TB 20 mil Awe hell no!
Mike EvansTB 13 mil Maybe? Injured and 30 but still has some juice? I don’t know.

With

I do not want Keenan Allens washed up ass on this team. We can do better.

Okay. I put some dudes here that are under contract but that teams may want to salary dump. I put TB WRs because I’m just not sure what they do with Brady.

I can’t think of a single FA WR this year I’d spend a fucking dime on.

I’m interested: who is a better gamble than Keenan Allen at the WR position?

 

[BaBaBlacksheep]

Getting rid of Hebert is one of the weirder things I’ve seen suggested.

 

[Pretzel Logic]

This is the kind of Mock Offseason you'd have on your coffee table in your Man Den,

 

[dentfan]

Getting rid of Hebert is one of the weirder things I’ve seen suggested.

Maybe. But what does he bring that can’t be replicated. His value is pretty high right now. I don’t see a future for him in the team. I think this offseason is about getting Fields weapons. Herbert should become expendable, especially with the way Evans has been looking.

 

[BaBaBlacksheep]

Maybe. But what does he bring that can’t be replicated. His value is pretty high right now. I don’t see a future for him in the team. I think this offseason is about getting Fields weapons. Herbert should become expendable, especially with the way Evans has been looking.

Dude a 6.0 YPC is elite. If you don’t see a future for him…. And want to replace him with Evans after only 12 carries…

Sorry but these are just horrible takes IMO.

 

[redgrange19]

Potential salary dumps due to salary cap:

Michael Thomas NO 15 mil+ Fuck no.
Courtland Sutton Den 15 mil+ Maybe?
Chris Godwin TB 20 mil Awe hell no!
Mike EvansTB 13 mil Maybe? Injured and 30 but still has some juice? I don’t know.

With


Okay. I put some dudes here that are under contract but that teams may want to salary dump. I put TB WRs because I’m just not sure what they do with Brady.

I can’t think of a single FA WR this year I’d spend a fucking dime on.

I’m interested: who is a better gamble than Keenan Allen at the WR position?

Unless you draft somebody, the receiver position is meh this offseason. Unless a Tyreek Hill or AJ Brown trade request comes out of nowhere like it did last offseason, the draft is your best bet.

 

[dentfan]

Dude a 6.0 YPC is elite. If you don’t see a future for him…. And want to replace him with Evans after only 12 carries…

Sorry but these are just horrible takes IMO.

Yes. A one-dimensional RB getting that yardage is valuable. I don’t see his value ever being so high. If we keep him, no biggie. He is a replaceable cog, though.