Rory Sparrow
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- Joined:
- Aug 14, 2010
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3rd round: RB David Montgomery, ISU
First and foremost, #calledit. Second, this falls in line with the Pace MO of identify biggest weakness area, target player, acquire player. One thing that justifies Pace’s move is that the Bills took Devin Singletary right after the Bears picked Montgomery, so its possible that the Bills would have taken Montgomery prior to the Bears #87 pick. That said, trading up to get a RB not named Sanders or Henderson is a bit of a reach, and the Patriots ended up with Bama RB Damien Harris at #87, who very easily could be superior to Montgomery.
Montgomery is already a polarizing figure…detractors say he is Jordan Howard 2.0 (assuming it’s the 3.7 YPC Howard), believers say his skillset is similar to Kareem Hunt’s (LOL). Wow. Having watched Mongtomery a little bit, I’d say he’s much closer to Howard than Kareem Hunt, but neither is a good comparison.
I don’t think Montgomery will be an individual threat…he’ll get his yards within Nagy’s system when Nagy needs a ball carrier. Defenses won’t gameplan for Montgomery, they will breathe a sigh of relief when he gets the ball instead of a dangerous Cohen or Trubisky dropping back.
Grade: C-
4th round: WR Riley Ridley, UGA
Interesting that Pace went with a blue-chip program player. This could be like an “Eddie Jackson pick”, with a talented player falling to the middle rounds for whatever reason (I assume lack of speed and arrest had something to do with it). His college stats are garbage, he never even came close to having a 100-yard game, and he’s very small to be a starting ‘possession’ WR in the NFL. Not sure if Nagy’s offense wants possession guys in the slot, so this might not even be the ostensible “system fit” that everyone seems to talk about. I would have liked this pick a lot more if it took place toward the end of the draft.
Grade: C-
6th round: CB Duke Shelley, KSU
Who doesn’t love DBs from the Big12, amirite? Was originally projected as an UDFA, but had a strong pro day, which I guess wowed Ryan Pace enough to take him in the 6th round. Undersized CB who missed half of his senior season with a toe injury. I can only assume that Shelley was very impressive in his interview, because I’m not seeing much else here. WR Kelvin Harmon of NC ST was taken right after, and his college resume is much better than Ridley’s. Hmm.
Grade: F
7th round: RB Kerrith Whyte Jr, FAU
Did Pace think he was drafting the other FAU RB…like when Bill Tobin drafted the ‘wrong’ Darren Lewis back in the 90’s? Joking aside, this is really the only pick that says “Nagy guy”. White has the potential to be a matchup problem moreso than the glut of other skill position players Pace has brought in this offseason. I assume Patterson is the KR, and White didn’t return punts in college, so I’m not sure what White can add to the Bears return game. I guess we’ll see if he makes the team first, then go from there.
Grade: C+
7th round: CB Stephen Denmark, Valdosta St.
From what I’ve read, Denmark graded out much higher than Shelley, and that is even with the red flag assessment of “the tape is rough”. Needs time to develop, which he could get on the Bears. Seems to fit what the Bears are trying to do…not sure if Denmark will be moved to S to take over when Dix leaves. I wonder if during the upcoming season we will rhetorically ask ourselves “what if Pace drafted a kicker in the 7th round?”, forgetting that the only thing everyone in the media agreed upon was that the Bears DEFINITELY shouldn’t ‘waste’ a draft pick on a kicker.
Grade: C
Overall Grade: C-
First and foremost, #calledit. Second, this falls in line with the Pace MO of identify biggest weakness area, target player, acquire player. One thing that justifies Pace’s move is that the Bills took Devin Singletary right after the Bears picked Montgomery, so its possible that the Bills would have taken Montgomery prior to the Bears #87 pick. That said, trading up to get a RB not named Sanders or Henderson is a bit of a reach, and the Patriots ended up with Bama RB Damien Harris at #87, who very easily could be superior to Montgomery.
Montgomery is already a polarizing figure…detractors say he is Jordan Howard 2.0 (assuming it’s the 3.7 YPC Howard), believers say his skillset is similar to Kareem Hunt’s (LOL). Wow. Having watched Mongtomery a little bit, I’d say he’s much closer to Howard than Kareem Hunt, but neither is a good comparison.
I don’t think Montgomery will be an individual threat…he’ll get his yards within Nagy’s system when Nagy needs a ball carrier. Defenses won’t gameplan for Montgomery, they will breathe a sigh of relief when he gets the ball instead of a dangerous Cohen or Trubisky dropping back.
Grade: C-
4th round: WR Riley Ridley, UGA
Interesting that Pace went with a blue-chip program player. This could be like an “Eddie Jackson pick”, with a talented player falling to the middle rounds for whatever reason (I assume lack of speed and arrest had something to do with it). His college stats are garbage, he never even came close to having a 100-yard game, and he’s very small to be a starting ‘possession’ WR in the NFL. Not sure if Nagy’s offense wants possession guys in the slot, so this might not even be the ostensible “system fit” that everyone seems to talk about. I would have liked this pick a lot more if it took place toward the end of the draft.
Grade: C-
6th round: CB Duke Shelley, KSU
Who doesn’t love DBs from the Big12, amirite? Was originally projected as an UDFA, but had a strong pro day, which I guess wowed Ryan Pace enough to take him in the 6th round. Undersized CB who missed half of his senior season with a toe injury. I can only assume that Shelley was very impressive in his interview, because I’m not seeing much else here. WR Kelvin Harmon of NC ST was taken right after, and his college resume is much better than Ridley’s. Hmm.
Grade: F
7th round: RB Kerrith Whyte Jr, FAU
Did Pace think he was drafting the other FAU RB…like when Bill Tobin drafted the ‘wrong’ Darren Lewis back in the 90’s? Joking aside, this is really the only pick that says “Nagy guy”. White has the potential to be a matchup problem moreso than the glut of other skill position players Pace has brought in this offseason. I assume Patterson is the KR, and White didn’t return punts in college, so I’m not sure what White can add to the Bears return game. I guess we’ll see if he makes the team first, then go from there.
Grade: C+
7th round: CB Stephen Denmark, Valdosta St.
From what I’ve read, Denmark graded out much higher than Shelley, and that is even with the red flag assessment of “the tape is rough”. Needs time to develop, which he could get on the Bears. Seems to fit what the Bears are trying to do…not sure if Denmark will be moved to S to take over when Dix leaves. I wonder if during the upcoming season we will rhetorically ask ourselves “what if Pace drafted a kicker in the 7th round?”, forgetting that the only thing everyone in the media agreed upon was that the Bears DEFINITELY shouldn’t ‘waste’ a draft pick on a kicker.
Grade: C
Overall Grade: C-
