2024 NFL Pre-Draft Thread - The Chicago Bears are on the clock (for now)

The Game Room
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The Super Bowl is in the rearview mirror with the Kansas City Chiefs claiming the Lombardi for the second straight year. This means it time for teams to start rebuilding for 2024. The Chicago Bears for the second year in a row have the #1 overall pick (fortunately they didn’t earn it through ineptitude this year).

Key Dates Event
February 20 Teams can Franchise Tag Players
February 27 - March 4 NFL Scouting Combine
March 5 Franchise Tag Deadline
March 11 Legal Tampering Period
March 13 Official Start of the League Year
March 13 Free Agency Opens
March 24 - 27 Annual League Meeting
April 19 Deadline for Restricted Free Agents to Sign
April 25 - 27 NFL Draft (Detroit)
May 2 Deadline to exercise 5th year options on 2021 1st rounders

Storylines

The aforementioned Chicago Bears have the 1st overall pick and the opportunity to draft the best player in the draft. Some think this is Marvin Harrison Jr. others think it’s Caleb Williams. A small minority will maybe say it’s Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels. Probably the most dominant discussion will be whether the Bears pull the trigger on Caleb to be their QB of the future or stick with Fields and try to trade back for a massive windfall. We’ll have the next 3 months to beat this topic into the ground.

The Champs have a lot of work to do if they want to repeat. Notably, their top 2 defensive players (Jones and Sneed) are both up for new contracts. They likely can’t pay both, in fact they may not be able to pay either one. They need to fix both their OTs and they need to find a couple WRs to play with Kelce and Rice and rookies won’t be able to rely on rookies for all these spots. A threepeat will be really hard,

The 49ers are in a really solid position with few key FAs. They’ll be licking their wounds for a bit, but they have the resources to add even more talent around a dirt cheap QB who played like a Super Bowl caliber guy. They might be the team that tries to win the offseason to get Shanahan over the hump.

There’s a bunch of guys who could potentially get tagged, and if not will be making it rain in free agency. Tee Higgins, Chris Jones, Mike Evans, Brian Burns, Josh Allen, Jaylon Johnson, Antoine Winfield Jr.

There’s another group of big names who might be finding new teams as FAs or cap casualties. Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry, Chase Young, Josh Jacobs, David Bakhtiari, Khalil Mack, Mike Williams, Taysom Hill, Geno Smith.

There’s a log jam of teams at the top of the draft who might be looking to draft one of the top QBs which could lead to a few blockbuster draft day trades. The Bears of course are one, but the Commanders, Patriots in the next 2 spots should probably looking at the position. Will be interesting if a team falls in love and tries to swap spots with the Bears. The Giants, Jets, Falcons, Vikings, Broncos, Raiders and Bears (again) have picks in the top 13 with a potential need at the position. As usual, teams will probably act irresponsibly when looking at the prospect of a shaky guy under center in 2024.

A few veteran QBs may be on the move and filling some of those aforementioned holes. Kirk Cousins will present the Vikings with a tough decision. Russell Wilson seems to be persona non grata in Denver, but he’ll be damn hard to move on from due to that contract and the sunk costs. Geno Smith is going to be looking at a new coaching staff and a pretty big cap number. Daniel Jones got a new deal and the team may already be regretting it. Baker Mayfield seems like a great fit in Tampa, but he’s a free agent. Of course, Justin Fields may potentially be a trade chip.

All that before we even begin talking about an exciting crop of rookies who we’ll get to watch at the Combine in just a couple weeks. Likely 3 top QBs, Williams, Daniels and Maye. 3 top WRs, Harrison Jr., Odunze and Nabers. A pair of studs at OT, Fashanu and Alt, and even a potential top 5 TE in Bowers. While it’s definitely a draft tilted towards the offense at the top, there’s a bunch of defenders who all could land in the top 10: Turner, Newton, Wiggins, Verse, Latu, Dejean and others. Come the Combine there will probably be some fast risers getting into the conversation.

The Bears have 2 picks in the top 10 (1 & 9 OA). The Cardinals might have the most draft capital of a team in recent memory with 3 picks in the top 35, and 6 in the top 90 and 13 picks overall. The Commanders are similarly flush with 5 picks in the top 100. Conversely the Panthers and Browns lack a 1st round pick due to trades, the Texans were able to move up to take Will Anderson last year because they had Cleveland’s pick incoming thanks to that asinine Watson trade.

That’s enough out of me. Post your thoughts and drop your links here.

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That reminds me that earlier in the playoffs I saw a commercial with Saquon Barkley in uniform running into a stadium with a team. Unfortunately, they were all wearing unbranded grayish uniforms without logos. That commercial did not exactly fill me with confidence that he would be back with the Giants this year.

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I’m sure you know that this probably has nothing to do with his current or future status with the team. Whatever company he was promoting simply didn’t have the rights to use the Giants logos.

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I don’t think I’ve ever seen unbranded NFL player commercials before. Unless they’re in street clothes, that is. Then again, I don’t watch many commercials.

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I believe that in order to include a team name or logo, the company must be an official sponsor of the NFL.

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There’s this State Farm one, with Mahomes, Reid & Kelce. They’re on the field comparing jerseys, but they’re not actual Chiefs jerseys & there’s no Chiefs logo to be seen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL-5pfIstDU

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Excellent counterpoint. Okay, so that is not necessarily a bad omen. (Though realistically I think the odds of Saquon being a Giant next year are small.)

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I’m going to hazard a guess that if you want to use the actual team logo, you’ve got to pay the team for it, since it implies the team is also advocating your product. Whereas if you put Mahomes, Reid & Kelce in red shirts (which is of course the State Farm color also), there’s nothing the Chiefs or NFL can do about it.

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Up here in the Seattle area, we love our football players and so they are in a lot of local commercials. In at least 90% of them they are wearing a football uniform of some kind but it’s designed to somewhat resemble the Seahawks without actually being a Seahawks uniform, because it’s not officially associated with the NFL.

Love Marshawn Lynch and his “Stop freakin’, call Beacon” commercials for Beacon Plumbing.

Note that his uniform number was 24, so the “24/7” thing is a great callback.

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Predictable news from the Bears.

Whitehair is washed and it’s absolutely time to remove the temptation from the coaches to keep trotting him out there. Jackson can still play, but once he signed that contract, he really started to shit the bed. One of the worst tacklers in the NFL and freelances way too much on the backside. That said I wouldn’t be at all shocked if this were a reality check for him and he plays himself into another contract on another team. He has the ability, just not the give-a-fuck.

And the Fields to the Steelers rumors are starting to get cranking. We shall see if there’s any fire there, I’m not holding my breath.

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Jimmy G suspended 2 games for testing positive for PEDs. Expected to be released by the Raiders.

To get the obvious joke out of the way: “Whatever performance-enhancing drugs he was taking, they sure didn’t work!”

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In all seriousness, with Jimmy G’s seemingly endless string of minor injuries, him taking PEDs to try to heal and get stronger to survive isn’t shocking. People have argued that this falls into the area where PEDs might as well be allowed.

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One of our local radio sports folks made a joke that the PEDs probably just made him handsome,

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Just ruminating on the QB Carousel this off-season. I’m sure if you consume off-season content, you’ll see a lot of lists and speculation over the next couple weeks before any moves happen, here’s my addition.

First off, let’s look at the list of teams that are definitely or likely to be in the market for a QB.

Chicago Bears
Defcon 3
This one is obvious. They have Fields and the 1st overall pick. The likeliest scenario is a Fields trade and drafting Williams, but you simply cannot rule out them selling the pick and the rights to draft Caleb for a king’s ransom. One way or another, the Bears are likely to be sellers to every other team on this list.

Washington Commanders
Defcon 2
With the 2nd overall pick, they will certainly have the chance to draft a QB here. They have Sam Howell and a new coaching staff and front office. It’s likely that they’ll move on from Howell, who was just a 5th rounder 2 years ago, but he wasn’t exactly terrible this year as a starter. He was just on his ass most plays, and on the others, he threw it to the wrong team a bunch. Will they bring in another Tar Heel in Drake Maye? Will they consider riding with Howell another season or grabbing a veteran and drafting MHJ? Will they look to swap spots with Chicago?

New England Patriots
Defcon 1
This one is an emphatic yes. Again, there’s a new HC in town, but Mayo was part of the old regime. I think the chances of him running it back with Mac and Zappe is close to zero. But they are sitting 3rd in the draft and will need to decide if they are content to roll with the 3rd QB off the board as their defacto starter for 2025. Even if they land Daniels or McCarthy, they will still be a potential landing spot for a veteran. Would Kraft sell the farm for Caleb?

New York Giants
Defcon 4
They paid Daniel Jones a ton of money, but he got hurt and was terrible before that. They are stuck with him in 2024 due to the contract structure, but they could move on in 2025. That said, their GM has publicly committed to adding a QB this offseason one way or another. I doubt they will look to move up in the draft or make a splashy trade, but sounds like one of the available QBs will be in NY next year.

Atlanta Falcons
Defcon 1
Another emphatic yes. No chance they repeat the Desmond Ritter experiment with that talented skill group. In the draft they are probably out of striking distance for a top QB unless they think McCarthy is deserving of the 8th pick. Last year the Bears traded back to 9th, so they could do something similar with the Falcons…but I bet the price will be a lot higher with Caleb available instead of Young. They are also perhaps the most popular projection for a Fields trade. At this point it would be weird if the Bears and Falcons weren’t in regular communication.

New York Jets
Defcon 4
They are married to Rodgers so it might be a stretch to have them on this list. Yet, Rodgers is coming off a serious injury that tends to have a slow recovery…and he’s old as shit. It’d be a surprise to see the Jets do anything dramatic this offseason, however it wouldn’t be at all shocking for them to pick one of the second tier QBs as they look to the future. Perhaps they just gobble up a premium veteran backup, Trubisky would be hilarious but unlikely.

Minnesota Vikings
Defcon 1
Cousins is a free agent and the Vikings are unlikely to roll with Mullens/Hall as the starters. One of the available QBs are going to Minnesota. Might be Cousins, but I have a hunch that the team is ready to move on considering the contract that Cousins is certain to demand. Like the Falcons, they probably can’t fix the problem by staying pat in the draft. Can they find a FA better than Cousins?

Denver Broncos
Defcon 2
Everyone expects them to part ways with Wilson. It’s no done deal, but safe to say they have other plans at QB. They draft after the Vikings and with the dead cap that Wilson will gobble up, an expensive FA seems far-fetched. Is Payton interested in trying to fix a guy like Fields or Mac? Is the GM willing to burn more draft capital? They are in a tough spot, but change is almost certain.

Las Vegas Raiders
Defcon 2
The rookie O’Connell was serviceable but he’s not a long term option. Jimmy G is likely to be released. So this is another team drafting in the teens with major questions at QB. They definitely could be a trade partner for a team like the Bears or a team that bids up the price for the handful of FAs out there. This is a seat that will need to be filled somehow.

Indianapolis Colts
Defcon 4
These guys are something of an outlier. They have a promising rookie in Richardson but last season they saw the value in having a capable veteran backup. Minshew is a FA and could return in a similar role, but if he leaves for a bigger payday somewhere else, the Colts will almost certainly be in the market for a FA with starting experience.

Seattle Seahawks
Defcon 4
Normally you’d say they were set at QB, but they just fired their coaching staff. If you were happy with the development of Geno in the wake of the Russ trade, you wouldn’t do that. Geno’s contract is easy to terminate if they decide the experiment has failed which would put them in the market for a new signal caller. This will be an interesting situation to monitor.

Pittsburgh Steelers
Defcon 1
They let both Trubisky and Rudolph go, and Pickett is statistically one of the worst starting QBs in history. People said Tomlin’s seat was hot this offseason, which was kind of dumb, but if he goes into 2024 committed to Pickett, he’ll probably be out of a job in 2025. Everyone and their brother has predicted them trading for Fields which makes a ton of sense, but the price isn’t going to be as cheap as fans want to believe. Will they balk? Will they pay for Cousins? This team is definitely in the market.

Miami Dolphins
Defcon 5
These guys are probably in a different category than the rest of the teams, but they need to decide if they want to pay Tua $45M+ a season. I’d be shocked in Tua weren’t the starter in week 1, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if the drafted a guy like Penix in the 1st round if he’s still on the board. They might be able to get the same production in that offense without the cost. Something to watch.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Defcon 1
They are basically in the same spot as the Vikings. Baker is a free agent and they don’t have another option on the roster, so this is a seat that needs to be filled. I think everyone will be surprised if Baker weren’t back since that marriage worked really well, but Baker will have suitors and might be a lot more expensive than the Bucs are prepared for. It would be entertaining if the Vikings signed Baker away and left the Bucs holding the bag.

There’s a couple other teams, the Lions and the 49ers, who you can’t absolutely rule out from making a change but I consider both scenarios extremely unlikely. That’s a total of 14 teams that I consider to be in the market for a QB. There aren’t 14 QBs on the market who can walk in and start on week 1. Not every team is desperate, but most of them I think are. So this could potentially get wacky.

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The crazy thing is that he was looking to come back at the end of this past season if the Jets were still in playoff contention. I expect him to not only be the opening day starter next season, but also participate in the entire offseason.

That doesn’t mean they don’t desperately need a real (or at least mobile) quarterback. Based on how the OL played this past season, the over-under on how long Rodgers survives next season is 4 plays.

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What Rodgers says and what is reality don’t always coincide. I suspect that he’ll start on week one too, but him reaggravating it in camp and/or being a statue out there are scenarios that the Jets “brain trust” better be planning for.

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Local sports media agrees with this (as do I). One could imagine Zappe sticking around as a practice squad/back-up, maybe, but Jones is toast in NE. If the Pats can get anything for him in a trade at this point, I think they’d take it.

Rumors abound about Baker Mayfield as a strong option, given his ties to new OC Alex Van Pelt. In those scenarios, the Pats bring in Mayfield to start and stay put at #3 to draft Marvin Harrison, Jr. (Some suggest a LT instead of MHJ).

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As a Seahawks fan I wouldn’t be mad if they drafted a QB. I don’t expect them to but if they drafted a guy and had him sit a year or two behind Geno that would be sensible. I also wouldn’t be mad if they instead bolstered the offensive/defensive line in the first round.

Like you I think it’s an interesting situation.

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Another factor with the Vikings’ offseason is the possibility of trading Justin Jefferson rather than making him the highest-paid WR in the league. He’d likely command a boatload of draft capital, including multiple first-rounders, which could give the Vikes a better chance of trading up.