2012 NFL Draft Analysis & Grades

[Ballennonstop]

What are your overall thoughts on the bears picks? How did our rivals do?

Listen, I thought this was going to be a good draft but after Alshon Jeffery it all seemed to go downhill.

#19
Shea McClellin DE
6'3 260lbs
Surrrprrrissssee
Doesn't seem to be a great fit in our Defense. Love his intangibles.

B-

#43
Alshon Jeffery
6'3 216lbs
Classic boom or bust prospect
Would have been an A+ if he fell in our laps at 50

A

#79
Brandon Hardin FS
6'3 217lbs
Seems awful high to take a DB that hasnt played a full season in recent memory due to injuries. My gut tells me this pick may work out to our benefit, though.

C+


#111
Evan Rodriquez TE
6'1 239lbs
Hate it. Hate it. Hate it. WAY too high to add a tweener TE with minimal upside and character issues. Kiper had him as his 19th Rated TE. Would've rather gone OL, DT, WR, LB. Aaron Hernandez yayyy SMH

F

#184
Isaiah Frey CB
5'11 188lbs
Future Practice Squad'er. Hopefully good ST'er and depth at CB and Nickel.

C+

#220
Greg McCoy CB
5'10 181lbs
Another CB!? Liked a lot of other guys that were on the board here.
C-

[ChiBear]

on paper this looks to be one of the worst drafts the Bears ever selected. No OL was picked, a DE that is not really a DE but a LB. Corners that are ST players. The only pick we looked to have not reached on but probably could have had at 50th is Jeffrey..

not happy but we will see. I will give emery a pass in Year 1.
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In regards to Cutler:

[Madmike90]

#19…DE…Shea McClellin…A

McClellin isn’t just a high motor high effort guy…he is a very good athlete who plays with real bend and flexibility…his tape shows a great fluidity and he should excel when stunting and twisting in our scheme…also shows a great ability to get off blocks on tape…possibly better than any other DE in the class…and he will be a stand out special teamer early in his career…he is a long term starter at LE IMO.

#45…WR…Alshon Jeffery…B

If we get the motivated in shape Alshon for the next 8-10 years this could be a A+ pick…if we get the disinterested out of shape Alshon it could be a disaster…the talent is there now he just has to work hard year after year to make the most of it…if he does he could be the steal of the entire draft IMO.

#79…FS…Brandon Hardin…B-

In a strong safety class I would have given this pick a D…but the class was so weak and we needed depth at safety so bringing in a high ceiling versatile DB makes a lot of sense…he could be a more athletic Kam Chancellor if he lives up to his ability who can match up with the bigger more athletic TEs we are seeing in the NFL…if he doesn’t develop he should always be decent depth and a core special teamer.

#111…TE…Evan Rodriguez…C-

As a pure depth pick up Rodriguez isn’t such a bad pick…he should be a backup at FB and a 3rd TE who can play ST and have a few plays designed around him in the playbook…but he isn’t the blocker Clutts is…he isn’t the matchup problem Davis is and I just don’t see him developing into a starter…when you consider some of the guys who were still on the board and could have stepped into the DT rotation or competed for a starting LB role it just seems like a pick born out of worrying about roster spots rather than quality.

#184…CB…Isaiah Frey…C

We needed CB depth and youth…Frey has decent size, quickness & ball skills…could develop into solid depth or could be another Josh Moore…time will tell.

#220…CB…Greg McCoy…C

I look at McCoy as a pure special teamer if he makes the team…he has a career kick return average of over 33 yards and I would expect him to play coverage units.

[Lets_Play_2]

Team Priorities...

1. Had to make some accommodations for the defensive front (Rod Marinelli, Mike Phair), but also for JP, Brian Urlacher, and Lance Briggs. They look to be hoping that Shea McClellin is that missing piece that turns the defensive front into a formidable force on the field. If they did it right, then everybody becomes better.

Emery apparently has a vision for the Bears defense (and offense), and that's pressure. The Bears may be seeing that with Jay Cutler and a running game/receiver corps like they now have, that the Bears can win most shootouts.

2. Emery was obviously intent on making a substantive change to the receiving core of the Bears. You obviously don't trade for a Brandon Marshall and draft an Alshon Jeffery if you are extremely satisfied with your existing wide receivers.

Will it all work out? Unknown. But have to give Emery credit for having a vision, and following through on it.

3. The Safety position. Let's face it, the opposing TE's have just killed us several different times in each of the last few seasons. So the Safety positions are being upgraded. But it's how Phil Emery is doing it that is most interesting. The Bears are identifying CB's who have size/speed profiles that will work for the safety position. Now the question is can the draft picks adapt and adjust to the new position. Chris Conte apparently did. So, why not try the same approach again.

4. Defensive backfield/special teams. We lost 2 players to free agency, and both were effective special teams players. Got to keep our special teams solid.

5. Obviously, both cornerback and offensive line will have to be further addressed going forward. But, at least to me, Emery has a solid multi year plan. Let's see if it works out.

We obviously know that DL was a higher priority this year over the OL. But I wonder if either Gilmore or Kirkpatrick (CB) has still been on the board, if Emery would have passed on either of them for DL.

Would love to know if Emery had more than one priority system in place, depending on who was available on the draft board.
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Most People Prefer Tactics, I Prefer Logistics.

[Lets_Play_2]

One last consideration.

Phil Emery obviously listened to his coaches and scouts. You are paying them good money, might as well utilize their work product.
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Most People Prefer Tactics, I Prefer Logistics.

[neo]

I know we are grading for the sake of debate and on names alone, but I can't see myself grading a product who hasn't stepped on the field yet. I thoughts, but to grade them off of name, where they were picked, so on and so on wouldn't be fair. with that here are my thoughts:

Shea "Lunch Pale" McClellin DE: He seems to be the guy that whenever you watch the Bears play he is just gonna be everywhere.He might not get the rookie record for sacks, but he seems like he's gonna bring it every game and he is versatile.He has shown the knack to just get to the QB and thats what we needed.

Alshon "Monster Mash" Jeffery WR: All I need to say is look at his highlights and lowlights. I'm pretty sure you will see for more impact highlights than lowlights. Plus he comes in as the #2 guy to another beast of a WR. His overall physical attributes are better than Blackmon, Floyd and Hill. If Knox can do what he did his rookie year, just think what he can possibly do his. He dropped to the 2nd rd and he will remember that when he plays. 6-3 213-220 lbs, Low 4.5 forty, 10 1/4 hands (best hands in the draft) 80" Wingspan, omg just think what Cutler did with Marshall, so to have him on the opposite side is gonna be bananas. He could quite possibly win rookie of the year. Real talk.

Brandon "I Hit" Hardin FS/SS: All I can say is if he checks out medically (which he did) he and Conte could form a very good tandem. With Conte's coverage ability and tackling ability, Hardin can play SS and bring his speed/size combo to the position, plus he has CB coverage ability. A lot of people including me thought we should have gotten Brandon Thompson, but we have more depth at the DT position than safety along with Wright and Conte both being hurt last year. He has great physical ability with CB coverage skills and thats going to become more and more valuable with these athletic TE's. I think he start from Week 1 on physicalness and ability to pick up our defense.

Evan Rodriguez FB/TE Hybrid: Wasn't that impressed until I looked at his tape. Showed ability to block in the open field, good hands out of the backfiled and on vertical routes. He just gives Cutler another weapon that can play on all 4 downs.

The rest of the draft I could care less about do to them being depth/STers/Practice squad. James Brown might be the best pick of the rest of the draft and he's a UDFA. We got 2 players who will play immediately and a SS prospect that might play da1 as well. The rest was for depth due to most positions accounted for. Give them a chance to play first before we judge. Quite frankly, once we got Jeffery, I was good with everything else.
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[JPeppers90]

Shea McClellin: A-
Only reason this isn't a solid A is because of what else was there at our pick. Mcshay said the bears will love this pick and Mcshay said he sees Shea MCLOVIN as a solid 4 down DE in two years.

Alshon Jefferey: A
Just as MM90, if we get the hard working in shape alshon jefferey this will be a great pick. I have heard thenquestionmmarks about his work ethic are false and that he is a ver hard worker. Let's hope so. He should fit in very well opposite B Marsh with all the attention marsh gets. Add in Forte, Bush, Bennett, rogriguez, knix (PUP) we shall have an explosive offense.

Brandon Hardin: B+
We needed safety depth and I think we got it. I actually think Hardin wil come n and be a starter over wright mid season. 6'3 with tremendous speed and in the YouTube video of him his shoulder has gotten even stronger since he injured it. Will be key in being able to over big, physical TEs.

Evan Rodriguez: C
Seen great things about him and being compared to Aron Hernandez is never a bad thing, I think he brings a different aspect to ur offense that we didn't have. Very versatile.

Sorry... Dont have anything to say about the last 2 picks

[Pool]

Alshon Jeffrey alone makes this an A+ draft. Everything else is gravy. I love that Emery addressed our biggest need by going almost entirely offense. Love the McClellin pick, he will be a huge upgrade at DE. And this comes from someone who has pretty much hated every single Bears draft of the last 10+ years. They did really good on this one (I know, I know, way to early to judge etc) but it looks really good so far. Although, I might just be overly happy not to see any more JA head scratching picks.

[Pool]

Disinterested out of shape Jeffrey? I don't get it. Did you watch the Emery presser? Jeffreys junior season Garcia threw the ball 400 times. His senior year Garcia (who wasn't that good to begin with) was replaced by a guy (who was worse) and they passed the ball almost 100 times less. This is a great great pick for the Bears. Anyone doubting Jeffrey will be looking foolish very soon. Guy's a stud who put up great numbers against the best CB's in the draft. Can Blackmon or Floyd say that? Stephen Hill? (I like him, but I'll take a proven SEC WR over potential any day).

[DaMike]

Shea McClellin. B I didnt feel he was the best DE on the board but I think he's a good fit and will upgrade our pass rush. Should be a day one contributor.

Alshon Jeffery. A+ Excellent pick. Exactly what we needed. He's a do it all WR who was excellent value where we got him.

Brandon Hardin. C We needed another safety and this kid is a great athlete. Definitely has starting potential at either spots. He's what we needed after watching JerMichael Finley smoke us. Great STer.

Evan Rodriguez. B+ Really good pick. He's capable of playing multiple positions and is a well rounded player. Very physcial. Can block. Good bulk. Good hands. Fluid athlete with great speed. He's going to give us very favorable matchups. Great STer.

Overall I give the draft a B/B+. We got 3 day one contributors. Good job Emery!

[Madmike90]

[DaMike]

[Madmike90]

[DaMike]

[raq11]