2008 Offseason - Bears Draft...

so, sometimes bahkus and I have separate conversations outside the realm of this forum (so as to spare the majority of you that dont care what I have to say. -- not to say that bahkus cares what i have to say....but he is at least a bit more tolerant of me and my bears obsession -- if not fighting off one of his own)

In any event...there is often some Bahkus knowledge that he imparts, that I feel everyone should see. I usually keep it to myself, but I feel on this occasion, he says it so well, that it is a must-read... on the topic of the bears draft.

So, here is Bahkus's take:


"Not sure yet. Really to me, the most important picks are the first two: Jarron Gilbert and Juaquin Iglesias. Jarron is raw talent, and is supposed to be an athletic freak of nature with like a seven foot wing-span. His body type reminds me of Israel Idonije, and he’s supposed to be really fast. They probably want him to be a defensive tackle as opposed to a defensive end. If Marinelli can coach him up, he could add a lot of depth and athleticism to the middle of the line.



Juaquin Iglesias – I’ve read a lot of mixed stories about this guy. There were some teams that supposedly had him as a second rounder. Other “experts” say that he won’t be any more than a number three slot receiver. But he’s supposed to be a possession guy, which is exactly what they want to complement Hester. I think he sees the field this year, since really our receiver corp is now made up of Hester, Earl Bennett, Rashied Davis, and bench/practice squad players. I foresee it being Hester on one side, Bennett on the other, with Iglesias in the slot. That is, if Bennett can play like a starter… we shall see.



I think D.J. Moore will be good. I know the reason he dropped so far was due to his height, but I’ve read that he projects to be a similar player to Nathan Vasher. That’s a good thing to project to, despite the fact that Vasher has sucked the last couple of years. Remember a time when we used to think that nobody threw to Vasher’s cover for a reason? Iglesias has a vertical jump of like 39 inches or something. That’s ridiculous. He plays bigger than he is.



I don’t know much about the other guys. Henry Melton, or whatever his name is, is a DE, which will add depth to our line again. But we don’t know what he’ll be. Again, I think this is a pick blatantly aimed at Rod Marinelli. We’re saying that if he is one of the best defensive line coaches in the league, if not the best, that he will be able to coach these guys up… take their raw talent and athleticism, and make them polished.



Johnny Knox, the fifth/sixth round receiver, is supposed to be tremendously fast, with “vacuum hands”. But he’s extremely raw, and I don’t trust our receivers coach. He won’t play this year. But man, he’s supposed to be fast.



Overall, considering that we got Cutler, I like what they did. We added depth to the defensive line and the receiver corp. At least this way you get some good competition at two areas that need it.



Now we just need to figure out the safety position. The guy they drafted projects as a strong safety. Honestly? If they don’t find someone else, I see us going out and bring Mike Brown back in, at least for locker room purposes. He’s still sitting out there waiting for a call. It can’t hurt if you’ve got no other options. I just don’t feel comfortable saying that Craig Steltz is our starting free safety."



I couldnt have said it better, and agree wholeheartedly with much of what you are saying here M-box. Now, we have all seen Jarrods pool quake footage thanks to MElons recent e-mail. Obviously that was a steal for the 3rd round...perhaps the steal of the draft...but what of the rest of these guys?

There seems to be a lot of discrepency over Iglesias. I think he was a good pick for the 3rd round....but that he will not likely be the answer we were necessarily looking for (But Bears fans were overzealous at the idea of resolving ALL of our problems this year with ideal resolutions -- sorry...shit doesnt work like that).

I'm not sure the answer to our WR issues could have been better taken care of with 3rd round picks or worse tho....so I'm actually satisfied with the pick despite some of the mixed stories.

I think it is Knox that will be the most interesting to see develop. That guy is fast as hell, and I think he will play just for that sole reason. With an arm like Cutlers, and lack of skill at receiver...this guy can come in and make a difference.

Back to Iglesias...as bahkus suggests, he will fill a role...and I think he will fill it nicely. Is he the next Jerry Rice? no. I dont know what people expected the bears to get? We were never going to get an unquestionably great, gone in the first round receiver, given the picks we were working with. Ridiculous to think otherwise.

Hes a good receiver pickup for the 2nd pick in the third round...bottom line. I agree with bahkus - he probably sees the field this year....i think they both will (knox too)....and more....that at least one of them will make a bigger impact than the naysayers are currently suggesting. Once again...always the Bears optimist...

What do the rest of you think?



DLP (featuring mmmbahkus)