Still Gotta Come Through Chicago

Blue and Orange Colored Glasses

Happy Friday Chicago!

It’s been two and a half years since my parents bought me a stacked toolkit for Christmas. This past week, I dove into it with enthusiasm for the first time.

Mom and Dad imagined I may become a handy DIYer, putting together my own furniture, fixing cabinet doors falling off their hinges, and helping friends with tasks they could not do without the expensive set of tools now in my possession.

Instead, at age 29, I rifled through contents of the kit — much of which still resides in plastic packaging — and came up with the tape measure buried at the bottom.

For the next few minutes I assiduously measured my arm’s reach, pulling the tape measure out with my fingers and cocking my neck backward to get a read on the inches.

After Will Campbell, the fourth overall pick in the NFL Draft, was dogged for his reach, I figured I’d try to get a gauge at just how short we were talking.

I came up with three conclusions: that I could not cut it as an offensive tackle in the NFL either; that it’s kind of hard to measure your arm’s length on your own; and that my parents did their best, but that’s not always good enough.

Back up to the top shelf goes the toolkit. I’ll see it when I next come home determined to put together a desk or a chair, just before I call the directions moronic and then eat takeout while lying on the ground next to the parts, scrolling Task Rabbit for help.

The last time I had a Task Rabbit come help me put together a desk with 52 steps — 52! — I came back into my apartment and asked him if it was harder than he expected, searching for some semblance of validation.

“Not really,” he said.

Not worth a tip then, it sounds like. Douche bag.

The NFL Draft did not disappoint, as the Bears were somehow able to grab four future Pro-Bowlers in the first two rounds, and three surefire starters in the latter rounds.

The only thing it was missing was a live look-in not at Shedeur Sanders as he fell, but at the neighborhood dads high-fiving at a 23-year-old getting some taste of humble pie.

I didn’t find the Sanders slide all that surprising, at least at first, nor did I find the storylines around him this past weekend particularly interesting. That was until I started coming across some of the reactions to it.

Is it nice to prank call a prospective draftee and mock him? Absolutely not. Did we need a single think piece on that prank call? Absolutely not. I think Shedeur will be just fine, and I imagine this slide will actually do him some good in the future, particularly because the financial losses of that great of a slide won’t affect him.

Unsurprisingly, I’ve gotten over the raw disappointment that came with passing on Tyler Warren on Thursday, and now — as mentioned above — believe that Colston Loveland will probably be a Pro-Bowler in two to three years time.

To check myself, I’ve tried to remember Bears draft picks I didn’t like over the past ten years. The first one I thought of was Mitch Trubisky, which I remember being confused by, not because I thought Trubisky was bad, but because I had seen him play football one time in my life.

College years weren’t great for amateur scouting, as I was on Saturdays drinking as much as I possiblly could from 6am to 2pm, taking a long nap, then finishing a Jimmy Johns sub while I put my shoes on and ran out the door looking to see where the rest of the day may take me. I wasn’t exactly keyed into the ins and outs of ACC football, in other words.

If the Bears were drafting Trubisky that high though, he must have it. That turned out not to be true.

Kyle Fuller was drafted the pick after Aaron Donald in 2014, and he ended up being a good pro. But that felt like an unfortunate miss from the get go. I left my dorm room for a minute to get water and my roommate then earnestly blamed the Bears missing out on Donald on my brief departure.

Shea McClellin, in 2012, was probably the last first-round pick that I thought — in the moment — no chance this works out. But it didn’t take a young Mel Kiper to land on that judgement.

As for other picks not in the first round, it’ll take some time for me to go through them all and figure out which ones rubbed me the wrong way.

But even beginning this exercise is a good reminder for me just how strong my biases are, and how dumb I can be when I watch my favorite team pick college players on television.

It’s a hard childhood habit to kick. I’ve hated free agent signings, despised trades the Bears have made. But man if I don’t see the best in those young guns.

Speaking of my childhood, I find what’s going on with Bill Belichick right now far more fascinating than what’s going on with Shedeur Sanders.

It’s conjuring up the feelings that came with finding out that Santa was not real. That father — and it’s hard for me to even get through this — was the one housing cookies while I was asleep, and not a magical and fat Christian man.

I never liked the Patriots, but was always fascinated by them. I had an insatiable hunger for any and all media related to Brady and Belichick while that cloak of secrecy was still draped over them. Now, that mystique has vanished, as the former is making YouTube videos with Mr. Beast and the latter is whipped over a 24-year-old.

Everyone is looking for their own way to remain young, I guess. It’s far easier for me, though, as I throw the tools back into the box and break out the Pom Poms for every Bears draft pick.

Thanks for being with us today. Let’s get into that draft, and much more.

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Before we get into the nitty gritty of the four future Pro-Bowlers and three starters the Bears nabbed last week (one will only be a solid backup), I want to dish on how I think the draft went from a process perspective.

Colston Loveland was drafted in the first round, and there, I believe the Bears drafted what they thought was the best player available. It’s hard to find an evaluator who doesn’t like Loveland, even hard to find an evaluator who believes Tyler Warren will definitely be better than him.

Anyone that isn’t happy with that Bears pick was like me: they had fallen in love with Warren. Loveland had shoulder surgery in January after playing hurt through much of last season (and still producing). This is largely irrelevant outside of the fact that I’d rather have the 10th overall pick be not hurt over hurt.

Other than that, he appears to be a prospect with a very high floor and very high ceiling. It’ll be up to him, and the Bears coaching staff, to end up closer to that ceiling than the floor.

If the draft evaluators aren’t your cup of tea, Jim Harbaugh was also dying to trade up for Loveland and Nick Saban waxed poetic about how he was one of the ones that got away from them at Alabama. Loveland was an All-American in 2023, and All Big-Ten in both 2023 and 2024.

He’s also a really solid blocker that can do things that Cole Kmet can’t. If Kmet can’t cut it the next year, he’ll be gone, but I don’t think that’s the plan. I think the Bears like the idea of the two in tandem, playing off each other.

One of Ben Johnson’s core tenants is versatility, and specifically versatility within position groups. The Bears now have two tight ends that do different things well, but Loveland will ideally blow past Kmet’s ceiling in a couple years time.

As for the second round, many — including myself — were surprised when the Bears went receiver with pick no. 39.

We’ll dive into what makes Luther Burden III an exciting pick later on.

But my read on the situation is that the Bears always planned to bolster the offensive and defensive lines in the second round. But, when a guy of Burden’s caliber was still around at no. 39, they pivoted. And they pivoted well. They still accomplished their goal after the trade with Buffalo — which got them two more picks in the second round — and went for the high-value selection and Burden with their first second-round pick.

Frankly, if the Buffalo trade didn’t materialize, I would have been peeved by the Burden selection. Once the trade did happen though, it all made sense. And I think, obviously, the Bears knew they had two more picks to take stabs at linemen later on before they took Burden.

This takes us back to the all-important free agency period. The Bears were able to draft for value and go with more “flashy” picks in their first two selections because the offensive and defensive lines are far more solidified than they were when the season ended.

If Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson, Grady Jarrett, and Dayo Odeyingbo were not signed in the offseason, that also would have rendered the Bears approach nonsensical.

The Bills trade was a haul, and made all of this possible.

After Burden was selected, the Bears received two more picks in the second round from the Bills for pick no. 41. They gave up no. 41, no. 72 (third round) and no. 240 (seventh round) in exchange for no. 56, no. 62, and no. 109 (fourth round).

(The Bears would later trade no. 109 back to the Bills for no. 132 and no. 169.)

The best way to consider these trades is to wait patiently for other, similar trades to come in. Taking into account the math of moving up 15 or so spots to no. 41, the Bears got a sizable package in return, even when considering the other picks they gave away in addition to their second rounder.

Perhaps most importantly (if my theory holds), the Bears were then able to take Burden and still get two guys they liked at those offensive and defensive line positions in the second round.

In the second round — particularly in this draft — there’s still plenty of talent around on the offensive and defensive lines. Maybe not surefire, Day 1 starters, but future starters nonetheless.

In the first two rounds, the Bears were able to basically get the best of both worlds. There’s no telling if it’ll work out, but they got two exciting pass catchers and still found a way to grab insurance and potential in the trenches.

The obvious caveat is a callback to my intro, in which I admitted I view these drafts with blue and orange colored glasses. But I try to take into account the process more than anything, and the above seems — from afar — like good process.

Given the free agency signings, given the Bears trade with the Bills, and given their selections in the late second round, I can enjoy Luther Burden and Colston Loveland highlight tapes guilt free.

Luther Burden III, pick no. 39

A product of East St. Louis High School, which beats the Chicagoland area’s best teams by 30 every year on the day after Thanksgiving, Burden was a top-rated, five-star recruit going into college.

He was the best recruit out of Illinois, the best wide receiver in the nation, and the third-best player in the country, according to 247 sports.

Burden decided to stay home and attend the University of Missouri over Alabama and Georgia. At Missouri, he totaled 2,500 yards from scrimmage in three years. He was first-team All-SEC over the last two years. Like Loveland, his production dipped as Missouri’s team did. He had 86 receptions for 1,212 yards in 2023, and 61 receptions for 676 yards in 2024. In total, he scored 25 touchdowns.

The guy has been an All-Star football player for seven straight years now, so it doesn’t take much imagination to believe he’ll be a good pro. That’s without even considering the fact that defenses will no longer have the luxury of keying in on him, as he’ll be accompanied by D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze, Colston Loveland, and Cole Kmet.

Since he was drafted, I’ve seen him mainly compared to two players: Deebo Samuel and Amon-Ra St. Brown. The Samuel comparison feels like a bit of a stretch, given Samuel’s physicality, but the St. Brown comparison does not. And that one is particularly exciting given Ben Johnson’s past.

“It’s not too hard to picture their second-round selection — Missouri’s Luther Burden III — playing the role of Amon-Ra St. Brown over the middle, where his play strength and run-after-the-catch talent can be featured,” The Ringer’s Danny Kelly wrote in his recap of the draft.

All of the pieces are there now for Ben Johnson. Given the Bears offensive line woes over the past few years, it felt icky to consider the additions of playmakers on offense.

But the Bears have now done enough where we can dream of Caleb Johnson leading an offense that features potentially four weapons, and five if you add my guy D'Andre Swift (who I’m zagging from the consensus on).

Ozzy Trapilo, pick no. 56

I was already aware of Burden, but as I dove further into him after the draft, it was hard not to come away with the feeling that he’s an awesome player, and awesome guy. Sometimes it’s the human stories that come out of local papers that really get you bought in.

When diving into Trapilo, the 6’8, 315-pound tackle the Bears drafted out of Boston College, I came across more of his story, too. That story includes that his father, Steve Trapilo, also played offensive line in the NFL and passed away from a heart attack in 2004 when he was just three years old.

Ozzy has followed his dad every step of the way, diverting for the first time from that path to be a Bear.

Trapilo was successful at multiple positions in college on the offensive line. He has played both tackle positions. Last year, he was not flagged a single time, something he said he “takes pride in.”

He seems to be a part of an offensive tackle bunch in the late first and second round. The NFL Network, alongside Next Gen Stats, projects him as “eventually a plus starter in the NFL.” For his size, he’s incredibly athletic, though Daniel Jeremiah on the broadcast did note that he may be a little “stiff in the hips.”

His arms, by the way, are longer than Will Campbell’s (and mine).

Outside of the first rounders, Trapilo is probably the pick I’ve become most enamored with post-draft. He just seems to me like a guy that is going to have a successful NFL career. He may be needed early, he may not be needed at all, and that’s the fun in drafting a second-round tackle after building out a respectable offensive line in the offseason.

The Bears have been leaving their quarterbacks out to dry for decades. Even with the “best position for a no. 1 overall pick ever” narrative heading into last year, they still managed a way to do so again.

With the hiring of Ben Johnson and three picks in the first two rounds dedicated to building around Williams, it’s clear the Bears are doing everything they can to make sure that doesn’t happen again.

I’ve seen too much to count it out, though.

Shemar Turner, pick no. 62

A few picks later, the Bears got their defensive lineman insurance, opting for Shemar Turner. Turner was also a highly touted recruit, and played up to his potential at Texas A&M from 2022 to 2024. He saw action in all four years in College Station.

His production dipped a little bit last year, but that’s because he was playing through a stress fracture in his shin. He said he will be 100% by the time mini camp comes around.

He’s a “twitchy” prospect, as the evaluators say, but he also has far more past production than some of the other defensive linemen that went before and after him.

Once again I am trapped by my bias, as I just don’t see how this guy isn’t good in the NFL. He seems to have a great attitude, and for him to play through an injury at Texas A&M last year — after all that went down there with Jimbo Fisher after his junior year — is a testament to his character.

Frankly, it fires me up.

His post-drat interview was packed with enthusiasm, with the only drawback being his excessive use of the word “bro.” Along with my Bears draft pick biases, it also appears I need to let go of my distaste for the overuse of that word. After all, every young NBA and NFL player says it anywhere from three to five times per answer.

Turner is 6’3, 300 pounds and runs a 4.8 40-yard dash.

He also blocked two kicks in college, which suggests he could be worth something before he gets more play in the defensive line rotation.

Overall, he totaled 24 tackles for loss and 10 sacks in his college career.

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Rounds 4-7

The Bears scattered the board with their late-round picks. And, you guessed it, I’m excited by a few of these picks. They added Luke Newman, an offensive lineman from Michigan State, for depth.

They also nabbed Ruben Hyppolite II, who runs a 4.4 40-yard dash and was one of the most athletic players at his position — linebacker — in the draft. I doubt he plays anywhere but special teams next year, however.

The picks that intrigued me more were Zah Frazier out of UTSA and Kyle Monangai out of Rutgers.

Frazier is already 25 and didn’t get much tick at all in his college career until 2024, which also makes him an unlikely productive starter in the NFL. But he’s 6’3 and was wildly successful last year, with six interceptions. I like that the Bears took a chance on an older prospect here, and especially at cornerback. Who knows what will happen with Tyrique Stevenson in the near-term future.

Monangai was an ultra-productive, team captain running back at Rutgers. He’s an animal. He had close to 1,300 yards in both of his last years at Rutgers. He’s a good pass blocker and a good runner. With almost 700 carries from 2021 on, he had zero fumbles.

He’s not one of the more athletic running backs in the draft, but he’s a great option for the Bears next year when Swift won’t cut it. I see him eating into Roschon Johnson’s playing time from the jump.

The Bears obviously had some bad luck with running backs being drafted before their picks in this year’s draft, but I think they can afford it.

As for what was missing, I would have loved to have gone safety at some point, though I admittedly don’t know where would have been the right opportunity. I don’t see a Jaquon Brisker replacement on the roster, and I unfortunately don’t think Brisker can be banked on moving forward.

I hope he has a healthy 2025, but three bad concussions in three years is not a good recipe for the future. Let’s manifest it: fewer tweets, more tackles for Jaquon in the year ahead.

Of course, time will tell whether this draft was a good one. We’ll have the preliminary results by October, and we’ll have the real results by 2026 or 2027.

As the offseason closes, the Bears are undoubtedly a much better team than they were in January. A lot has to come to fruition.

But considering where we were in December, there’s much to be excited about.

#BEARDOWN

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The Cubs are 18-13 as of this writing (Wednesday night). It feels like their record should be even better.

It makes more sense once you consider that their 9-0 win against the Pirates on Tuesday was their first win against a team currently below .500 all year. They also didn’t strike out in that game.

The Wednesday loss to the Pirates was a weird one, and the Sunday loss the Phillies — and Vidal Brujan’s glove tap before throwing to first — was a frustrating one.

But I’m trying not to stray away from the big picture.

We’ve also got our first good news all year related to Kyle Tucker and a potential extension. David Kaplan reported that the Cubs are going to be a legitimate player in the Tucker sweepstakes.

“I’m hearing that the Cubs have wrapped their brain around — now, it doesn’t mean he’ll accept it — have wrapped their brain around ‘Whatever it costs, we’re paying it.’ And they want to keep Tucker,” he said.

I’m taking this with a grain of salt for two reasons: Kap, well, is Kap. And number 2, this is literally the first good news I’ve heard about the Tucker contract all year. Not a single other soul has reported this, as far as I’ve seen.

On the field, Carson Kelly remains red-hot, with one of the best OPS marks in all of baseball.

Craig Counsell is stingy with lineup changes, which I very much appreciate. But after moving Kelly up in the order to clean up, Kelly immediately rewarded him with another homer. Dansby Swanson also homered after being moved down, and it made sense for a guy hitting .180 to jump a few slots back.

Kelly is sure to come back down to earth at some point. The question is where earth is for the new Carson Kelly.

The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma wrote a good article this week about how Kelly’s altered mechanics have led to a breakout year. That, at least a little, suggests that Kelly could be a much better hitter moving forward than he has been in his career, even when he does stop hitting like Aaron Judge.

The bullpen remains the issue for the Cubs. Their ERA is above 5, and they continue to walk people more than frequently.

Ryan Pressly has gotten that ERA down to a very respectable 2.25, but his very high FIP and WHIP suggest that he’s gotten lucky when it comes to runs scored on him. Then again, the Cubs outstanding fielding helps with that too.

The Cubs recalled Tom Cosgrove — who they acquired from San Diego — from Iowa this past week, and he got his first action Tuesday.

By the end of May, it would be nice for Counsell to find 4-5 guys he can really rely on.

I’m just grateful that Shota Imanaga is okay.

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