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That's indeed.com/bluewire. Terms and conditions apply. And to hire, you need Indeed. The Chicago Bears Select! Welcome to Pics for Poles, presented by the Bear Report. Your number one source for everything Chicago Bears draft news, analysis, scouting reports, and more, presented by Blue Wire Pots. And now, making their way to the podium, Andrew Freeman and USAID COSHEL. Welcome to Pics for Poles, a Chicago Bears draft podcast presented by the Bear Report and Blue Wire Pods. My name is Andrew Freeman, and as always, I'm joined by my co-host USAID COSHEL. According to this episode on June 19th, and you say we are officially like we're in the break period. There is not a lot going on, many camps are over, teams are, players are having their summer break, so to speak, and we're basically waiting it out until trading camps. So, while there's not a ton to talk about in the current NFL landscape, we still have some stuff we want to discuss in terms of looking ahead to this next year's draft class for the 2025 NFL draft class, which we haven't had a ton of time to really discuss and really dig into. So, I'm really excited for today's episode just to kind of get a little bit of a preview on next year's class. Before we get into that, you say it, how are you doing today now? Yeah, I'm doing well, you know, you're right. It's interesting because it feels like just yesterday, the 2024 draft was wrapping up and the Bears, you know, drafted. Caleb Williams, and again, there's tons of summer heat here in the Midwest right now, but there's also a lot of summer hype for, you know, what the Bears are going to be. I mean, the other big thing to keep in mind is that you've already got evaluators in terms of scouts, you know, whether that is college guys, whether that's, you know, area scouts, whatever the case is kind of putting together a 2025 big board because, I mean, we'll get into it here and over the next couple of months as good as 2024 was on offense. I mean, 2025 is just as loaded on defense, which, again, if you're a young team with a rookie quarterback that could be one or two pieces away from competing for Super Bowl, time will tell. Obviously, the odds are every in your favor. Let me just say that. Yeah, so far, and we're still very early in the process and a lot of things are going to change, you know, through the course of, you know, next college football season and the pre draft process when we get to next spring and how things will vastly change once we get to that period and NFL teams, you know, have done a lot of the work with the scouting, you have the combine and the senior ball, some of the other all-star game stuff, ball game stuff, you know, all that really comes to fruition there to really shake things up a little bit. But you're right. I think, you know, next year's class, and we've discussed this briefly when we talked about the 2025 draft, it is shaping up to be a much stronger year on the defensive side of the ball and not that it's going to be a week year on offense by any means. It's just that, you know, what was lacking maybe in this year's draft class with some of the higher end talent on the defensive side of the ball, I specifically look at pass rusher, you know, there really wasn't a tier one, you know, blue chip, edge rusher or interior defensive lineman while there were still some really good prospects in the first round of this year's draft. There really wasn't, you know, that Chase Young as a prospect, you know, that both a brother, Miles Garrett, caliber of dude, and singles for the interior, there wasn't a Queen of Williams in this draft, right? There wasn't a, you know, just Jeffrey Simmons, if you do not have, you know, the injury questions, right? So, this next year's draft, and we'll just start with their defensive line with their strength and weaknesses, is profound to be a little bit stronger, especially at the very top there. So, let's talk about, you know, this defensive line class and how it's shaping up so far because, you know, we're going to get into this in a bit, but defensive line for the Bears specifically, it's still going to be, you know, a bit of a need for this team. And when I look at the top of this next year's draft, you have some really talented stand-ups here. Let's start on the edge. You say, you know, who are some of the players that kind of stand up for you going into this next season that you think could hear their name calls relatively early if they can back up sort of their, this summer hype with a strong season? Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of guys on the edge to keep an eye on. I mean, I think right now, sitting here in mid-June, but then as we get into July and August, and if he puts together a strong season, he'll basically be the consensus number one edge rusher. But to me, that's going to be Tennessee James Pierce, Jr. I think you look at him and you kind of say, okay, you know what? He was a freak of an athlete in terms of everything that he put on tape last year. Like you certainly see a guy that is big, strong as well as just long on film. You see a guy who is able to go ahead and get into the backfield with these. You see overall a player that is going to be a junior, but really plays like he's been in college football forever. You know, he to me is probably one of the most complete edge rusher prospects that we've seen over the last basically seven to eight years. And I would go on board to say this is that there's a very legit chance when it's all said and done and the evaluations are in next April, that we rank James Pierce in the same category that we ranked the Boza brothers coming out along with Miles Garrett. Because those guys to me, I mean, over the last 10 years or some of the top edge defenders that have kind of come through the draft and really have made an impact in the league. But James Pierce, Jr. is number one and then you kind of start to look and see. And again, there's a lot of can't miss prospects here, you know, in the 2025 draft, Ohio State got a pair in JT total mobile and Ohio State. You know, two guys that I think are really good when it comes to rushing the passer. But then also going again, stopping the run. So it will be interesting to see how those two kind of go ahead and have 20, 24 seasons because there's a very realistic chance that, you know, you have both the Ohio State guys plus James Pierce, Jr. kind of rank inside your top five basically in terms of just overall player rankings. You know, Nick's grow turned from Texas A&M. He was at Purdue last year entered the transfer portal. But really just the player, I think that is kind of burst onto the scene here and his tons of potential. And now we're going to get to see him prove it against some big SEC competition, which is certainly going to be good for his stock. But overall to kind of round out this address request, I will say that there's probably right now based on the preliminary rankings. I mean, seven or eight guys who've got first run rankings on them. We're driven by the search for better, but when it comes to hiring, the best way to search for a candidate isn't to search at all. Don't search "match" with Indeed. Indeed is your matching and hiring platform with over 350 million global monthly visitors according to Indeed data and a matching engine that helps you find quality candidates fast. Ditch the busy work, use Indeed for scheduling, screening, and messaging so you can connect with candidates faster. Changing over 140 million qualifications and preferences every day, Indeed's matching engine is constantly learning from your preferences, so the more you use Indeed, the better it gets. Join more than 3.5 million businesses worldwide that use Indeed to hire great talent fast. And listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsor job credit to get your jobs more visibility at indeed.com/bluewire. Go to indeed.com/bluewire right now and support our show by saying that you heard about Indeed on this podcast. That's indeed.com/bluewire, terms and conditions applied. Need to hire? You need Indeed. Yeah, I mean, you start off with Pierce right away. I mean, this is a guy who the main thing that stands out with him is just the athleticism that he has off the edge combined with what I would project as pretty solid length as well. For him to do what he has done, especially as a true sophomore last year, he was one of the most efficient past rushes in the country, and that's despite the fact that I think he still has a lot of physical development to do in terms of adding some natural muscle and adding more weight onto his frame to be able to handle his assignment to the run game a little bit better, be able to take on and set the edge a little bit better against tight ends and tackles, and add a little bit more of a powerful file to his pass rush moves. But he has a lot of the tricks that you're looking for from a high end pass rushing prospect. He's got the get off. He's got the speed and the bend around the edge. He has the ability to counter with inside moves. He's got good enough length to be able to get that long arm out there, get that first punch on the tackle, and take the reps based off of that first punch. He's got a lot of foundational traits to depend on here that he can go to, and as he gets stronger and a little bit bigger, and more nuanced with the way he rushes the passer, we could truly see a really unblockable force next year at Tennessee. He was already among the most efficient passrushers in the country last year, according to PFF. He had a 21.3% pressure rate, which was third in college football, 92.3 pass rush grade, which was also top three, much edge defender, so really efficient on a down-to-down basis, really productive there for the most part, and again, like I said, the athleticism just really stands out to me, and if he can just continue to add that power pull file through his game, you're talking about someone who is going to go very high. There's already a lot of projection about him being the top pick in next year's draft, and it's not like he doesn't have a power pull file, but he's certainly developing it, I think, a little bit more, and adding some more will help with that. But talking about some of the other names too, there are some other guys that you mentioned that I'm also very high on going into next year as well. You mentioned Nick Skar to go out at Texas A&M, productive player at Purdue. He's a little bit more of an all-around player, where he's a very good run defender, he's a little bit of a bigger edge, he's about 260 pounds, at least that's what he's listed at at Purdue in a Texas A&M, and we know how college programs can kind of inflate the weights and the heights and whatever of their players sometimes on the official roster. But you know, you look at him playing, he's got legit size out there. So he's one of those guys where he projects to be more of that strong side edge player, where he can stop the run, he can be a really good runstopper there, but also have the ability to get actually the quarterback, and you can do a lot of things with him as a stunt player, he's got a really nice swim move that he's developed over the last season. So he's got some traits to really work on, going over to the Big Ten, I guess kind of staying there technically, you know, I look at Penn State, Abdul Carter, you know, Penn State, they had a lot of Ed Drushers last year, obviously with Chop Robinson, you know, being the highlight of some of the guys they had. But if you actually go back and watch Penn State games, I thought Abdul Carter was maybe the best out of the three, the main three that they had last year, two of them getting drafted very high in this year's draft, Abdul Carter has a chance to be another first-round player in this year's draft with what he showed last year, and he still got some refinement to his game that he needs, but he was very efficient as a pass rusher as well. He's got the athletic traits that you're looking for, just his ability to bend and to explode off the ball at his size is just really fantastic to see. He's got that ability to make plays in space, so there is a lot, there is a lot to like with his game. So, right there, you look at that kind of top three so far, and that's a very strong edge class in the makings here, and then moving on to, you know, the Ohio State guys. Jack Sawyer, he's kind of that classic, you know, I look at like Sam Hubbard of the Cincinnati Bengals, kind of like a comp to Jack Sawyer, he was a guy who could have entered the draft in this past year, and he decided to stay at school at Ohio State, you know, he's just a very solid well-rounded player who can play all three downs, good run defender, very disciplined with, you know, his run defense there, pretty strong at the point of attack, and does have some moves to get after the quarterback, you look at his teammate, JT Tuumalo, who, you know, was projected to be a high pick in this past year's draft, but didn't quite have the year, I think that a lot of people were expecting of him, I think he made the right decision to maybe stay another year and work on his class a little bit more to have that true breakout season, but those two at Ohio State are going to be a problem for sure on that defensive line, and then some other guys that are worth mentioning, I mean, another guy who probably could have entered this past year's draft, but decided to transfer to another school as Prince Lee, you know, out of Ole Miss, who played at Florida State, but was one of the better edge-rushers in college football last year, he's a well-rounded player, you know, he's measured at about six foot five, 250 to 260 pounds, so he's got the size, he's got the athleticism, he's got the production, he's somebody that I think could really rise up some draft boards as well, because he has projected to be a day two guy in this past year's draft, wouldn't be surprised to be as a day one guy when it's all said and done, and I mean, again, that's just the edge players, there's still a lot more that we can discuss here, we got to move on to some of the other positions that are really high-profile in this year's draft, and we can just do that by going straight to the interior group, who, you know, for a star in this edge group is like, I think this defensive line interior group might be better than the edge we're investing in right now, I mean, it's tough, I mean, there are some strong, there are some really good prospects here when I look at this interior group as well. Yeah, I mean, Kenny, you know, much like we've got two Ohio State edge-rushers just kind of going to another state here, you have Michigan's, you know, Michigan is expected to have, you know, Mason Graham as well as Kenneth Grant is the last name, I thought he was Kenneth Walker for some reason, but no, that's a running back, but yeah, you know, Michigan's got two really good defensive tackles kind of coming through the pipeline here, you get both of those guys in that fourth re- scheme, they've just been really solid versatile players, guys that, you know, allow you to have a versatile number of fronts in terms of odd over, under, you know, base versus even stack, and then you kind of go ahead and you start to study grants and Graham individually, and you kind of say, okay, you know, Mason Graham to me is going to be a guy that does have a quick get off, is able to get into the backfield quickly. He is a player that's going to be the first to the football and really go ahead and continue to rally with Grant. Well, he's a guy that is going to bring some interior pressure and kind of free up, you know, his edrushers to go ahead and make, you know, opportunities and a third guy sticking here in the Big Ten, which I think next year is going to be a very big year in terms of the Michigan, Ohio State guys hearing their names called in the first two rounds. It just seems like that's kind of the way this draft class is going, but you do have Tyler Williams from Ohio State, a third guy that, you know, has kind of flown under the radar given the state of the Ohio State defense, you know, and the stars that they have at every single level, but Tyler Williams to me, you know, one of my favorite things about him being a true defensive tackle is just the fact that he always seems to know where exactly the ball carrier is in the sense of when you go back and you watch his film 2023. I mean, he got into the backfield, he got into the backfield quickly and it wasn't just him getting into the backfield and then over pursuing and taking himself out of place. It was no, I'm going to get into the backfield and I'm going to go ahead and continue to pursue the ball carrier. I mean, for a guy that is as big as Williams is, you know, I think 327 pounds, there's no way that he should be able to move as he does. But, you know, he to me is a player that I think a lot of teams are going to fall in love with early in the process. And then, you know, there's a couple other guys that I'm looking at that would certainly go ahead and really increase their stock, you know, Tonka Hemingway from South Carolina is another one. I think I look at him and I say, okay, you watched him last year and there's definitely shades of him being that three, four nose that could play in a zero or one or a two-tech, but then you also look at him and say, okay, if he can continue to improve, there's no reason for why he should be able to slot in seamlessly as a three-tech or as a three-eye for these NFL defenses. Light it. There's only one place you can hear a three-time national championship winning head coach. A Heisman Trophy winning running back and national champion. And someone to keep everything on the tracks. Every week, no German Meyer running back Mark Ingram than me. Rob Stone, get into what matters most to you. We take you inside the biggest moments in college football while having some fun bringing you guests from all over sports and entertainment. Watch Triple Option on YouTube or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. I'll start with Tyler Williams here because he's a very interesting player, mostly because I kind of mentioned how the rosters for college football can kind of be a little bit walky sometimes with how they report player size and weight. Williams, he was listed at about 290 pounds on last year's roster. He's going to be listed at, like you said, around 330 pounds. So we're projecting a guy who put on like 30, 40 pounds of weight over the offseason. How does that impact his game going into next year where he was already one of the better run defenders in college football among interior defensive linemen last year, you know, but not necessarily the most prolific pass rusher. So is he someone who, it's interesting that he put on that weight. I'm curious to see like what kind of role he's going to have on Ohio State's defense. How does that impact his movement skills like we talked about? Because, you know, like you said, for a guy, if his size is really impressive to see his ability to knife through offensive lines against in the backfield to make some of those splash plays and guess what those defensive stops. So how does playing bigger impact him as a player overall? That'll certainly be something that I'm curious to kind of see work out, you know, but when I look at this class, you know, to me, there are two, you know, players in the very top here that I think have separated themselves so far. You mentioned Mason Graham on a Michigan, you know, Mason Graham, it's very interesting because when I first watched, went back to watch him before this episode, it was weird. I was watching. I just don't know if it was the camera angle that I had of him. That was kind of making it look weird. He looked almost undersized on the game I was watching and then I go back and I look at the way he's listed, you know, he's listed about six foot five through 120 pounds. Like this guy, and he's strong and that's a thing. Like it shows up, I should say six foot three, 320 pounds, like he doesn't play undersized whatsoever, even though my perception of my first watch was like, oh, this guy seems like a little bit of an undersized, shorter, stockier guy. That's not the case at all. Like this guy's got legitimate size, at least with what he's listed at and the quickness that he displays and the motor that he has on every single snap that he plays really stands out to me, Mason Graham, you know, he is a guy who's an impact player on all three downs. He's got quickness. He has the ability to set up moves as a pass rusher. He has counters. He's got, you know, a couple of moves here and there that are just really tough to block and we talked about the lack of a Queen Williams, jail and Carter, you know, high-end defensive tackle prospect in this passiers draft. You know, Mason Graham could be that guy as that three-tech who just has that combination of ridiculous athleticism, good size for the position, and just someone who does not take too many plays off. He can be someone who really, really makes some noise and we know that Michigan, you know, it's going to be interesting because, you know, they're going through a coaching change. Obviously, Jim Harbaugh, not being there anymore at Michigan, you know, does that impact their defensive? I know Harbaugh is more of an offensive coach, but his identity is built through, you know, being a tough team on defense and being a more of a defensive minded team. So how does that coaching stand? I'm sure they're going to keep things pretty similar there, but, you know, I'm interested to see, like, you know, if they decide to experiment a little bit with Mason Graham and try to use him in a variety of different ways because that would be very interesting to see. And I'm curious to see if that's going to be the case. But the other guy I look at in this class that I think could give Mason Graham a run for his money in terms of being the first defensive tackle selected is D.M. Walker out of Kentucky who there are no doubts about the fact that this guy's got ridiculous size. I mean, he's six-foot-six, 350 pounds is what he's about listed at. And, you know, for all the talks about, like, for a guy being that big to be particularly respecting more than that nose tackle, run-stopping sort of guy, Walker's got really good pass rushing ability for a guy at that size. And he had over 50 pressures last year, which was the most in college football among interior defensive passrushers. So this was just a guy who was just overwhelming guys with his size and athleticism. And he kind of, he could fit the mold of a Dexter Lawrence where he can be that nose tackle where, yeah, he's an elite run defender who also adds high-end pass rushing production on top of being that dominant force in the run game. And there's not too many guys like that who can do both. You know, most of the top interior guys have been undersized guys, three techs, who, you know, other than like Aaron Donald, who's in a nominally, but most of these guys are a little bit weaker in the run game. And they make up for it by being elite passrushers in the interior that just put a ton of pressure at collapsing the pocket and not allowing quarterbacks to step up in the pocket. Well, Dan Walker can kind of break the mold there as a guy who can be that elite run defender while also giving you that high-end pass rushing production. Just a very unique player that I'm really excited to see and I know for a lot of teams that value size and traits above all else, I think Walker could really be in that discussion for the top interior defensive lineman because there are just, it's almost like Bill Parcel's planet theory. There just aren't so many human beings on planet Earth that had that combination of size, athleticism, and, you know, workability with, you know, what they can do production-wise on the football field. So to me, that's where the discussion starts with this interior defensive line group. You went through some of the other names that are going to be highly listed next year. It starts with those two names right there though, and I think that's going to be something that is going to be fun to follow throughout this next year. But as you switch over to the offensive side of the ball, it's worth noting that this is still, you know, a pretty good class or at least profiles to be a pretty good class on that side of the ball as well. And it's no surprise, but wide receiver is looking like it's going to be another very strong group, you know, with some of the names that kind of go off there. So looking at this wide receiver group, you say, is there anybody at wide receiver that kind of stands out to you so far? Because while I'm not sure if there's going to be as much high-end talent as last year's class, because obviously Marvin Harrison and, you know, Middle East neighbors are borderline generational prospects. I don't know if there's going to be that guy this year, but it's still profiles to be a very deep talented group. Yeah, it really does, you know, and again, I completely agree with you there is not necessarily I think that super high-end guy that's going to come in as a consensus, you know, number one wide receiver, much like you've seen Marvin Harrison Jr. do the last two seasons. But there are a lot of really good players that quite frankly are going to go ahead and draw a lot of consideration. And so for me, I kind of expect this wide receiver ranking for the wide receiver rankings for the upcoming year to kind of just be all over the place because some people are going to have Luther Burton from Missouri as the top guy, right? Some people are going to look at this and say, "Okay, well, Tetiora McMillan from Arizona is the top guy." You know, the second Ohio State guy, AKA Marvin Harrison Jr. is running Nate. And Mika Eggbuca, he's a player who, you know, has, I think, a lot to prove this here. And that's simply because with Marvin Harrison Jr. now in the Arizona Cardinals, I mean Eggbuca gets to step into the spotlight. And then you do have, you know, Evan Stewart from Oregon, but you, I think folks on the first three, what you really have is this, you know, Luther Burton to me is this incredibly dynamic player who is, again, he's big, he's long, he's physical. He can go ahead, he can certainly, you know, make plays when he's got the ball in his hands. I think his best trait ultimately is just the yards after the catchability. You look at him and I think that there's two things that you really see. Number one, there is a sense of spatial awareness that exists. And then the second thing is this is that when he's got the ball in his hand, he knows where to go ahead and go. But then he's also got really good hands. I mean, so you're talking about a player who, you know, is your classic kind of X-wide receiver. You can get up and go get the football. He can go ahead and he's really good with, you know, the ball in his hand. So he's kind of a little bit of a do it all type player. Now, McNold from Ohio State is a player that, again, to me, at the next level is probably going to be an X receiver standing there at, you know, six foot two, six foot three, I believe, is what his height was the last time that I checked it. But, you know, he's a big guy that is certainly able to go ahead and get up, go get those 50/50 balls, you know, some really good hands as well. And you know, it's interesting. You look at it last year in terms of the receiving yards in just the production. I mean, there's only two guys that were ahead of him, which was Malik neighbors as well as I believe Rome with Dunes A. So he's certainly been a guy that's going to be on NFL teams right ours. You know, but to me, he's just this dynamic kind of playmaker that both McMillan and Luther to me are these incredibly dynamic playmakers that at the end of the day, it really fit what it means to be a wide receiver in today's NFL. Because, you know, gone, I think are the days of just having a wide receiver who can only play one position. I mean, the teams are now training these guys to be able to play, you know, FZ and X and really just move them all over the place. Quite frankly, I mean, it gets me excited to see what McMillan as well as burden are going to do in 2024. Because again, there is a very realistic chance that we rank these guys as one A one B next spring. Yeah. And in general, I think you're saying kind of a, I wouldn't say victory, but top three is really starting to, you know, present itself here with some of the guys you mentioned, like burden is going to be part of that McMillan and Ibuka are all going to be part of that kind of top three guys who I do expect to go on the first round next year. And you know, if things all go according to plan, I guess you could say all three of those guys should be first rounders. But you know, there's some intriguing guys who could sneak into the first round and be good players on day two as well as there pretty much has been like every year, you know, with these wide receiver class coming out. I mean, it seems like year after year, if you're, we've mentioned this before, but wide receiver is position group jet that is just going to continue to, I think, to be strong just based off the way that the game is being coached and played now at the lower levels where a lot of these high end athletes, you know, they know that if you want to be, you know, that big time player with wide receiver contracts being the way they are in the NFL, if you want to, you know, be that big time playmaker and get that chance to get that big contract, if you're lucky enough to make to the pros, you know, wide receiver is the position to play. So wide receiver is going to continue to be a strong position. You know, you mentioned those three guys, I think another player that I think could really break out this year is Isaiah Bond, who is going to Texas, but he went to Alabama this last year and, you know, he just wasn't able to break out because, you know, because of the quarterback situation that, you know, he had last year with Milro and just the lack of, I don't know, just the passing game was not, you know, the featured aspect of that team. It wasn't the strength of that team last year, right? So Bond, I think, has a chance to really, you know, really be a premium target here for this Texas offense because you have A.V. Mitchell and Xavier Worthy both, you know, leaving, going to the draft, you know, Bond can step in right away and just be that explosive playmaker that they're kind of missing right now in that room and Bond, you know, he's very interesting because he stands out with him is that he has got that combination of speed and quickness that is just very, very rare. Like usually a lot of these guys, they have great speed, but they're not necessarily the most shifty players, the ball in their hands or what they're well-running or they'll be the other way, where they're shifty in space, they can make guys miss, they can get open and set guys up with the routes, but maybe they don't have the high-end speed to really break plays open, either, you know, on deep routes or with the ball in their hands, Bond has a combination of both. So in a bigger role where he's going to be more of that featured number one guy in a Texas offense that should be more productive in the passing game, he's someone who could really put up some numbers in this next year. He was someone who got open quite a bit last year. I know he didn't really showcase itself with the stat sheet, but you watch him play and you see a guy who knows how to get open, whether it's just using his physical gifts or with some of the route running that he's developed so far. Some other guys that I think could be really interesting in this class, I look at Xavier Restrepo out of Miami here, who was somebody that I was interested in this past year's draft as like a day three flyer if he would have declared, but he decided to stay at Miami and he is kind of that pure slot receiver or returner type of guy. He's not someone who's going to make a ton of contesty catches on the outside, he's not someone who's going to, you know, break a ton of tackles and get excessive yards after the catch, but he's someone who knows how to set up routes, he knows how to get open and he doesn't drop a ton of passes. If he's clean and he's open and you give, as a quarterback, you give him a workable ball, he's going to be able to make the catch and come down with it and be that possession receiver that a lot of teams are looking for in their offense where it's going to be a little bit more spread out. He can be that weapon in the slot jet that's just very consistent and he's also got return experience as well, which should not be discounted, I think. So he's someone that I'm looking forward to as well in terms of, I'm not sure if he's going to be a first strong guy, but I can see him working with his way up to being a day two player and it's a day two fit. If you need that slot receiver, he's someone that makes a lot of sense in my opinion. We've talked a lot about some of the stronger groups in this year's draft class, but, or this next year's draft class, I should say, but however, there are some groups that aren't as strong, especially when compared to this past year. So let's get to those. You say when you look at the position groups as a whole, you know, what are some of the weaknesses in this next year's class that teams might be looking elsewhere when it's all said and done? I mean, it's, you know, weaknesses to me is always just so interesting when it comes to evaluating the draft this early. And again, that's simply because the way that I look at it is this is that, you know, there's certain positions that we know are strengths, but then again, you know, some of the weaknesses could certainly turn into strengths as well. Now, let me just say this, you know, the one position that I'm going to watch specifically throughout the 24 season is going to be the quarterback position, because to me, right now on paper, it's not necessarily the best position in terms of the talent that's coming out. Like, yes, you're going to have some of your guys that are multi-year starters, like Jalen Milro, as well as Clint Ewers, but then also the thing is, is you look at some of these guys and there's none of them that legitimately live up to the hype and, you know, kind of are a surefire franchise thing, right? I mean, let's be real. Last year, at this time, we were sitting here and ranking Kayle Williams and Drake May as 1A1B. And then all of a sudden out of nowhere, I think Jayden Daniels kind of came onto the scene, which took some of the hype away from Drake May, but you kind of look at this and I would definitely say, you know, it seems to be anybody's sort of game here because what you have is, and I should say, you know, anyone that ends up as QB1, you know, because everybody knows you've got Carson Beck from Georgia and you have Shador Sanders from Colorado. Again, Clint Ewers from Texas is a guy that has drawn some consideration. But then again, you know, there's still to me a long way to go there. Jalen Milro from Alabama, I look at him and I kind of say, okay, you know, if he can kind of figure out the processing speed, the ability to just catch the ball and get it out of his hands, you know, go ahead and really expand his throw and range too. You're going to see him make some leaps and bounds. But also, you know, one of the big things that I feel like works for Jalen Milro is the fact that because he does have Kayle and Debore this year as his new head coach, you know, there is a legit shot that in a completely new system, he takes off significantly. And then, you know, the most intriguing players to me are, you know, Drew Aller from Penn State. Again, you know, if you look at the raw production, there isn't necessarily a lot to go off there. But then again, you know, he does have a pretty solid arm. And so going back to just this class in general, right, I look at Carson Beck right now would probably be the best water rack in terms of being NFL ready. You know, Shudur Sanders can certainly read and scan the field. But to me, there is a lot of questions about how, hey, you know, playing at Colorado, which is again, much smaller compared to some of the competition that, you know, Carson Beck plays at Georgia or Ewers plays at Texas, even Milro at Alabama and aller at Penn State is you going to be able to process as fast as he has, you know, with some of the schools at Colorado. Is he going to be able to go ahead and take care of the football in New York, too? Because now there's a full year tape on him. I mean, there's a very legit shot that we do see some regression. But I would say this, you know, where Shudur Sanders is at right now to me is where Jaden Daniels was last year in the entire process in terms of all the talent in the physical tools, but a hell of a lot of question marks that have to be answered. This episode is brought to you by Microsoft Azure. Turn your ideas into reality with an Azure free account. Get everything you need to develop apps across cloud and hybrid environments, scale workloads, create cloud-connected mobile experiences, and so much more. Discover what you can create with popular services free for 12 months. Learn more at azure.com that's azure.com and sign up for a free account to start building in the cloud today. Yeah, Sanders, he's been kind of a polarizing prospect in many ways because there is a lot of the appeal because, you know, obviously with that Colorado program, always being in the headline seems, you know, and Dion has certainly made it that way with his intentions of just being loud and boisterous and letting other programs know that they're not going to back down and they're going to be who they are and, you know, Shudur kind of plays into that as well. We kind of see that and you can take that however you want to, whether that's good or not. You know, from a leadership standpoint, from an optics standpoint, I'm not going to really comment on that until, you know, to me it's a matter of like, okay, how do you guys in the locker room feel about him? How does it translate on the football field? Like, that's the more important thing when it comes to some of that stuff because there's always going to be drama. I think there's always going to be drama, you know, with the way that, you know, Dion kind of operates with that program. But as a player, you know, Sanders, there are some things I like about him. There's some things that I have a lot of question marks though. And you know, the things alike, like you said, he does not turn the ball over. He had under or 2% you know, turn away with the play rate point of the PFF last year. So he takes care of the ball, I think he's a good processor in terms of, you know, he's able to identify the look pre snap and decide where he needs to go to the football and make quick decisions from there. But the one thing I kind of see from him is that if he makes a mistake with this pre-draft process and he has to hold the ball to go somewhere else, you know, he doesn't really have that quick ability to get from one to two to three and process a defense post snap to be able to make those, those reads and get the ball out there. And that's a problem when you have Colorado's offensive line last year where they couldn't block anybody. So he took a ton of sacks and just did not do a good job of managing pressure last year. And could they get better with better offens of line play? Absolutely. Now will Colorado have better offensive line play? I don't know. So that's going to be another thing to kind of put into the evaluation there, right? So theoretically with better talent, maybe said that Sanders does take a step forward in terms of, you know, to manage that. But I don't know, he's just tough to say with that Colorado program. As things stand right now, I think he's someone who doesn't really have elite tools by any means. He's got a decent arm. He's got decent mobility, but it's not like anything spectacular either. That really stands out, you know. So I don't know, Sanders, right now I kind of see him more as a day two guy. I think a lot of people are going to try to inflate him up to being a first round prospect because of the name factor and because of, you know, all the hype from that program and you know, that situation there. But I think he has to prove it on the football field. Now to me right now, the one quarterback that I think I feel pretty confident is going to be a first round guy is Carson Beck, like you mentioned. And that's another situation kind of the opposite end where you got to, how do you separate like the situation from the player because Carson Beck, you know, he's at Georgia where he's constantly going to have great offensive lines. He had, you know, Anne McConkie and Brock, Brock Bauer to throw to last year, which certainly makes things easier, right? But back, he showed enough things I felt in terms of playing on time structure, managing, you know, pressure, managing the pocket, pocket presence, getting the ball on time, throwing the ball at touch and attacking areas of the field that he's going to need to attack in the NFL. I saw a lot of good things from Beck. I'm not sure if he has the physical tools or the upside to be, you know, that top eight franchise changing quarterback that a lot of teams are looking for. But I see a lot of traits where maybe he can be like a top 12 to 15 guy, kind of like a Toa, for instance, or Jared Goff, where he's got enough physical tools to work with and you get him in the right situation with the right coaching staff and the right playmakers and system around him, he could put up some, he could do some damage in the NFL. I certainly think he's got that ability. Now, in terms of some of the other guys, like, I don't know, I'm like Quinn Ears, I've been waiting for him to put it all together. And he's had good situation at Texas and he really has not put it all together for me. So I'm just not sure if it's going to happen with him. At this point, you also got some guys like Ryan Lee Leonard, who's, you know, transferring over from, I believe he's transferring over from Duke, going to Notre Dame. He was in a situation last year where you saw a lot of the, if you're just watching his highlight reel, he looks like a first round guy because his mobility, his arm talent and some of the plays he's able to make on the move are really fantastic to watch, but also just not a very consistent guy. And because of the situation he was in last year, just did not have the structure, I think, to really show that he can do things that are translatable to the NFL level. So that's also someone who, yeah, physical tools was, maybe he's got something there, but I think that's a lot of projection there to say he's going to be a first round guy. So notice how like, I'm kind of like reaching out a lot of these guys to say that they're first round prospects, right? And that's kind of the thing with this next year's class is that unless we see like in Joe Burrow, S rise up, draft boards, or Jay Daniels, S rise from one of these guys, you know, there just isn't a lot high end talent here. So you're really hoping to find somebody, a gem on like day two or day three that can develop as a backup and eventually be a starter again from, but in terms of like a guy is going to stand out right away, like, I don't know if this is that class. I think there's a reason why six quarterbacks went as high as they did in this year's NFL class. A lot of NFL teams are looking forward to this year's class and saying, yeah, we might want to address that court position now, even if I'm not going to be getting a high end prospect here, because this next year's class, like, there's not a lot of guarantees here as if there were any, but yeah, in terms of some other positions, kind of just moving on that we can kind of touch on, I'll say in this kind of the case with these position groups over the last few years in general, but, you know, linebacker and safety, I feel like this is also a product of just the modern, you know, game in terms of how, you know, these players are utilized and schemed in college and how that translates to the NFL, but the linebacker and safety, you know, there's not a ton of players with these positions that necessarily excite me as of right now in the process. I don't think quarterback's going to be as strong or deep as this past year. You have Travis Hunter, right up there as your top guy going into next year, and he's somebody who I'm really excited to see because obviously Colorado uses him as, you know, both a corner and their practically number one wide receiver on offense. So how is that going to work next year? Will he choose a lane to focus solely on cornerback or wide receiver? I think he should choose cornerback. I think he's the, but he has the chance of being a more special player at that position at wide receiver in the NFL. He's another player to kind of to watch as he's in progress with how he does. But yeah, any other position to you where you're not as sold on it going into the summer here. I mean, to me, it's just so tough to kind of say because I look at the offensive tackle class and I say, you know, you've got Calvin Banks from Texas and you have World Campbell from LSU. So two pretty solid tackles are, you know, World Campbell to me, one has all said and done should technically be OT one and simply because this guy has been a stud since he's been a freshman, but, you know, starting every single game along the way. But you know, World Campbell to me is a guy that, you know, I look and say he should be kind of than a more one guy, you know, some of these other guys that I kind of look at in terms of the running back class, you know, quiche on Judkins from Ohio State, Ollie Gord from Oklahoma State, you know, two solid players that I'm going to go ahead and say will draw a lot of consideration for their speed, their burst, their agility, their ability to go ahead and, you know, play from the slap, but also line up in the back heel kind of those versatile chess pieces that are slowly making their way into the league. But you know, you kind of look at this thing in general and I would say this, the strength of this class lies in defense. Obviously, you know, when it comes to some positions such as the running back position, some of the receiver position, you know, some of the offensive tackle stuff, there's a lot of solid players there, but you can't ever really, you know, it's hard to say whether or not these guys are actually going to live up to the billing and generally be great. I mean, hell, we were sitting here last summer and we thought that Ollie Fisciano was going to be able to one and we knew who Joe was, but Joe all I think really blew away the competition. So to me, you know, I look at some of these guys like, well, Campbell from Alice U Kelvin Banks as well and I say, okay, you know what, you can certainly have the debate of one A, one B, you can certainly rank one ahead of the other. But to me, also the big thing to keep in mind is that those two are also guys that are heading into prove it. You know, there's a lot of good players in this draft class, but a non-edge rusher and non-interior positions, there's not a lot of, you know, great players. Well, we're waiting to see whether or not there are a lot of great players. Yeah, that's kind of where I'm at as well. And we knew last year that Ollie Fisciano was going to be a top-tier guy. We knew that Joe Alt was going to be a top-tier guy. You know, again, I think, well, Campbell, I really like what he has shown so far. You know, the LSU offensive find did not allow a ton of pressures on Jay Daniels this past year. You know, they did a really nice job of protecting him. So that entire offensive line group in general, I think, is going to be highly sought after by the NFL when it's all said and done. But, yeah, it doesn't look like this offensive line group is going to be as strong. You know, I felt like especially this past year's draft, center was such a strong position in this past year. Tackle was such a strong position. I'm not sure if these next year's group is going to be as deep, but we'll see. I mean, like I mentioned before, they have to play the games at some point, right? And when the games are played, you often see many times a lot of players come out of nowhere and really establish themselves as, you know, guys that, you know, we should be keeping them aware of when it's all said and done here. So the last thing for us here before we wrap it up kind of just looking at this next year's draft class as it projects right now in general, you know, where do the bears come in and all of this? You know, where are some of the positions that I think that we think that they can address the next year's draft, because if we're assuming that the bears taking another step forward this year with, you know, the defense, you know, having another year together, kill Williams coming in this new offense and all the playmakers that they have, first of all, what are the needs for the bears? And then what do we think is going to be available to them in the draft to really address here? Because we talked about some of the high-end talent on defense in this year's draft, or this next year's draft, will the bears even be in position to get a high-end defensive player? Should they look elsewhere? Who are your thoughts on all that? Yeah. So this to me is going to be the most intriguing kind of draft that Ryan Paul's has. And again, I know a lot of people said, well, it's 2024, he's the most intriguing draft, but here's why 2025 is even more intriguing. 25 is more intriguing for the bears simply because you'll have a year of your own quarterback. And again, I'm putting myself in Ryan Paul's shoes, but you will have a year of your own quarterback kind of at the helm. You are basically going to, if all goes well, and if they're really going to stick with this process, then they're not going to fire Mattie Reffluice at the end of the year. And in my opinion, at this point, with Kayla Williams on the roster, like you shouldn't fire Mattie Reffluice simply because you would just be repeating the same cycle again, which would then in my mind. And people may not want to hear this because Kayla Williams is on the roster kind of go ahead and confirm that these are the same old bears. And what Ryan Paul's is just going to be here until there's another losing season or two, and then George McCasky decides to start all over again. But if you're the bears, 2025 is simply huge because this is the draft class where you could finally find that guy to pair with Montes sweat in terms of the address. Because again, there's at least six or seven that should be going inside the top 20. Now no one's going to sit here and say, well, the bears are bad enough to finish with the top 10 pick. No, the bear should next year at minimum be picking anywhere from that 15 to 16 range all the way to, I want to say, 25, 26, right? Like there's a legit chance that this team does make the playoffs and could go on a bit of a run. But if they miss just outside the playoffs, like, hey, you know what, and Kayla Williams develops, that's not a bad season to me. So obviously your priority of first round next year is going to be figure out what you're doing at the address or position. In terms of the interior, now you do have two second round picks as well. So this is where the bears can get really damn creative. It's expected to be a pretty solid safety class. Maybe you go back to drafting a safety and round to give you Juan Brisker another running mate because if we're going to be honest, Kevin Byard probably isn't going to be here in 2025. There's a legit chance so that the bears decide to say, okay, we aren't getting what we need out of Dravon Dexter. Let's go ahead. Let's try to true three technique in a very loaded class. And again, because you've got three picks inside the top 64, I mean, it would not shock me at all to see the bears go D line in round one because it's a really good class. Then go ahead and go Ed Druscher in round two, and then possibly, you know, that second second round pick, which is, you know, the bears own because the Panthers should have a high second round pick. I mean, you're going to go ahead and kind of use that as a trade ship in some way, shape, or form really to go ahead and possibly accumulate some 26 draft capital or go ahead and say, all right, well, you know what, we're going to trade down just to continue to plug the holes on the roster. And then, you know, you've got your third round pick again, you don't have a fourth next year, you do have three six round picks. One of which could turn into a fourth based on the Justin field trade. The good thing about those six rounders, the third, the as well as the six round picks is simply the fact that you are going to have the opportunity to just continue adding depth to the roster. Yeah, I think polls is in a really good position, I think, to really address whatever he wants to, depending on how the board falls and depending on what is available to him. It wouldn't surprise me whatsoever if he decides to use one of those second round picks to go get a veteran player, whether it's sometime during this upcoming season or during the offseason next year, you know, I look at guys like Jonathan Allen, like he could be an option from, you know, Washington, Washington commanders, maybe you go and trade for him, every the second year in a row, you're trading for Washington commander defensive lineman, but, you know, you pair him up with Montez sweat, you know, they need that, that another pass rusher on that defensive line, obviously, we know that under von Dexter, the expectation is that he takes another step forward. Well, what if he doesn't take another step forward, right? But if he doesn't show enough development where you're confident with him as being your three tech of the future, you know, is he a guy who's going to be the guy for you or is he just going to be another good piece to have in that rotation? And that's something that the Bears are going to have to figure out in training camp and growing to this next year and maybe you make a move then. How that impacts the draft? Well, you know, in the first round, we kind of mentioned some of the top guys, you know, does makes amazing Graham kind of fall in the draft in a position where you can select him or trade up to go get him or a D on Walker, right? You know, some of these other edge structures here, do they fall to a spot where you can trade up for them? Because if the Bears are going to have draft capital next year where they could trade up they want to, if they identify a guy that they really need, I think edge structure especially is a position where they really need to address that, you know, whether it's through a trade or through the draft, like they need to get somebody in the building here to complement Montesweft because as much as we like Austin Booker as a day three flyer, like he's a day three pick. There's no guarantee that he's going to be a difference maker on this defensive line and there really isn't anybody else in this roster that I think we're confident and can be that difference maker, right? So trading up for an end rusher could be in play, you know, trading for an end rusher could be in play. Those are all valid options. I also look at wide receiver as another position where, hey, the Bears could use their first round pick on a wide receiver again. I mean, there's, I think about it this way, like Kenan Allen's going to the final year of his deal, DJ Moore has an extension coming up where, you know, he's got two years left on this deal. He's going to have been the last year of his deal next year, you know, wide receiver's position where, yeah, you took Roman Dunes in this, in this past year's draft, but he's got to keep on getting weaponry for Caleb Williams in that spot, I think. So wide receiver, if they, if they real like a guy in the first or second round, I wouldn't be surprised if, you know, you go ahead and distract a wide receiver. So there are a lot of options at play for Ryan Polls, whether it's just starting now in this process, you know, going into the trade deadline, going into the off season and free agency to address some of these source spots. But I think the bottom line is that the Bears have a lot of resources to address these holes in the roster. And this next year's draft, I think profiles very well to address some of the holes that are going to be opening up on this Bear's roster forward here. So I think overall, there's a lot to look forward to here. And ultimately, the Bears are in a good spot to basically do whatever they want with this roster. So with that said, I think that's a good point to wrap it up here, he said. And yeah, it's going to be a really fun class to kind of follow throughout, you know, the process here, whether it's through this next season or whether it's, you know, looking ahead to next spring. But overall, I mean, there's a lot to like about this next year's draft. And I'm excited for the season to get here, so we can see these guys in the football field once again. I'm going to be getting into a lot more of my kind of preseason scouting on these guys, just so I have a better feel for who they are as players. And that's something I'm looking forward to at the summer. So for all the listeners out there, thank you once again for tuning in to the picture polls podcast. Make sure to like, rate, subscribe, wherever you get our podcasts, and make sure to follow us on social media, follow us on Twitter, X or polls on Twitter or X, whatever you want to call it there. You say work in our listeners, fine-tune, find your work. Yes, you can follow me on Twitter at usadco, so you'll check out my work on the bear report website and I have the breakout bears article series kicking off here. And then, you know, the summer scouting series is officially under way where kind of, you know, I sit down with, you know, different college reporters and analysts that cover different college teams around the country and just get their thoughts on, you know, some of the top prospects for 2025 from those specific schools as well as, you know, some key matchups to watch, you know, some key players as well, and just some expectations. So again, you know, all that is kind of geared towards making you guys more informed ahead of the 2024 season, specifically for the 2025 draft. You know, we had John Steep, who covers the Iowa Hawkeye zone, Bob Osmison, who covers the fighting align eye on those two episodes are alive in your feed, so go check those out. Yeah, absolutely check out those episodes because as much as the information we're providing you here on these prospects, a lot of these beat reporters that actually cover these guys on a day-to-day basis have a lot more in-depth information to share on these guys. I think that can, you know, give us some perspective, I guess, or just a preview of what to expect in this upcoming college football season. That's for me. I mean, make sure you can follow me on Twitter at AJ from in 25, you can find my work on the bear port as well. And then, yeah, until next time Bears fans, you know, I have a great rest of your week, enjoy the summer while it's boiling hot outside, you know, make sure to cool down when you can. But until next time, have a great rest of your week and bear down. Drinking and driving is a decision that could change your whole world. Things will never be the same if you ever get a DUI. Because legal fees and time in court are just the beginning. 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