Note that terms aren't yet available for additional announced signings -- when the terms are available, I'll provide grades for the signings of DT Grady Jarrett, TE Durham Smythe, S Tarvarious Moore, and LS Scott Daly.
Bears sign C Drew Dalman to a 3-year, $42M deal with $28M guaranteed
The first big move of the legal tampering period was a terribly kept secret, but that won't impact this evaluation. The options at center were as follows:
- Bring back Coleman Shelton.
- Shelton was solid after a brutal September last year, so this option could've worked. Not ideal.
- Rely on Ryan Bates to be healthy and good.
- Bates has played 140 snaps over the last two years combined. I should only speak well of former Nittany Lions, but depending on Bates to play 1,000 snaps seems foolish.
- Sign Dalman.
- Draft a new starting C.
- This option traditionally yields poor results. Last year's top C prospect, Duke's Graham Barton, struggled in Tampa Bay. The prior year's top C prospect, Minnesota's John Michael Schmitz, had a dreadful rookie year despite being 24.
- Move Jackson or Thuney to C.
- This plan stinks, especially moving an elite LG (Thuney) out of position.
In my opinion, there was precisely one palatable option for the 2025 Bears. With apologies to Cody Whitehair and James Daniels, the Bears have largely gotten either average or terrible production at C since Olin Kreutz left town. Dalman can move. Dalman is experienced. He is arguably the best C in the league when leading an outside zone rushing attack. He is the perfect fit for Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson's rushing attack.
Dalman's pass blocking grades were average this year, but he's showing growth in that area. If he combines average pass blocking with top-of-the-league run blocking, he's a massive win for the roster.
Surprisingly, despite a marketplace where G and OT salaries are exploding, Dalman's contract came in very much in line with the existing market with a two-year guarantee at sensible dollars. Incredibly, Dalman would leave only $2M of dead cap hit in 2027 if he was cut before that season.
Grade: A-
Bears sign DE Dayo Odeyingbo to a 3-year, $48M deal with $32M guaranteed
Odeyingbo is a nice addition to this team and he's the right kind of player to target in free agency. He turns 26 in September, he has a solid pedigree as the 54th pick in the 2021 draft, and he appears to be an ascending player with improving pass rush production and increasing snap counts each year.
That said, Odeyingbo's overall production has been that of a low-end DE2, so this is a significant bet on pedigree, growth, and fit in Dennis Allen's system. It's also likely that Odeyingbo's best role is as an early-down DE who kicks inside to DT in obvious pass rushing sets. Odeyingbo's deal sees $4.5M of dead cap in 2027, hardly an unforgiveable amount if he plateaus or regresses. I dislike the backloaded nature of his deal as the 2025 cap hit of just $8M skyrockets to $20.5M and $19.5M in the two years that follow.
More notably, it's hard for me to reconcile the decision to sign Odeyingbo to this deal with the choice to jettison DeMarcus Walker and his very modest $5.9M cap hit for a player expected to do the same thing. I'm hopeful that Odeyingbo brings some fresh juice to this group and that his much longer arms create the kind of pressure on opposing offenses that Dennis Allen wants.
In the end, Odeyingbo is a sensible risk on a rather hefty deal who offers a bit to dream on. A reasonable-enough deal that gets dinged for the Walker-for-Odeyingbo nature of the move, ending up just a tick below average.
Grade: C-
NFL Draft
The free agency signings and the trades that preceded them have really opened up the draft. What does that mean? Whereas the #10, #39, #41, and #72 picks were previously expected to provide rookie starters at DE, G, and possibly DT, GM Ryan Poles now has considerably more flexibility to pursue the players he wants. Think Penn State TE Tyler Warren is the perfect fit for Ben Johnson? Great! Believe that Boist State RB Ashton Jeanty is the difference-maker that the Bears need? OK! Think that Ole Miss DE Princely Umanmielen has the highest ceiling of the 2nd round DEs but that he might not be able to play a ton as a rookie until he adds more weight? He can still be the pick.
#10: Penn State TE Tyler Warren
Am I biased in taking Warren over Jeanty? Maybe. Should Missouri OT Armand Membou be the pick instead? Maybe, but that's only because I have him pegged at RG; I don't think he projects as a LT.
Warren opens up a 12 personnel offense in a way that no other player can. He would be unbelievably fun. So here goes. If there were trade down options here, I would've taken one.
#39: Oregon OT Josh Conerly Jr.
This is a good spot for Conerly, who steps in as Braxton Jones' competition at LT or Jonah Jackson's replacement at RG if Jones takes the leap. He's a great fit in a zone blocking scheme, too.
#41: South Carolina DT T.J. Sanders
Sanders reorients the makeup of the DT room in a hurry. Sanders slides into the 3-tech pipeline behind Grady Jarrett and gets to learn the ropes from an eminently successful longtime NFL stud. Those two complement Gervon Dexter and Andrew Billings nicely in the rotation. This also gives rise to another move that probably needs to happen at this point.
Bears trade DT Zacch Pickens to New York Jets for #146
Pickens was a big reach at #65 two years ago and he has been a massive flop. Getting a 5th for him would be a good outcome at this point. That stinks.
#72: Oregon DE Jordan Burch
Burch combines the hulking physique that Dennis Allen wants with insane athleticism. So why is he available here? I'm not sure if he's all that good at football just yet. He looks like a great athlete playing football more so than he looks like a great football player who is very athletic.
With Odeyingbo in tow, the Bears can afford to bring Burch along a bit more slowly. He's worth the risk here. Penn State S Kevin Winston Jr. would also be a great fit here.
#146: SMU RB Brashard Smith
Smith is little. Smith is fast. Smith is never going to be an NFL feature back, but his background as a WR makes him a great addition to the Bears roster as a gadget weapon. He's a nice value here and a really fun toy for Ben Johnson.
#149: Washington State WR Kyle Williams
Williams is slight, but he is also very quick. He looks like a guy who can go 0-to-60 in a snap, something that should help him create the necessary separation in the NFL. Williams may lack the beefiness necessary to play in Ben Johnson's offense, and it might be too much to take both Smith and Williams in the same class. Nevertheless, I like the player enough to give it a shot.
#235: Wisconsin S Hunter Wohler
Wohler feels like a new-age college LB. At 6'2", 218 lbs., he's big enough to play in the box, but he's not so big as to truly play LB, especially at the NFL level. This feels like a spot to take a good player with lots of experience and enough athletic traits, then play around with his physical profile to see if he can stick at S, move to LB, or settle in as a special teamer.
#242: Maryland WR Tai Felton
I've liked Felton for months. He's surely not a game-changer given his light weight, but he is fast, explosive, and a pretty good pass catcher. He was extremely productive in 2024, too.
QB: (3): Caleb Williams, Tyson Bagent, FREE AGENT
RB (4): D'Andre Swift, Roschon Johnson, Ian Wheeler, Brashard Smith
TE (3): Cole Kmet, Durham Smythe, Tyler Warren
WR (6): D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze, Tyler Scott, Kyle Williams, Tai Felton, FREE AGENT
OT (3): Braxton Jones, Darnell Wright, Josh Conerly Jr.
OG (4): Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson, Kiran Amegadjie, Bill Murray
C (2): Drew Dalman, Ryan Bates
DE (5): Montez Sweat, Dayo Odeyingbo, Austin Booker, Daniel Hardy, Jordan Burch
DT (5): Gervon Dexter, Andrew Billings, Grady Jarrett, Chris Williams, T.J. Sanders
ILB (2): Tremaine Edmunds, FREE AGENT
OLB (3): T.J. Edwards, Noah Sewell, FREE AGENT
CB (5): Jaylon Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson, Terell Smith, Kyler Gordon, Josh Blackwell
S (5): Kevin Byard, Jaquan Brisker, Jonathan Owens, Tarvarious Moore, Hunter Wohler
SP (3): Cairo Santos, Tory Taylor, Scott Daly
Proof:
I always like to make trades throughout the draft, but sometimes the opportunities don't present themselves. That was the case here as the only trade offers were to move way down -- 20+ spots -- from #41. Given my strong desire to land an impact pass rusher, I couldn't stomach that.
No matter. These are very nice additions of talent to the roster with four big guys leading the way.
No comments:
Post a Comment