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The Dannehy Draft Big Board

| April 25th, 2017

Last time I guessed what the Bears draft board looks like, I didn’t think a quarterback was on it. Now, not only do I think a QB is on it, I think it revolves around the position.

The more I thought about it, the more quarterback made sense for the Bears. It’s the biggest need on the team and there are players who are absolutely worth the third pick (especially if Jared Goff was worth the first pick last year). The signing of Mike Glennon buys them time and, if Glennon plays well, they won’t have trouble trading him for a first round pick next offseason.

Which QB the Bears may like is anybody’s guess. And people have guessed everybody. Within the span of five days, Eric Galko of Sporting News went from writing that Deshaun Watson was their favorite to tweeting that they preferred Patrick Mahomes. The next day it was reported that the Cleveland Browns were convinced the Bears were going to take Mitchell Trubisky. Nobody knows and anybody who says they do is full of it.

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Five Thoughts on the NFL Draft (Based on Actual Reporting)

| April 24th, 2017

Have spent the last two weeks exchanging texts and emails with my two league sources. This is not a good time to gather information but here’s what I think is happening.

  • There is a clear divide in the league when it comes to the quarterbacks and there is at least one team that doesn’t have a first-round grade on any of them. That team’s favorite quarterback in the class? Pat Mahomes. I’m not going to read too much into that but I believe Mahomes will be the name called way earlier than many expect.
  • I think DeShone Kizer is now clearly the fourth, if not fifth, quarterback.
  • As I suspected, Solomon Thomas blew teams away when he spoke with them. Thomas is not only an exceptional football player, he’s also a great guy. I’m not confident he gets to the Bears at 3 but if he does and they don’t take him, they’ll regret it.
  • Question. What is the strength of this year’s draft? Answer: “You will be able to find secondary starters well into the third round.” (Good news for the Bears.)
  • Question. What is the weakness of this year’s draft? Answer: “Worst crop of offensive linemen in a generation.”

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Making The Case: Solomon Thomas, Edge, Stanford

| April 19th, 2017

Editor’s Note: Solomon Thomas is my favorite player in this year’s draft. And it’s not close.


Solomon Thomas has the potential to be one of the best pass rushers in the entire league.

Physically, he has everything you could want: size, speed, length, strength, quickness, agility and explosiveness. His SPARQ score was in the 93rd percentile, tied with T.J. Watt for fourth-best in this class and two percentage points better than Leonard Floyd tested last year.

Thomas really burst onto the scene with a dominant performance against North Carolina. When everyone was trying to watch Mitch Trubisky, Thomas kept exploding onto the screen. It was impossible to not notice him. In all, he had 61 tackles — 14 for a loss — 8.5 sacks and one forced fumble.

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