UHND.com - Notre Dame Football, Basketball, & Recruiting

The 3 best OL were gone and the best DT was gone. The Edge rushers group is deep but many came with warning labels and don't fit what the type of Edge rusher than Dennis Allen likes which is bigger/stronger versus lighter/faster. They also pick @ 39 and 41 so they can fill in those positions in they like the guys, probably RB and Edge rusher depending on who is available. Folks forget that the Bears added 3 OL and 2 DL guys in the off-season.

Really good teams need two TEs anyway, and the Bears only have one front line TE on the team (Durham-Smyth was picked up more for special teams than receiving skills) and while Kmet is a solid in-line TE, he isn't on anyone's top 15 TEs in the NFL and isn't going to be. Loveland will be a superior receiver to Kmet. You can split Loveland out as a WR type ala the top TEs in the game (Kelce/Kittle, etc) which isn't Kmet's strength as a TE.

Most pundits thought it was a toss-up between the Warren/Loveland. Warren is the better blocker of the two prospects, but Loveland is absolutely the better receiver. Who you take depends on your flavor of tea.

They see Loveland as a receiver more than a TE - a poor man’s Brock Bowers to be used in 2 TE sets with a real TE (Kmet). But here’s the thing, Warren is a better receiver than Loveland as well.

I usually find your comments to be fun, interesting and generally make sense. You're way off on this one.

Loveland adds more to the Bears' offense than Warren does. By most things that I've read, Warren and Loveland were viewed to be neck/neck based on one's view re: how they would be used. General consensus based on what I've read is that Loveland is a better receiver than Warren and Warren is a better blocker than Loveland. Since Chicago already has a good in line blocker in Kmet, as well as Dunham-Smythe. Adding Warren just duplicates what Chicago already has. Duplicating that doesn't make the Bears a better team and adding Loveland gives them something they don't have on their roster.

Only time will tell.

…if they have 2 TE’s, don’t you think they could use the #10 pick on a need that gets more bang for the buck than a niche player (receiver tight end)?

Also, I’ve seen Warren in person. He is very good receiving the ball. In fact, he is the best TE that I’ve seen in a long time .

Your new coach knows what he’s doing on offense, so I guess we will see.

I live in Chicago area but I grew up in Milwaukee and am a lifelong Packer fan. It has been absolutely a blast watching the after-game meltdowns for the past few decades. Chicago is more a Bear town than any other team. I actually fear the Packers' reign of terror re: the Bears is over and they may be on the right track with their coaching decision and I think Poles may be the best GM they had in 20 years.

I can therefore be more objective of their draft choices since I want them to make bad ones. I think Loveland (vis-a-vis Warren) was a great choice for what Johnson wants to do. Warren is obviously a top tier TE but, as I said, Loveland fits the scheme Johnson wants to run better than Warren does. Warren is a bit more derivative of what they already had, even if better than Kmet who I think was underutilized last year because they didn't have a clue what they were doing on offense. (As for TE3 for them, Durham-Smythe was a depth guy and the Bears didn't have another TE under contract. He was added as special teams/blocking TE and the Bears always knew if they didn't add a receiving type TE in the 1st, they were going to add one in the 2nd.) The Bears had their eye on Graham and the 3 tackles as the primary choices at 10 but they were gone. There also was a chance that they might have taken Jeanty but he too was gone. So the Bears followed their board and picked the guy they liked the best in Loveland. Like we both said, we'll see.

I do think the Bears' 2nd round choice was a bit odd. While Burden appears to be a "value" pick for them--a guy who has rated as a 1st round guy going into 2024 but didn't do much this past year and he dropped down. They passed on several OL and DT they definitely could have used even if they did get their DT later in round 2. They also need a RB but the two guys they were looking at, the OSU guys were picked right before them in Round 2.

Fingers crossed.

I live in the Chicago area so it has been fun to watch the anguish of the last 15 years or so of Packers/Bears.

Because Chicago is a Bear town over any other local teams, the angst on Monday after every Bear loss to the Packers is a joy to behold. I fear that run is over.

(no message)

(no message)

(no message)

(no message)

….and mind you, I watch ND TE’s

Ben Johnson does like 2 TE sets, so I can see them drafting a TE despite having Kmet.
But to pick anyone over Warren is just dumbass. On top of that, Loveland is overrated.

This is why the Bears are the Bears.

(no message)

(no message)

(no message)