Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Brian Baldinger, NFL analyst for the NFL Network and Fox Sports, host of Baldi's Breakdown.
Dylan Thienemann is going to be a Chicago rat, all right? Just chasing everything. You put him in the middle of the field, you let him go find the football with his speed, his aggressiveness, and his tackling ability.
Odyssey NFL Insider.
They got some big holes in the back end of their defense because let's face it, if you make mistakes in the back end of your defense, I don't care who you're playing, Kyler Murray this year, you know, you're playing Jordan Love. If you make mistakes in the back end of your defense, you're giving up touchdowns and you're losing games.
Brian Baldinger. A doll is what he is. With Rahimi Harrison-Grody on 104.3 The Score.
We're very happy to have Brian Baldinger on. He is at Baldy NFL on Twitter. He is our Odyssey NFL insider and host of the Odyssey original podcast, The Best Football Show with Brian Baldinger. He also joins us on Twitch, twitch.tv slash thescorechicago. Baldy, thanks for coming on.
It's my pleasure. Thanks for having me today.
We're happy to have you. I want to know, first blush, what are your thoughts on the Bears draft?
Honestly, you know, like I thought Ryan Poles did a good job. Most general managers will tell you that they draft the best players available. I don't think that was anywhere near the case. I think they drafted because of the needs of a lot of, you know, departures from free agency and whatnot. And so you go through the list of all their picks. They all look like they replaced certain players.
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Chapter 2: What are Brian Baldinger's initial thoughts on the Bears' draft class?
We've talked a lot about it, examined it. Xavion Thomas runs that 4-2-8-40 out of LSU. He's taken about 100 picks over what the consensus board had him at. And then also Sam Rauch, the Bears think is the best blocking tight end in the draft. They pick him at 69. So that may be a good example of where they decided they wanted to go best player available. You know,
What do you think about just those two picks in a round? I feel like the third round for some teams is where they really make their money. That's where a lot of GMs are really good about building rosters. Other teams, it might be more of an experimental round. I feel like for the Bears, it's more of the experimental side.
They lost Dermot Smythe. He was probably their best blocking tight end last year. They like three tight ends. So I thought Sam gives them that ability. That's what he is. He's 6'6". He's 270 pounds. He's a blocking tight end.
i don't know that he's really smart so i you know i didn't have any problem with that pick right there he'll play he'll get on the field uh xavion thomas does have the speed he can he can help out in the return game he's returned punts and kickoffs for touchdowns in his career so you know you lose dj moore uh which is a big loss but i i think they feel pretty good about what they have there you know with luther and rome
And so if he can give them a speed element to try and take the top off some of these defenses, I didn't have a problem. He was probably the best player at the East West Shrine Bowl that I saw this year. Yeah, that doesn't really mean anything. Garrett Neusmeier was a good player at the Senior Bowl. He got drafted in the seventh round. Bowl games are bowl games.
But, you know, look, LSU has trained their wide receivers pretty well. We'll see what he does and how he contributes. But, you know, with that kind of speed, normally a guy like that, So that's a day three prospect. You're just drafting on measurables at that point. And that kind of speed isn't found very often. But is he overdrafted? I don't know. He's the 89th pick.
He's at the bottom of the third round. I think maybe they thought somebody else might get him just because of that element.
Baldy, I love talking to you about the NFL draft specifically, but also just about the way you see these teams being put together, built. We talk about what the Bears need. We know what it is, man. They need to be able to get to the quarterback and stop the run better. Do you feel like they've addressed things adequately?
And are you on board with them saying, hey, we just expect the guys that we already have, the Shamar Turners coming off an ACL, Dio Dingbo coming off a torn Achilles, to be there and be coached better and will be better?
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Chapter 3: How did the Bears address their needs during the draft?
But the prior two years, he was giving you 12 sacks a year, and he was just a steady force coming off the edge at Houston. And in Minnesota, they trade for him and somehow have $50 million guaranteed money to give him. They got probably the second most athletic tight end in the draft. And he's a guy that they don't have a tight end or a contract next year. You just go down the list of the guys.
Chapter 4: Was Dylan Thienemann the best player available for the Bears?
I thought they got a really good safety out of Texas Tech. It was a position. I thought Cleveland drafted very well. I thought Pittsburgh drafted really well. Pittsburgh had a lot of picks. All those guys they drafted, including the tight end from Indiana, they all look like Steelers to me. The left tackle, I think, has a chance of being really good. I think he has a real good chance.
And they probably drafted their starting left guard in Jennings from Iowa. So they might have a brand new left side of the offense line from this draft. And if they do... whoever plays quarterback for them is going to be a lot better.
Brian, I love what you just said about being able to affect the quarterback, the quarterback that you didn't mention in the division, the one I'm worried the most about, and I was like, they'll get swept again if they don't get a better pass rush, is Jared Goff from the Lions. Is there anybody out there right now that you would advise the Bears to go out and get?
Because there's still some free agents a little longer in the tooth who could be had right now.
Well, who's out there?
Well, Jadavian Clowney's out there. He's one of the guys that we've been talking a lot about. And then... Bosa, Hopkins. Yeah, Bosa. There's guys who... who have done things in the NFL, but we're wondering if they still have anything left, I guess is what we're saying.
Von Miller, right?
Yes, Von Miller's another guy as well.
Well, I would say Von Miller led the Commanders and Saks last year with nine. I'm around Von a lot. I have personal, we do some things together. I go to Saks Summit every year. Like Von Miller's a guy, I'm sure Von's just sitting back. I'm sure his phone is ringing. But he's a guy that I would be very interested in. He's healthy. He's been healthy. Had a good season last year.
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Chapter 5: What were the Bears' biggest needs heading into the draft?
They love the game. You know, they got a smile on their face. Like, they're fun to be around. Like, I just think that they add a lot. And not that Joey doesn't. Joey's just different than those guys. But Vaughn and Genevieve, I mean, you spend five minutes around those guys. You're like, whatever you guys want to do, like, you just want to join their club.
You know, like, they have the right attitude about the game and about life, really.
And, Brian, another one that we've mentioned, and I thought that it might have been a done deal already. It was nearing that way. There was a lot of discussion. Is Cameron Jordan, especially with the history he has with Dennis Allen. I know the Saints are trying. It appears reports say that there's trying to be a path there. They're trying to make one to keep him. But he's a free agent right now.
What do you think about where he might go?
He's, you know. Well, his dad was a longtime Minnesota Viking. He knows the division, grew up there. Cam Jordan is right in that company of guys I'm talking about. He had double-digit sacks last year. He can still play, and he knows he can still play. Physically, he's just better than just about anybody else out there. He takes great care of himself. That'd be another worthwhile signing.
I think you'd get a lot out of Cam Jordan. He can start. Or he could come off the bench. He could play inside. He could play outside. He could play right side. He could play left side. He's a very versatile guy at this point. But he's going to just win with tremendous power. Montez Sweat is similar physically.
But there's very few guys that are 6'5", 6'6", and weigh 280 pounds and can still play like that. So he can still collapse a pocket on any given day.
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Chapter 6: How did the Bears perform in the third round of the draft?
I'd be interested, honestly, in all three of those guys.
Brian Baldinger, the Odyssey NFL insider, joining us here on Rahimi Harrison. Grody, he is the host of the Odyssey Original Podcast, the best football show with Brian Baldinger. Baldy, so happy to be able to talk to you and ask you these questions because we're now looking at year three for Caleb Williams. And listen.
everything's been tailored to him as far as i can tell whether it's the draft free agency as far as getting him more weapons ben johnson wants him to take another step forward what does a successful year three for caleb williams look like to you well i mean the guy started every game for the bears since he got there um he is a freak athlete he is a great talent um
He had to learn a new system, and he cut his sacks down. The offense line helped, certainly. He got the Protector of the Year, Joe Tooney. They did great. They ran the ball really well. But his sacks went from 68 to, I don't know, 24. I mean, it was cut in thirds, basically. But I would say, you know, you win the division, you win a playoff game, you beat the Packers.
I mean, there's a lot on the plate that he just did last year. But I would say just... You know, I remember talking to him before his first game ever in the NFL. Like, he played a Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio. And I remember just talking to him. I knew him from high school.
And, like, you know, when he was with Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma and USC, he didn't do ā like, Lincoln called all the plays. He did all the audibles. He did all the checks. So, he came to Chicago. Like, he never really did the run game before. You know, what's ā do you get into a good play, out of a bad play? All those things. that great quarterbacks do. I would say all those things.
Because, you know, Ben Johnson can call the play. All right, the defense can always adjust after the play is called. And so ultimately it's Caleb's offense. Even with Ben Johnson's input, it's still up to him to decide, are we staying with this play? Are we going to change the play? Are we going to change the formation? Are we going to flip it?
All those things that you can only really learn by playing. And so I would say just pre-snap, make sure you're in the right play. You're in the right formation. Whatever came in, maybe it came in wrong. It happens all the time. Being able to fix it. Like those kind of things, I would say Caleb will take a jump in his third because he's smart and he's savvy. He understands the game.
But those kind of things, you only get ā by being getting experience. So I would say those, and then also, you know, just making the throws that become routine throws that sometimes like he just, he just misses, you know, and it might be after a great scramble to avoid the rush. And then he's got, you know, he's got Colston on a crossing route and he bounced, you know, he throws it behind him.
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