Chapter 1: Who is Herb Howard and what insights does he bring?
Bears beat reporter for the Bigs.
Herb Howard is joining us. Herb Howard is here from the Bigs. Herb immediately showed he was going to be somebody asking meaningful questions. He's going to ask a question that everyone else in the room is going to want to know the answer to.
What then happens that they can't get out and get snapped before them? It's a great question.
Well, thank you so much, Herb, for joining us. This has been a lot of fun.
It's always fun with you guys. You are absolutely amazing. I listen to you guys when you don't invite me, so it's really, really cool. With Rahimi Harrison-Groney on 104.3 The Score. That's right. Herb Howard is on X at Herb Howard 411. He is, yes, the Bears reporter for Biggs Media and host of the Herb Howard Show. Follow at the Biggs Media on YouTube for the latest episodes. All of that stuff.
And Herb joins us in studio right now. and Marshall, he smells great. And that, to me, that is bonus points on top. That is an underrated thing because some people don't know the right amount to put on. Some people just have bad smells. Are you talking about me? No, not you at all. I don't think you're a cologne wearer.
No, I do never forget my deodorant, though, unlike some people in this studio. Whoa, shots fired. I got my shower in today. I did my duty as a human. Yeah. Hygiene's important, right? It matters. It matters. Put a little effort into it, basically.
Especially when you're going to be stuck in the studio with us or if he's at Hallas Hall, he's crammed in that little bitty room with all the media members. Hey, y'all are up there during training camp. You know what it's like when you come back in from practice. A little hot out there. That's true. And it's like, hey, did we not know we were going to be in closed quarters today?
Yeah.
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Chapter 2: What are the Chicago Bears' current needs heading into the NFL Draft?
Yeah, trade out of the first round, get a whole bunch of needs met with what you're talking about. Still top level, maybe, cornerback. If there's three safeties off the board, that changes that conversation. But I'd rather have a safety than a cornerback, and I put it very plainly to Mr. Grody over here. I said, hey, listen, are you more comfortable with...
Tyreek Stevenson at cornerback, or are you more comfortable with Cam Lewis at safety? And his answer immediately was, obviously, I'm more comfortable with Tyreek Stevenson starting at cornerback. There's a lot of things you've got to kind of run through the equation there. And you look at this particular draft. In general, and you say, okay, well, the top 10, you love those guys.
But then from 11 through 40, 50, it's like, all y'all, there's not a whole lot of separation there. So if you can drop back and you say, well, we don't mind going mid 30s and then acquiring additional pick later.
cool let's do it you know what i mean that makes sense because i don't know that at 25 you're getting a player so much better than you will at 35 did you do i don't know if you did did you do a mock draft did you have you made it revealed your prediction for 25 or any of the second rounders is there anything you'd like to tell us herb respectfully yes not my jam like i love everybody who does none of our jams but we're forced to do it oh are you
Herb said, I'm not forced to do anything I don't want to do. It's a two-part thing, though, Herb. Shout out to you, Ben and Terrence, for not making me do that type of stuff. You talk about doing work on 300 prospects, and then the Bears are going to get five or six of them? Listen, shout out to Brugler. Shout out to Clay Harbor. Shout out to Alex. Everybody who does... You're all doing great.
Go for it. Shout out to Mock Draft 4.0 and 5.0. Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. I'm more so concerned about...
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Chapter 3: How should the Bears approach drafting a cornerback this year?
the philosophy of Ryan poles and Ben Johnson going into the draft. What are they thinking philosophically in terms of positional need? What are they thinking in terms of best player available? Once they acquire whoever they're going to acquire tomorrow or Friday, Saturday, I'll do all the work in the world on that kid, on those kids.
And then we'll, we can talk about it, but you're going to tell me who, who the sixth round safety is from where, like, thank you. Shout out to that kid. No, I completely understand. And I think when we do the mock drafts or talk about, I think it's a two-part conversation. It's who do you think the Bears will draft? What do you think they're going to do versus what would you like to see them do?
Those are two different thought processes. It's about the philosophy, right? So it's not so much about like, philosophically, what do you think they should do? What do you think they're going to do? And I'm here for that conversation 24 hours a day. So what do you think they should do? I think that if the safeties are there, take the safeties. Okay.
Because, again, I think you're looking at the second or third best safety in the draft versus fifth, sixth edge, fifth, sixth D tackle, right? Or if you want to go left tackle, there are some questions about all those left tackles at that point. And so I think the most sure position at that point in the draft, if they're there ā are the two safeties.
You're talking about Thieneman and... Emmanuel McNeil-Warren. Emmanuel McNeil-Warren. I happen to like McNeil-Warren a little bit. I just like his size, his range, his playmaking ability. I think he's a little bit more physical. But I've got no problem with bringing him in here. So the top three safeties are off the board. Then where are you going? Let's just move back. So you're with me. Okay.
I don't have any problem with that. We're aligned.
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Chapter 4: What are the Bears' expectations for their offensive line this season?
That's cool with me too. The question is, is anybody willing to jump up? That's the question at that point. Where's Ty Simpson in this equation, right? Does somebody think he's that... Because there's a lot of talk about him, and that kind of started out of nowhere seemingly to me when I watched how he finished the season.
And then all of a sudden after the season, like, hey, he's ā it's like, okay, well, come up and get him if you want him. But I also like ā I do like Zion Young from Missouri. I do like his size in terms of how he could fit in with what DA likes to do. He does have some production, which is different from the kid from Auburn, Keldrick. Like, he ā it's a little bit ā
He's got the size for sure, but he doesn't have the production. I think Zion Young has the production to go along with the size. So I am intrigued by him. If you think he doesn't get much further than 25, if he's even there, I would be okay with that as well. Yeah, Zion Young, 6'6", 262. He did have seven sacks last year for Missouri. Let's just say, Herb Howard, that the Bears ā
don't take an early edge rusher. They get somebody later on, and they go Austin Booker style, who was a fifth-round pick. What would you think? Let's just say, essentially, you have the same pass rushers back on the team. How do you feel about ā because you mentioned we believe in coaching. Yep. and developing.
Do you believe in the coaching enough to think that Dio Dangbo and Shamar Turner and Montez, that it will be better on the edge for the Bears next year if they don't get an impact dynamic player for the edge this year? I think that's part of the conundrum for Ryan Poles is that You have a huge need position in the defensive front. And you've invested heavily in that defensive front.
You know what I mean? Like, you spent some real money to go get Dio last year. You used the second-round pick on Shamar Turner. We don't know if either of those guys are good at football yet. Like, we hope, right? And I think they are really, really high on Shamar Turner. I think they still believe. Marshall, you're not with that? No, no.
I don't know if I'm with it, but I do know that they believe that. I think there's a bigger indictment, though, on Dio, because one of those guys you drafted said, we can draft and develop. The other guy, you just straight up paid. There should be enough evidence to know whether he could play football or not. I mean, he played eight games, and he had one sack in the first game.
It was unimpressive. He was very unimpressive. He was unimpressive throughout training camp, if I'm just being honest with you. I'll be very interested to see how he comes off of his injury and if he's able to contribute more significantly. I feel good about Book. I think Austin Booker can take that next step. I think he can become a double-digit sack guy in this league.
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Chapter 5: How does the Bears' coaching staff influence player development?
I think he's got all the tools. I think he's got the right makeup. He can continue to add weight. He's not losing his athleticism, his speed. I think his long arm is one of the better individual moves that they have on that defensive front. And
if they're banking on just the development of Austin Booker, if they still believe that Shamar Turner can be the guy they drafted him to be, and Dio can be the guy they paid him to be, then I can understand how they can talk themselves into saying, we don't have to do this. I'm not trying to talk you into it, Marshall. I can understand how they can talk themselves into it.
You're taking me back to a very specific Ryan Poles answer to a question talking about how if Shamar Turner had been healthy, he was going to make the same impact on the defensive side of the ball that all those offensive draft picks made on the offensive side of the ball. Same trajectory as Luther Burden and Colston Loveland and Lassie Chappelle is what he said. You buying that?
Because I'm not buying that. It's a tough sell. It's a tough sell because the trajectory tells me that Colston Loveland is going to be one of, if not the very best tight end in the league in short order. And Luther Burton has that type of ability as well. A problem. I have not seen you say, hey, Shamar Turner, he's going to be a problem.
No, I mean, but you can't sleep on it because of where he was drafted and the potential that exists. I did like the pick when they made it. I liked the kid. I liked his makeup. I liked his size. I liked his demeanor. I liked the pick when they made the pick. So it comes down to the coaching and development then. Can you coach and develop him to hit his ceiling? I think if he hits his ceiling...
You're happy with him. I don't know.
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Chapter 6: What impact will the loss of DJ Moore have on the Bears' offense?
I'm still trying to find out the Dio ceiling. That's where I think I'm completely. That's the problem. I don't know that that ceiling is very high. Well, right. Respectfully. I just don't know. With the injury and trying to figure out what exactly he does. Did you figure out if it's the same Achilles or if it's the other Achilles? That's something we've been trying to figure out.
This is Layla's constant quest. I don't know. But it's a good question, right? It's a very good question. You know how it is coming back from an Achilles at that position. I do know how it is. I've never played defensive end in the league or anything else. But just generally. But I've ruptured my Achilles. And it's not fun. And the rehab is long. And it's arduous. And like, I don't know.
That's the problem. It's the I don't know that's circled around Dio Dingbo specifically. I sure would like to see a real Grady Jarrett season next year. That'd be nice. Not one interrupted by surgery. Right. It doesn't matter.
he had the scope and got it cleaned up whatever in the season but you talk about a guy that's getting up there in age he's you know solid guys a lot of explosiveness and weight on that knee and he just wasn't able to be his full self in terms of his explosiveness up the field and that's what they're looking for for him he can still anchor and take on blocks but you want him penetrating getting in the backfield getting tfls getting hits getting sacks hopefully he can be that guy but i think
You're going to have to manage that need, and you're going to have to start managing it in the spring. He's going to have to have his days off and training camp and those types of things. Last question before we take our break, but we got you for the hour, right? We're hanging out. Let's do it, man. Oh, that's awesome, man. He is what he is, right? Like there's not another level.
And he's not like that.
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Chapter 7: Who are the emerging players to watch on the Bears' roster?
I don't think Javon Dexter's a bad player. NFL starter. NFL starter, right? Or do you think that there's a level that we're missing with Javon Dexter at this point? I look at Dexter and I like to think there's a pro bowler in there. I don't know that it's there. You see his size. You see his natural ability. Sometimes he flashes that and then it's inconsistent.
Then it'll be a couple weeks before you see it flashed again. It's like, hey, Dex. You can do that to every interior lineman every week. Just do that thing. So I'm hopeful. I'm hopeful. Yeah, no doubt, and we'll see. You make great points about the coaching, that maybe they can get things out of these guys that we didn't expect that they could get to.
When we do return with Herb Howard, Marshall and I had a conversation about Caleb off the air earlier. Then Herb came in, we were talking about Caleb Williams, so let's talk a little Caleb Williams and a cool thing that Devin Hester is doing. We will discuss that next with our guest from the bigs. It's Herb Howard on Rahimi Harrison-Grody on 104.3 The Score. Rahimi Harrison-Grody.
We are the best show in this town to have the coach and or quarterback sit right here. Because we're here for a good time. We are here for a good time. We're fun. We're funny. We're serious sometimes. Sometimes we cry. Sometimes we laugh. Like, this is perfect.
If you wanted a high chance of a drink spilled all over the studio, we are definitely for people.
Middays 10 to 2.
Maybe we're the show for you.
On 104.3 The Score.
My leadership-wise, stepping up, I think you got to start off with earning that respect. And a lot of that comes from being able to go win ballgames, doing it on Sundays. And obviously, you got to show up. You got to work Monday to Saturday. And then on Sundays, you got to go win. So it's a seven-day week process. And so I think I've earned some respect from my teammates and things like that.
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Chapter 8: What are the predictions for the Bears in the upcoming NFL Draft?
How about that? It's a very unfamiliar space to be in as a Bears fan, as a Bears reporter. Since what? Jay Cutler? I mean, where you knew who the quarterback was going to be and you knew what you were going to get from him. Yeah. It's been that long for sure. For sure. And probably only then. Yeah. That's sad. No, you're right. But true.
We could go through all the spurts of the Eric Kramers and the Jim McMahons of the world and Steve Walsh's. Oh, God, man. I don't want to head down that road. So to your point, Herb, yes, it's so nice to not have to worry about going through that litany of names. That's why we love the Eric Kramers, and that's why we love Jim Miller. Jim Miller, hell yeah. No diss to them. No, you're right.
You love mid and upper mid. They did their part, unlike most Bears quarterbacks. Right, exactly, exactly. So, you know, that's kind of what it is here. But no, Caleb, we obviously knew he had the talent coming into it. He stepped into that talent when Ben Johnson came through the door and says, this is the standard. But he also said, here is the structure. Here is the actual direction.
Because let's be clear here. They were well on their way to ruining another quarterback before Ben Johnson got here. Right. Like we can we can talk like, oh, this is going great, which it is now. He should be able to hit a ceiling, which is very high. But they've had quarterbacks before who had high ceilings. None of them were ever able to hit it because there was no sense of direction.
There was no structure around them. And there was none of that around Caleb Williams, too. He quarterbacked 10 straight losses. Right? Because there was no structure around what they were doing. Ben Johnson comes in, he matches structure with that immense talent and work ethic, and now you potentially have something special in your hands.
I can give you Wagyu, but if I don't show you how to prepare it... It's just... Raw meat's in over there. It's going to be bad. That is a harsh reminder. Bring the flavor out. The 10-game losing streak. I've tried to get far away. You forgot about it? For a moment, I did. But, yeah, he was the quarterback for a 10-game losing streak where they didn't have the right infrastructure around him.
Yeah, again, I'm not blaming him. No, no, no, I just said they didn't have the right infrastructure. That was the trajectory until you changed the structure. Thank God. Yeah, I mean, the Ben Johnson part of this is just extraordinarily important. Tomorrow is round one of the NFL draft, and the score is your draft headquarters.
Tune in after the Cubs game for the Spiegel and Holmes draft special until 7 o'clock. That is featuring Awani. Dave Wan said in studio at 5. Then Rami Makhlouf and Anthony Heron will be live during round one from 7 to 11 p.m. with up-to-the-minute draft updates. as they pertain to the Bears. Listen live on 104.3 The Score and watch live on YouTube and Twitch.
One position we have not talked about in reference to this draft is the left tackle position. I'm of the belief that the left tackle is already in the building, and that's something people need to accept and be okay with. And I think Braxton Jones coming off a healthy offseason as opposed to surgery, he looks like, to me, the frontrunner for the job. He's all yoked up. He's all yoked up.
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