The good news is that Friday is here. But the bad news is that I’ve been feeling like I was hit in the head with a frying pan all morning. Let’s breeze through this set of Bears Bullets, take some headache medicine, and hope for the best.
CONFIRMED: Caleb Williams will be in attendance at Night 1 of the NFL Draft. So when the presumptive No. 1 pick gets his name called to the Chicago Bears, he’ll get to have that moment when he gets to dap up NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. That’ll be cool. There are 12 other players who will be in attendance with Williams. And with the Bears having a second top-10 pick, Caleb could very well be hanging out with one of his future teammates and not even know it.
If you’re thinking that 13 seems like a smaller-than-usual number for NFL Draft green room invitees, just know that you’re not alone. Last year, there were 17 players who were confirmed to attend the 2023 NFL Draft’s first round. But after seeing Joey Porter Jr. (32nd overall), Will Levis (33rd), Brian Branch (45th), and Keion White (46th) go in Round 2, it makes sense that the NFL is condensing the green room. There’s nothing more awkward than watching a projected first-round pick linger alone in the green room. Sure, it makes for compelling television. But it is kinda cringe.
OPE! The NFL didn’t project quarterbacks Bo Nix or Michael Penix Jr. to be top-20 picks, which is reason enough to not invite them for green room festivities. J.J. McCarthy didn’t get the invite either and I’m curious if that means anything for his draft stock. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reports that the league wanted to limit the number to 15 in an attempt to avoid that awkward lonely green room moment. Prediction: I still think we might get it.
Some of my favorite NFL Draft moments is when stuff like this happens via the Bears:
I still think Zacch Pickens (pictured in the video above) and Gervon Dexter Sr. could be a useful tandem of defensive tackles for the Bears in the near future. Dexter played well down the stretch and looked to be developing as the season went on. As for Pickens, he had some spots (but not enough to get me super geeked up about it). Thinking about the rising second-year defensive tackles has me looking forward to what they can do after receiving tutelage from new DC Eric Washington — who has a whole bunch of experience developing defensive linemen.
MORE: Getting to Know New Bears Defensive Coordinator Eric Washington
I wonder if the Bears would do Caleb Williams a solid and draft a wide receiver he is familiar with:
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler has USC’s Tahj Washington as WR27 with a 5th-6th round projection. During the Ryan Pace era, we saw a bunch of Day 3 picks shine. Running back Jordan Howard, safety Eddie Jackson, running back/return ace Tarik Cohen, and safety Adrian Amos are among the most memorable picks. Heck, you could go back into Bears history and remember players such as Olin Kreutz, Lance Briggs, Bernard Berrian, and Marty Booker going from Day 3 selections and turning into productive Bears players. In other words, I’m open to targeting Washington as a potential Bears pick if that is how the cookie crumbles.
Former Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy sold his Waukegan home for $1.6 million, reports the Tribune. No word on if any playbooks were left behind — not that they’d do anyone any good.
The Bears continue beefing up their business ops with the promotion of Paul Neurauter to the role of Senior Vice President of Operations and Sustainability. Once again, I find myself pleased to see this franchise bring itself into the 21st century under the guidance of President Kevin Warren. Yes, I realize there is a hearty chunk of Bears fans who do not care about hires like this one. I get it. But if you want your favorite team to win on the field, it needs to be able to win on the business side of things, too. That’s just the way of the world.
“OJ Simpson: the complicated cultural legacy of a fallen star” is the headline that accompanies this piece at The Guardian by Andrew Lawrence. It was interesting to discuss OJ’s passing with different people in my life who are in various age groups. Different generations know Simpson for different reasons and it led to some worthwhile conversations.
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The much-maligned Jose Cuas is headed to Iowa, which means the Chicago Cubs must be making a bullpen move. I’m curious to see what tricks they have up their sleeve with this one. (BN Cubs)
Over at BN Bulls, Eli writes about the University of Kentucky angling to hire BYU basketball coach Mark Pope. Once that becomes officially official, that would remove Billy Donovan from the equation. For the record: I don’t think Donovan is the problem with Chicago Bulls basketball. However, I thought him leaving for UK would be the type of thing to nudge the front office to do the right thing and clear the decks instead of continuing what feels like a mindless chase of home playoff revenue in a play-in tournament.
What’s next for Frank Nazar and the Chicago Blackhawks? Tab searches for answers. (BN Blackhawks)