WHAT WE LEARNED: Biggest Takeaways From The NFL Combine, Stacey Dales Joins | CHGO Bears Podcast

look at Greg Braggs Jr. having a day and a half and Patrick Norton joining us to start the show yeah we're gonna clap one more time one more clap great job Patrick uh it's really you know it's emptied out here, but those who really love the game of football, those who really care, those who want to give back to you, the loyal CHGO fan, we are really grinding it out here doing 30 works. Shots fired at Adam Johns. Well, yeah, I mean, he's probably halfway home. He left his jacket. No, apparently that's Carm's jacket. Our partners at the radio station over here, they left three days ago, just took the easy way out. TV stations have all cleared out. We're still here. Well, they've got to pay for that nice kitchen they've got. So if the real grinders are on Friday, then how about the people that are here on Saturday? Well, those people just have no life back home and are not wanted by their families. Yep. I was asked to stay by my family. Hey, just stay here until Saturday. That's a – hey. No, you guys are going to do an outstanding job tomorrow, which will help us next week. So thank you, Greg. Thank you, Pat. Hogan and I are heading out afterwards. We figured we'd start today with what we learned this week. We've got Ran Carthon, the former general manager of the Tennessee Titans, coming up. That was a really fun conversation. A lot of Bears stuff in there. Stacey Dales from the NFL Network is coming up as well. Fran Duffy, all the draft news as well. So it's a huge show here. But we thought we would just do our own takeaways here to start the show. So whoever wants to jump in. Well, first we're going to check it out because we are checking out what we learned at the NFL Combine this week. Sponsored by Old National Bank. Every play matters, whether it's on the field or in your financial life. The best teams win by delivering excellence at every level. Old National Bank, where relationships and results matter, member FDIC. I guess I'll start, guys. I'm going to stay away from the stadium stuff. I talked enough about that, I know, this week. And I probably haven't given enough of what I learned about the actual Bears. Here's my takeaway. I don't think the Bears are going to be super active in free agency. I do think that they are still going to find creative ways to overhaul certain parts of their roster, especially on defense. So I have a feeling that next week could be somewhat active in terms of maybe a couple trades happening to kind of set the table. That's sort of what Ryan Poles has become known for at this point. And I want to be clear, it doesn't mean I can't see them, you know, making at least a tiny splash in the free agency pool here or there. But they've got to be creative. They don't – they could create a lot of space. There's always ways to do that, to go get somebody massive. But if there's a massive move, I think it's made via trade and not just, you know, going out and signing somebody. That's just my general takeaway from talking to, you know, people here in Indy what they think the Bears are going to do. Well, until some of those trades are made, it's really hard to even try to have a roadmap for what you want to do in free agency, right? So, you know, it's a step-by-step process here. So, you know, I hope we... I always enjoy the first day of free agency, so I hope there's a little bit of action. But first things first, Bears got to, you know, figure out the rest of their roster and some of these veterans that have already been put, you know reportedly on the trade block uh for me my biggest takeaway is timing is everything and for the Chicago Bears it hasn't always worked out and there's been times where an all-time great defensive lineman and Aaron Donald has drafted one pick after you and and a coach becomes available the year after you had already hired a coach or a quarterback, it hasn't always worked out. Now, granted, Bears have made their own mistakes to miss out on some guys to have their fortune. But for me, the timing of Caleb Williams coming to the Chicago Bears a couple years ago, that draft class falling into their lap the year they have the number one pick from the Panthers. Last year, the head coaching job opening up for Ben Johnson. Now you fast forward to this year and being at the NFL Combine, the cupboard is bare for quarterbacks this year. Wide receivers, you're not finding those. So, like, what did you learn? So, for what the Bears need, I think it has worked out in a way where defensive tackle is certainly going to be a priority, right? Defensive edge is going to be. Linebacker. I think those players are more readily available in this draft in the first three, four rounds, whereas some of those other premier positions that normally the Bears would have to, you know, prioritize. I think it has worked out from a timing perspective in terms of what the value is in this year's draft. It's not a top-heavy draft. So of all the years that you have the 25th pick, like to have it this year, I think has worked out in the Bears' favor. Patrick, would you like to go, or would you like to go off of my learning experience? I'll go off of your learning experience. Well, I think what we learned, for me at least early in the week, was that the Bears are absolutely open for business. DJ Moore feels like that's open for business. Tremaine Edmonds, we got official word that that's open for business as far as him being allowed to seek a trade. The Baygent rumors that went on, of course, I don't think you should trade the best player on the team, so I hope they don't do that. But, you know, so but the Bears are open for business, man. They're trying to figure out the best way to manage the money. What value can they get and how to put the best of, you know, 53, 90, 46 in the building to be the team that builds on 11 and 6 and a playoff win and could have been two playoff wins and actually take things forward. I think that, you know, that that's probably my number one takeaway. The other part of it is, listen, every year I come down here, it's the same thing. I have such admiration for the 250-plus players that made it this far in their lives, and then especially the ones that are not getting talked about a whole lot. And especially the ones that answer your questions. Especially the ones that answer my questions. And one of the ones, Hoag, since you just brought that up, and I'm actually going to have to look up his name right now because I don't remember it. No, not Aaron Anderson. Not Aaron Anderson. There was an incredible young man by the name of Caden Wetchen, who we talked about with Fran Duffy coming up, who went to the University of Iowa, who will have a debate on that interview that he stands 5'8". I think he stands 5'3". I mean, a tiny guy, a gadget guy, a walk-on who's made his way somehow to get an invitation to the Combine, who some people think will be a gadget player in the NFL. And I'm excited about those type of guys because Ben Johnson can use guys like that. So, like, if somebody like that, like, trying to find a little nugget of perhaps, maybe the Bears like that, dude. I have no idea if they do or do not. But I would think that, you know, they will be adding some offensive pieces here. So I'm trying to find the diamond in the rough. Be exciting to see where he is on your big board. Go ahead, Patrick. Pat, please give us something. All right. So when I wrote the salary cap breakdown a couple of weeks ago, So I think to play off of what Carm said, my thing, I had a certain confidence that DJ Moore would be back and that they would do what they had to to restructure his deal to bring him back. You don't willingly part ways with some of your best offensive talents. I thought that what we heard on Tuesday from Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson, my confidence meter in that went way down. It felt like it's more of a toss-up now whether or not DJ is back. We also learned today, this is from NFLPR guy on Twitter, Brian McCarthy, who says, NFL clubs were informed today that the salary cap for the 2026 season will jump $22 million per club to $301.2 million. That is the low level of the range that they gave earlier. So that's another $2 million that we weren't necessarily expecting. I think the figure that I was going off of for the breakdown was something like 303.5. So that's two more million that they're in the red right now. Times are tough. Right. So they're probably looking at probably six million to get back to the black on that. Yeah. Well, and that's, you know, hey, there's plenty of, it still is a significant increase, but less than they expected. So they might have to get even more creative. That's a very fair point. Can I give one more thing that I learned? Yeah. Because this is really important. Can you unlock your computer? Because I have heard about how Steven was feeding you guys some information. He did a great job. I was not aware that he said he detailed emails. What time of the – That was – At 1.39 in the morning. Well, so last night, you know, when you – Listen, when you stay in the elite hotel, you don't get to hang with us. So you don't get the email. What does that have to do with the email? You don't get the email because you're not involved. that was steven's decision not mine okay well let me finish what i was trying to say because i i thought he was just like hey these are here's a list of guys that would be good to talk to these are detailed yep this should be on this should be on the website with like diehard information it's like our he's like our friend duffy we'll send it to pat and he can put it up but i am also curious why this is not why this information is not being provided to you know are you on these emails nope is adam johnson these emails none of you go over there No, that's because you haven't stepped foot on that side of the curtain all week. I'd like to know that Carnell Tate comes from a very decorated high school, IMG Academy in Florida, where they've put several high – I actually already knew that, but that's not a great example. Defensive end Zion Young from Mizzou, one of 11. I'm just finding out this entire week that such great, valuable information has been withheld for me. Steven was an MVP in that regard and got our ducks in a row on – Because it's not just like it's different from the Fran Duffy draft guide. This is the Stephen Nicholas combine podium guide. Like these are. Well, this is why we're a team. Who's going to be at the combine? Who do we need to prioritize that have some kind of Bears connection in some way, shape, or form? Give us a little bit of nuggets, you know, to kind of lead us to the pasture. And Stephen just absolutely killed it for us. What else did we learn? And I heard that the zany questions that are being asked in those meetings with teams have really died down. You're not really getting anything out of the box anymore. Yeah. I heard this one a couple of times that the weirdest one that they were asked was, do you like winning more or do you hate losing more? That's a good one. I actually like that question a lot. How would you answer that, Hogue? I think I hate losing more. That's 100% where I'm at. How about you? I'm trying to think of my time coaching at Carmel. Like, yes. We'd win, and we'd be like, okay. Relief. Yeah, it's like, all right, go. Right. That's why this show. Well, you move on to the next one faster is what happens, right? Right. It's a miserable way to live. Somebody asked me earlier, like, what? Exactly. Like, you know, have you had a good week? I'm like, no. because anything I do in my life, not off of your standards or our boss's standard, like my standard, I don't ever think I'm doing anything good enough in life. Right. That's how you said right before the show. You were like. Today I felt like I feel a little better today that I had a good day. Every other day sucked. Try and follow the path here. I think winning is great because you didn't lose, but losing sucks because you lost. It all comes down to not losing. Well, you know what I like to bring up, Patrick, when you talk about deep topics like this is, you know, it's about the process. Did you put yourself out there? Like we might not have gotten the interview that we wanted, Greg, but were you there? Did you ask the questions? Were you on the playing field? And, I mean, if one of your targets didn't come through, that's not because you weren't trying. Now, if you were in bed because you got hammered last night and couldn't respond for the day, then that would be a loss. But that didn't happen to you. So I think you should be very proud of your entire week, minus the fact that, you know, you basically wanted to kill everybody here because you were not having a great week. But other than that, I thought you were fantastic this week as always. Thank you very much. And you guys didn't make my punch list, so I'm proud of you. Oh, we made it. Well, the show's not over yet. The show's not over. I did take a knife away from Bragg's yesterday. That's true. I did point a knife at Mark at dinner while he was trolling me for Purdue. Was that who I was pointing the knife at? No, no one pointed the knife. He just felt like the knife needed to be taken away. The highlight of the week was watching Braggs watch Purdue lose last night at dinner. That was great. It made dinner very entertaining. That was phenomenal. That was tough. Yelling hands up several times repeatedly as if we were being held up. We felt really bad for you. I guess the other big takeaway, too, is. Change the subject. Yeah, well, just checking it out with Old National Bank. The other two, you know, we didn't hear, you know, in years past, if there was something brewing of, like, the big topic for Bears fans, like, there would always kind of be legs to them when we came to the combine. We didn't hear anything about Max Crosby coming to the Bears this week, at least personally for me. Not an ounce. You're right. So, like, that as much as it's been a main talking point for Bears fans, it will continue to be. There was the interview with Caleb right before we got here that certainly, you know, stoked those flames a little more. That wasn't here this weekend. And so to your point about how they're going to approach free agency, it may not be the flashiest offseason. And then going off of what Ryan Pohl said earlier in the week of balancing winning now versus building a team for years to come. It's going to be an interesting balance because I know Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams want to win a Super Bowl this year. So how do you build a roster for this season that doesn't mortgage your future but still gives you every ounce of opportunity to win a Super Bowl now? That's why they get paid the big bucks. Checking it out, presented by Old National Bank. Thank you to our friends at Old National Bank. One more checking out before we get to our friend Stacy Dales. Patrick, you want to talk about Zion Young before we get out of here? I can. Well, Stephen just cued me up that you want to talk about this, so you're going to talk about it right now. Well, I'll say this. Where's he on your big board, Gar? He's probably the 18th edge rusher who's going to go off the board. He's not going to be the highly touted guy, but he went to Mizzou. High energy, high character guy. One of 11 siblings is also what we learned this week. Where is he in the birth order? Do you know? I don't know that one. I'll get on that for you. Thank you. but he's, you can tell that he's going to be in addition to whatever locker room he's, he's put in. He was locker mates with Luther burden. So a lot of good things from Zion young. I wrote about it on all CHCO.com. You can go check it out there. All right. I'd like to just take a slight tangent here, hope that you're going to hit, but there's a Colt 45s hat right in front of us right now. Colt 45s hat. You did a great job this week. Thank you very much. Colt 45s hat worn by my first ever girlfriend. I always will remember the good times. Four to five and two zigzags. Baby, that's all we need. All right. 18-year-old Carm right in front of us, right there. And Carthon joining the show next. We had a good conversation. Oh, we're going to Rand Carthon. I thought we were doing Stacey. But first. Hey, shout out to our friends at Bet365. I'd like to put a wager down right now at Bet365 365 that Greg Braggs is going to have the best time that he's had all week long when me and you part. This has been a good day. Today's been a good day. There you go. It's breaking news for Bet365. We made it. New customers, you get $200 in bonus bets when you bet $5 win or lose. You sign up. You use the code CHGO365. You deposit $10, and then you place a bet for $5, and you get $200 in bonus bets if your bet wins or loses. and bonus bets can be used on spreads, on totals, on player props, on futures, and more. Whatever the moment, never ordinary at Bet365. You'd have to be 21 or older if you or someone you know has a gambling problem. Crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER-IN-APP. Only going on right now. They've got the NHL early payout offer. They've got the NBA tip-off Tuesdays app going on. I love our friends at Bet365. Great app, and yeah, a profitable year for me. Reminder. That's right. And once you got those profits, you got to hit up our friends over at Four Seasons. Carm did. I sure did. One, two, three, four. That's right. You got to. I'm glad you can count. Because winter isn't over, so don't be counting your days of summer just yet. And now is the time to schedule your Four Seasons furnace tune-up. And if you're thinking about a whole home generator, they have you covered. And nothing I love more than a whole home generator. Keep your lights on even when the power goes out. And at Four Seasons, they guarantee same-day installation for all your heating, cooling, plumbing, electrical, and generator needs with no extra charge for nights, weekends, or holidays. Save up to $4,000 on furnaces and comfort systems. Furnaces start at $39 a month. Call today and save $50 from your trusted local experts for heating, air conditioning, plumbing, sewer, and electric. They've been serving Chicagoland for over 50 years. Visit fourseasonsheatingcooling.com for all their special offers and money-saving coupons. That's fourseasonsheatingcooling.com. All right, guys, I'm excited about our lineup of guests today and want to set up Rand Carthon. Some might be wondering, why did you guys talk to Rand Carthon, the former GM of the Tennessee Titans? Because he's doing media now, and he's still grinding away on prospects. And he also interviewed for the Bears' GM job a few years ago, and he had some really good thoughts on Caleb Williams and George McCaskey and all kinds of things. He was really fun to talk to. So, Ran Carthon, who's now working for CBS, right? And he's been around here all week doing interviews, and now I see why, because it was really – He's excellent. It was awesome. So, we're going to share that conversation with you right now. Ran Carthon. All right, we got Ran Carthon, former GM of the Tennessee Titans, You're a longtime NFL scout here at the NFL combine. You're used to being at the combine for many, many years. I thought you were going to say you're tired. We all are. We all are. Greg, where do you want to start here? Yeah, I mean, I guess really to your point, as player, then scout, then GM, now you're doing a little bit of media. Like you said, you cross over to the dark side here. What's that like for you when you're interacting with these players to have all these different different types of perspectives. Like how much are these players aware of that and your background and your ability to kind of see through kind of the bells and whistles of this? You know, it's funny. I think it's maybe one or two guys that probably fully know my background. I was shocked that a lot of guys we brought on set and actually watch our podcast and know. So it's kind of good and bad because they can hear some of the crap I talk about them in some cases. I keep my distance from them just in case they want to grab me. I can't fight anymore because I'm just old that way. But honestly, man, it's just being in this position, this is my favorite part is interacting with the players and getting to know these young men and who they are as people. The player part, man, we got tape on that. We can always go back to the tape. They not playing anymore college football so it all there But getting to know these people get to know them as people those interactions are small right You get them at an All game if they senior You get them at an All game you get them here you get them at the combine I mean, excuse me, at their pro day, but then you may get them as a 30 visit. But you're talking about investing millions of dollars off a person that you've had four interactions with. You know what I mean? With the longest one probably being, what, 10, 12 hours, and you have to be fully able to make a decision on that you've got the right person. So just being able to connect with them. And sometimes, I mean, we know these kids prep for these interviews. And so a lot of the interviews that we do, particularly here on the set with CBS, is my partner, Ryan Wilson, you know, he digs into the player. And I can do that stuff, too. But I like to bring them down, make them human again, right? Get them to talk about things that people may not know about. Get them in a space where they're comfortable. Because a lot of guys come on, they're guarded. You know, they're expecting this tough question. They don't want to look crazy. They don't want to have these type of interactions with the public. And so I bring up stuff like we had Casey Concepcion today, and he likes to cook. And so I took him there. Like, hey, man, like, all right, if Ryan Wilson and I were coming to your house and you were going to cook a meal for us, what's your go-to? And then now, you know, you see the, you know, the wall come down, so to speak. So it's connecting with them. I'm a dad. I got teenage daughters. I have, you know, small sons. And so it's just being able to reach everyone on their level. I used to spend a lot of my summers with my younger brother-in-law. And, you know, my wife was like, why are you hanging around my brother and these young guys? And I'm like, I'm not hanging with them because they're my friends. And I'm just having a good time and doing it. I'm like, I'm learning their language. I'm learning what the kids are saying, learning what the kids are talking about. So when I'm back in the locker room and I'm having these conversations, we can speak the same language. Having sat in the GMC, like, what would you say is the biggest challenging part of that job? The biggest challenging part, I was just telling someone this last night, 90% of what you did to get in a position is only 10% of what you get to do on the job. Because you know as soon as you open the door to your office, you're solving the world's problems. And you also have to think about it. Like, you're the general manager. You're the person that's running the organization. You're in charge of football operations. And so you're sitting in that seat, and every interaction that other people have with you is the most important interaction that they're having that day. And so you owe it to that person to at least give them the proper attention. But giving them that takes you away from doing everything that you need to do or things that you want to do So you have to prioritize your time. You have to be strict with your schedule And so those things are hard, especially when you're a servant leader. I'm a servant leader I like to interact with the people. I like to be amongst the people But sometimes you start to spread yourself thin But like I said 90% of what you did the scouting that's the grounding on the tape That's like only 10% of what you get to do. So you have to create those times You have to come in at five and watch tape You have to stay later than everyone. You have to have a setup at your house where you're able to watch film. I mean, even stuff as small as, like, getting an iPad with data on it. So if you're in the car and you're going on a long ride, you can actually watch some film while you're in the car. So that's probably the biggest adjustment. I'll consume it. Go ahead. No, I was just going to say, I mean, like, just from a Bears perspective and watching them try to get this organization on the right track, how hard is it to build your team around you, coaches, front office, and that trust level? Because in Chicago, it took forever. Ben Johnson certainly felt like got everything on the tracks. But how much of a challenge is that to vet the people to bring into your building that you can trust? No, I mean, that's a huge part of it. But that's what having a vast network helps with. So if you're going to bring in a Ben Johnson, do you know Brad Holmes? Do you know Dan Campbell? Do you know Ray Agnew? Do you know Dwayne Joseph? Do you know other coaches on that staff? Do you have a relationship with players? I've done some interviews with coaches, and I would ask the head coach, hey, could I have access to a couple of your players? Just to be able to have a conversation with them about the coach that we may bring in. You want to cover all those perspectives. And even from an interview standpoint, the head coach is the face of the program. And so you have your interaction. They're going to interact with the owner. But, hey, have them sit down with our media group. Have them sit down with some of the business folks and be able to – because he's going to be one of the leaders of the organization. So it's having all those key touch points. But, again, I always lean on having the relationships to go back and dig into these guys' background. And the key thing is being able to talk to players, asking players, like, did you love playing for this guy? Do you want to play for this guy again? Tell me the good, the bad, the ugly. And the players will typically give you the real truth. Sometimes coaches, you know, they don't want to rat out their boys or talk about their friends' shortcomings. But then, you know, again, spending more time with them as people. I love to connect on the personal level. The football acumen, the tape, no matter what you're evaluating, you're going to have the opportunity to do that. But can we sit down and connect? Are we like-minded? And all those things matter when you're trying to build something sustainable. We throw around the word, what's the word? Collaboration, right? Everyone throws around the word collaboration, but how many places truly collaborate? And so having someone that you're in lockstep with, that sees it the same way, that genuinely see it the same way you do, you're going to always be successful. I want to go back real quick here to 2017. You leave the Rams, you get hired by the Niners. I forget your exact title. I was director of pro. Okay, so you're right. Director of Pro Personnel. The Bears at that point had the third overall pick in the draft, and they traded up to two with you guys to draft Trubisky. And you guys got an unbelievable haul, got the player that you wanted. That didn't work out perfectly. But I'm trying to figure out what you knew at the time. Did you know what the Bears were doing in that negotiation? Do you have anything you could share on that? I don't have any insight to that because I think that was something that the Bears kind of kept from what I've read was that they kept hitting from everybody else. You know what I mean? It was only a handful of people actually had access to what they were going to do. But I've been in rooms where, you know, where the organization, the GM and the powers that be, sometimes I'll tell you this much. And this is no fault of Ryan Pace. I like Ryan Pace. I think he's a great guy. But sometimes you have to do that. And I know that that's not a popular thing because, like, information gets out in varying ways these days. And you don't know who's going to be talking to who. We're at the combine. We know guys like to have fun. You don't know what may slip in a conversation because they're privy to some information. So sometimes you have to keep things close to the vest and hold on to it to the very last minute. So a few years after that, 2022, you actually got a chance to interview for the Bears' job. What stood out to you from that experience, interacting with ownership, any of those things? No, it was a really cool process. My interview was on Zoom, so it was at least nine people on the Zoom, which is always different to try to do a job, big job interview on Zoom, and you're trying to connect with the TV screen. And it's like your natural reaction is to look at the screen, but it's like, oh, the camera lens. Like, all right, do I look up here and answer? Do I look down here? Like, you're just trying to figure that stuff out. But then the bigger thing that I took away from that was like I really had a newfound respect for George McCaskey. Really liked him. He was like a really personable guy. And what I appreciated about him was after the interview, he reached out. And even though I didn't get the job, he wanted to hear my thoughts on their process and how well they ran the process. And I think that says a lot about him as a leader. I know George is typically a guy that stays in the background, doesn't come out too much. And I respect that, too, about him. But those are little things that people don't know about him. Like he really cares. Obviously the Bears is that's all he's ever known. That's his life. That's his family's life. That's his family's legacy. But he truly cares about how they do things, how they go about things. And just even having personal conversations with George, how he's a lifelong learner. He's still there are things in life that he's still learning. He's putting himself in uncomfortable situations as a owner. We think on the outside, life's good. You're an owner of the NFL team. You got tons of money, probably fly private everywhere. But a guy like George is constantly pushing himself to learn. I've always respected that about him. Yeah, I mean, so the... He drives the Honda everywhere. That's my kind of guy. Listen, my wife drives a minivan. 2018, I drive a 2017 Yukon. I don't know what I look like in a fancy car. That's for everybody on the outside. I'd rather keep my money and invest in it. Yeah, and invest and do other stuff with it. So I want to ask you this question because I think you could offer a really good perspective. And Bears fans, Chicago, the big conversation was Ian Cunningham goes to Atlanta, becomes the GM there, and obviously the way roles are assigned within organizations are starting to change now. And so Ryan Poles and Ian Cunningham both had to ask questions about how these compensatory picks are working out with minority candidates getting elevated roles, and now how does that work for organizations? And I even went as far to ask Ryan, like, how do you feel about it personally? Because I feel like there is a level of, like, hey, it's kind of an insult. It's like a disrespect, right? So I just try to set you up the right way on this because there's layers to it, right? But then as a GM, you also, other teams are getting picks. And so you, like Ryan even said, like, hey, the Chiefs got a pick for me once. Now, so Ian and Ryan both came out and felt like the Bears deserve those picks. Like, I'm just trying to get your perspective on this whole process and how it works and your own personal viewpoint on it. Well, here's my thing. My take is, I don't know if it's a simple approach, but I don't know that teams should necessarily be rewarded for doing what's right. No matter who they are, if it's a woman, if it's a black person that gets an opportunity, it shouldn't be because we're promoting this person or we're pushing this person up because we want more third-round picks. I think it should be natural. If they're the best person at doing the job, then obviously you get the promotion and you get the opportunities. So from that standpoint, when the rule was implemented, I understood what they were trying to do. and understood why you want to do it, why you want to incentivize teams for pushing this. But I don't know that I necessarily agreed with it. Obviously, the 49ers got a pick from myself. In the same year, I got the GM job. D'Amico Ryan's got a head coaching job. If you go back, probably no one has benefited more from that process than the San Francisco 49ers because of how many people have come from under there. They got picks from Mike McDaniel. But here's the funny thing. I mean, and people on the outside don't understand Mike's family history, but those of us that know, you knew. So it wasn't like a new thing or like, oh, what are they trying to – so if you know Mike, it's not something Mike's going to go around. Hey, guys, I'm black. Right. You know, by the way, it's something if you know him, you know. And so for me, the 49ers do things the right way. It wasn't looking like, hey, we need to push and promote D'Amico so we can get a third-round pick, or we need to do this for Rand or Salah or Mike McDaniel or Martin Mayhew or whomever. We've had a ton of guys come through, but it's because we were next in line. I had to wait my turn in that front office behind Adam Peters, behind Martin Mayhew, and I had to work my way up, and I did that. D'Amico Ryans had to start off as a quality control coach, become a linebacker's coach, and then a defensive coordinator. It wasn't because they want the third-round picks. It was because he did a job well done. So just in terms of how the league rules and the rules are written right now, the rules are the rules in a way of structure. It's structured in terms of the language in the primary football executive role. I know that's the big tie up with Atlanta and Chicago now, but that's just something they're going to have to fight through. I hope everybody gets what they want out of it. But I hope after this situation happens, they address it and they finally fix it. Yeah, it seems like there needs to be some clarity or tweak or just get rid of it altogether. I know you've got to get on the road and get to your family, but just from a Bears perspective, like watching what they did as a team, turning the corner, getting to the playoffs, Caleb Williams just really – I mean, it was just such a fun year. From your perspective, looking at what was going on in Chicago, what were your thoughts? Listen, that's why I always preach patience with these quarterbacks, these young quarterbacks. I'm not saying you guys, but I'm sure there's a ton of people that were on that Caleb Williams sucks train. And I'm sure it was being said because I heard it amongst our circles. Is he really that good? I don't think the kid's that good. And I guarantee you, well, I'm not going to say I guarantee you, but I'll just tell you this. There was not a game where Caleb Williams, when he had the ball in his hands in a go-ahead situation or we need points to win or to tie the game, that you did not think Caleb Williams was going to execute and make the play that was going to get them in position to either win the game or tie the game. But again, it goes through the maturation of the quarterback, being patient. You can't expect these kids to come in and be Hall of Famers year one. Got to exercise patience and allow them to do it. Even from the way Ryan Pace built this team this offseason, being aggressive to fix the offensive line, adding weapons around Caleb Williams, going to get Ben Johnson and making sure that they were able to land Ben Johnson. And then the coaching staff that Ben Johnson put together, I talk about it all the time on air. I don't think that gets enough credit in having guys in there that can translate the language and connect with these players. And it's a mix of older guys, young guys, former players. I think he did a hell of a job putting together his staff, and I think Ryan did a hell of a job putting together the roster. And actually, I will go on record and say I did pick the Bears to make the playoffs this year. I didn't necessarily have them winning the division or being a high seed. I thought they would be somewhere in 5-7. And I left the Packers off, so Packers fans was all in. CBS's mentions and in the comments telling me that's why I've been fired as a GM. But I got a lot of that from all teams. If teams didn't agree with my take, I got crushed in the comments. Cool. Fine. I don't have social media anyway. But it was because of what I saw, the work that they put in this offseason, and I thought the team would be better, and I'm a believer in Kayla Williams. So let's just wrap this up on that. How high is up for the Bears in 26 if they do the right things in the offseason? I mean, I think they have a shot at winning the division. That is going to be a tough, tough, tough division. you know, with the Packers and obviously I think Detroit's going to be back and push for it. Obviously, we got to see what Minnesota's going to do with their quarterback position. But it's going to be a fight. It's going to be a dog fight. But I do believe the Bears have everything possible to win that division and make some noise in the NFC. Well, hey, I got to tell you, I know it's a busy week for all of us. And, you know, we're all doing the rat race here. And you were just so nice with your time all week and some of the conversations we had privately. I appreciate. So, you know, absolutely. You've been a great dude. And you know, it's like, like I said, so much work going on for you to carve out your time. We just saw the whole set get taken down during this interview. That was amazing. And you know what's funny is like now, I told you I'm avoiding people. So I was like, can you please come over here so we can do this? Because now I'm trying to make it over here to door J with my hand. There it is. And see if I can get through there. I wish I had my beanie. So I can pull it over my face. I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to pull out my phone and act like I'm on the phone. Yeah, we know. with my wife. That's the move. Hopefully nobody calls as I'm faking like I'm going to walk. That's the Schefter move right there. All right. Thanks, man. Absolutely, man. Frank Carthon, great dude. I enjoyed that conversation. I think we helped him get out of there without being bugged again. Well, one more person bugged him. I did. So many people to shout out in that interview. Number one, Steven, especially with the zoom in on the door, Jay, to give a visual behind the scenes. I mean, how many cameramen would have the presence of mind to go do that in that moment, maintain the sound, and then come on back? I thought that was outstanding. Great job. Steven's gotten too much praise so far early in the show. Also, Rand Carthon, if I'm the Chicago Bears, can you? And you're muted. I don't think I've ever been muted before by him. Can we find a spot for that guy in the Bears organization? I know that first-class organization, everything's going right right now, but that dude's impressive. I'd want him a part of my team. Sure. He'll probably get back. No, like I said earlier, like, I'm walking by him earlier in the week, and, you know, he comes up and just starts talking to me. Like, we've been friends. I'm like, not everybody does that. You didn't go up to him? No, he came right up to me and dapped me up. I'm like, what's up, Rand? You know, and, like, we just started bullshitting. And then the rest of the week, I'm like, we just kind of struck up, you know, a bit of a friendship, whatever, throughout the week, just talking about different things. Did he think you were someone else? Maybe. but all I know is that's not normal now I'm trying to think of who he would have thought he was I highly doubt that I'm just a schlub walking around we know Kevin James yesterday Kevin James somebody said Kevin James I don't knock to the rest anyway punch list but I just appreciate guys like that you know that you know are in the industry or in the media whatever that don't act bigger than the people around them and he's one of them obviously we we didn't get to have Florio Florio on this week. He's always one of our favorites to talk to. He's always fiery. I'll talk. I'll talk. He said he was going to rough one of us up, and then he didn't show up. That's true. I mean, come on. Florio, Chris Sims, you know, like there's just so many different people. Rich Eisen, Stacy Dales, who we're going to talk to here in a minute. Like, I just appreciate the people that don't big time everyone around here. Because it's easy to do that. There's a lot of requests going on. Want to name some people that have big time to you this week? Did you say Biggs time? Biggs time. Brad Biggs doesn't want to talk to you. You. All of us. You. One person who always gives us her time and is amazing is Stacy Dales. And once again, she sat down with us, and we're going to do that next. fun conversation with Stacy who's over at the stadium which we get into about the preparation and all the stuff it takes to do to do these NFL combine broadcasts because it kind of blows my mind. I'm really impressed by it. So Stacy Dale's coming up next, but first. You know what's been here a lot this week at this set? What's that? This right here. Huel Black Edition ready to drink because Steven, this has been like his lunch every day. I'm pretty sure since we've been here. All he's eaten is Elmo's steak and Huel. Well, look, these things save you because breakfast, post workout, meetings, school drop-off, errands, whatever, we're all busy, right? Steven's been really busy this week. This thing's getting him through the week because of what's in it. 35 grams of protein, 27 essential vitamins and minerals. There's no artificial sweeteners, colors, or flavors. It's gluten-free and it's under $5 per meal and it is a meal. It's a complete meal that you can literally grab and go or grab and sit here and produce and edit, which is how Stephen does it. Think about your life. Limited time offer right now. Get Huel today with our exclusive offer. 15% off online with code BEARS15. New customers only. Thank you to Huel for partnering and supporting our show. It's Huel.com slash BEARS15. Guys, if you're busy, this is a game changer. Shout out to your friends at Ray Chevy. Love Ray. You know, Ray's just a smart, brilliant football mind and he's also the best car dealer you'll ever find new chevrolet models are in store at ray chevrolet and this is your chance to shop the hot deals all month long the auto show sales event that's coming to an end this weekend so get out there zero percent financing 72 months how long is 72 months how many years greg 12 divided by 72 six six years buddy that's a long time or you can check out their selection of over 125 vehicles priced under twenty thousand dollars i I was looking at that yesterday. They got some in there for about 8G. That's a good move for you if you're looking for the low end, which I respect. One of the top-selling dealers in the Midwest, it's Ray Chevy. So don't miss out on the auto show sales event. It's going on all month long. 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Let's drive the tracks. combine is never complete unless you've forced stacy dales to from the nfl network to sit down with us and we we i thought you never asked it was friday my strategy every year is my fourth combine and so my strategy is to stand by stacy dales and learn how to ask good questions and then if she's while she's asking good questions then i just jump and and and just add on top so she was asking like baseball questions so i jumped right in there and what your favorite baseball player like yeah just piggyback off of her amazing journalism no okay so do you guys not find that thanks but you ask great questions we had this conversation but do you guys not find that part of this event at the combine with all this you know incoming um sort of talent and explosion we need to know about these guys they want to tell their stories and so like you know Carson Beck was a really good baseball player and probably could have played in the major leagues and I just grabbed him and I'm like how fast remind me was your fastball 96 miles per hour and so this is a quarterback we're going to see working out tomorrow and then you know you grab a guy like Denzel Boston who's one of our top receivers going to be taken and how would you describe your catch radius because his hands are incredible and he's like a vacuum like those are things that I come here for and that's what gets me juiced and then the baseball stuff is like if you play baseball and you were pretty good you're probably this incredible athlete and can do some transition of that onto a football field in terms of your skill set mark fell in love with lee hunter because he bought his brother's uh two 18 wheeler semi-trucks how often do you hear a guy talk about i got my i got my my brother a couple of 18 wheelers i'm like what did you just say that's amazing he has like four follow-ups well i i used to work in each in the transportation field state so i was explaining that to adam as a transportation broker the worst transportation broker ever shout out dnd transportation but i and that was interesting to me but i think like maybe this is a little too big of a leap but since you are an athlete i think the athletic part of these guys also just maybe interests you more than it might for perhaps somebody who is working here that can't make a which is a lot of those out here like greg okay slow down now i'm catching straight on layups um i there is a there is a big part of me that is my mind just goes to that space as a you know former basketball player because I did play all these sports growing up and I was a better soccer player than I was a basketball player and all that stuff but I do think it matters when you get to this level how elite you are and like you had to have these multitude of backgrounds whether for some of these guys it was a lacrosse or soccer or baseball or basketball like okay Sonny Stiles did we agree he blew us away yeah blew us away the videos he sent me of him playing basketball from you know the single digits of his life through his teens and watching him absolutely dominate on the court and us to be able to get those in like there's no mistaking he lived above the rim and i i mean he's he like what is he going to become as a pro i mean he's like fred warner times like in terms of his athleticism 10 it's unreal yeah you know like it's so it's really cool when you see that kind of cross-pollination athletically go ahead no i was just gonna say since we're talking about good questions i asked stacy a bad question earlier in the week because i was well because you know it's been two weeks since the super bowl and i was like did you get any time off and you're like no i've been cramming for the combine for two weeks that was a stupid question by me but seriously like you got to do a lot of just prep for this week to do all those interviews on the fly that you guys are doing a stack of flash cards this high and i'm always like all right how do i steal these i'm not gonna lie when i got up this morning i had a few mother effers in there in my in my routine because it is the hardest event i do i've worked at olympics before I've worked, you know, crazy weird sports in my career and Super Bowls, obviously humbly, but like, this is the hardest one, like, because you guys know this, we're here together. I mean, it's four to four and a half hours of players all morning, every day, Wednesday through Saturday, and then it's five to six hour shows every day, Thursday through Sunday. And then we are going through the content after the show for the next day's show. So we're up until midnight, my producer and I, Laura Chapnick, every single day, and it's just an absolute. We were actually, this came up at dinner last night because the, you know, the cool thing about being here at the Combine is if you're not over at the stadium, it's on every TV wherever you are. Yeah. Like I think we were at Harry and Izzy's just like having a happy hour last night, and I'm so impressed with the production of it in all seriousness because it's just like the amount of graphics you guys have ready on the fly. Just the amount of information. I mean, that's got to take months from some of the people behind the scenes. It's incredible, actually. Our producer, Mark Teitelman, does Thursday Night Football. So when you watch TNF, that's who's producing that game. Okay. But our entire group at NFL Network, and I'll tell you one thing. This is the last standing platform that our network has. This is exclusive. We've been taken over by ESPN, and we'll see what happens there. But, you know, when we formed this week, Rich Eisen, we all speak in a meeting, and Rich Eisen basically stood up and said, this is our event. And so what you see, this is the NFL. And so we do take a lot of pride in it. And our trucks, our crew are incredible. Our graphics people, we pull the best from the entire network for this event. So thanks for saying that because those guys deserve it and ladies. Yeah, because I think there was one I saw last night. It was like Sonny Styles comp to Megatron. Yeah. You guys put that graphic up. I'm like, how do they even think of that? I don't even. I'm like, I'm sitting there looking at my monitor, like my next report, and I'm like, how the hell did they turn that so quickly? Yeah. So I know that you do so much national work here, but obviously the amount of work you put into covering the Chicago Bears while you're roaming around here, is there a person that stands out to you a player that fits what the bears need when you're did a light bulb go off or anybody like the bears need this guy well the with the pick at 25 if the defensive trenches are not addressed uh that that's you know for me it's either got to be a defensive tackle or it's got to be an edge rusher and i say that because it's specifically with the edge group we have it's very deep I mean our guru DJ he's got I think eight edge in his top 50 and then the defensive tackles I feel like because of that I think they're going to be spread down through the low 20s a little bit into kind of the top of the second round so a lot of those premium defensive tackles are going to be there so I I think the evaluation at 25 it has to be the value of a 25th type pick unless Ryan decides to move. But I mean, I could rattle off a bunch of names. I love the defensive tackles. I thought they were incredibly fast on day one. I mean, when you talk about Caden McDonald and Peter Woods, who didn't work out, Christian Miller didn't work out, Lee Hunter, Caleb Banks worked out and is massive. I mean, I think, you know, he's an interesting one because he missed most of last season. And so where does he fall? He is 6'6", 335. He moves like, I mean, I'm not going to say he's going to be Chris Jones, but this is Chris Jones physically, okay, from the Chiefs, all pro. And he wants to, he models his game after Chris Jones. And he was used from the 0 to 9, 3 to 5, all up and down the defensive front at Florida. So, like, it'll be interesting to see, is Caleb Banks in a defensive tackle the direction, or is it one of these edge rushers that I could spend a thousand minutes on? Yeah, I agree with where. Hours on. That's where I think they'll go. I hope it's the interior, but either way, it could work, obviously, if the guy can play. But what's your sense on the Bears' willingness to maybe take a talent that doesn't have a perfect background, maybe has some stuff? Because in the past, they wouldn't. For a while there, I think during the flu series, it was a little more pigeonholed. But now, well, you know, Luther Burton didn't have the ideal college career as far as his perception coming up. He drops, the Bears take him. In the middle of the year, C.J. Gardner-Johnson pops into the room. I'm thinking maybe they'll be a little more risky that way. I don't know if you had that thought. That's a great question. Because the conversations that I've had with Ryan Poles, like what he will go to the table on is the pre-draft process. And, you know, did this guy move him? Like, did this player, did he check all the boxes? Was he like Kyle Monungay, for instance? Like, he's just a dream. He's perfect. I mean, captain at Rutgers, two-time whatever, captain, and he's just amazing. With the off the fields, I think it does really factor into what the Bears do. I really do. Because just knowing Ryan Pouls, I think character is incredibly important for him. and I think he's got a head coach who's going to have a strong pulse on the entirety of the ship. But this seems like a pretty clean group, actually, in terms of the overall class. So I don't know if foreseeably those are going to be tremendous issues where they're picking. I was going to say, there hasn't really been a lot of drama this year. That's right. I feel like every year there's the one combine story that just like, of course, there was the Jalen Carter year that was like extreme, but there really hasn't been anything that popped up this week. I feel like that was the stadium. I was pulled around. Except for the Bears stadium, yeah. Yeah, there really isn't. There's a couple little questions about Chris Brazel, the wide receiver, and Zion Young has had a couple little deals. He's one of the edge rushers. He called everyone big guy. Zion? Yeah, he walked to the podium, and I'd make a point to try to say good morning when they walk up, because everybody just goes right into it. Maybe he was referring to his quads. He's like, what's up, big guy? I'm like, all right, slow down here. What's the crazy? And I'm not saying that they have all these issues. I'm just saying, like, when you study it and you research it, those are some little tiny things that you're just like, but sit down with them, talk with them. So I haven't been on that side a lot this week because I've been chasing the stadium news and all this stuff. What's been, like, the craziest moment or question that's happened? Oh, I don't even, I don't know if, the craziest questions to me are not, like, they're not, I haven't heard too many wild ones. it's like getting into super detail about like how's Matt Nagy going to use you in New York like and they have no idea assuming you're going he's going to get drafted to the Giants and he's going to be playing in that you're already on the Giants like I like I do you know there's a lot of um hidden sort of motive for a lot of us here for my purpose is national to tell their stories nationally but um so you just get you gotta you get a lot of that to work somebody asked a player if he knew Mike Vrabel. He's like, not really. The one answer today, Ty Simpson was asked to recite the longest play call he ever did. I heard that. I was there. And it was really impressive. It was awesome. I love that moment. I love stuff like that. Yeah. Same, same. Because guess what? He probably just recited that in a meeting last night to a team. Right. You got to pop out of here. So just one real last question on the Bears. What do you think is going to happen with DJ or Dexter or Tyson or anybody, or I guess Tremaine is, I think everybody thinks is out the door, but what's your sense at any of those guys? Tyson just popped in my head because they're obsessed with him. You guys know they're obsessed with Tyson Bajan. But I also know because of that, they're going to do right by him. And if there's an opportunity for him to go somewhere, I think Ryan's going to support that. And so has Ben. The rest of the guys, I don't know. I don't like, there's, you know, Brisker, did you mention? Like, there's a lot of, and I think what we'll learn is we're going to learn how they feel when they draft because their draft is going to largely show us what kind of direction they're going in terms of replacing with young talent and and this is still going to be a building roster and um after what they did last year I'll tell you the buzz I've gotten around here like honestly I was on the field for the first day yesterday with all the scouts and they know I've I covered the team a lot last season the Bears are for real Dales aren't they and holy cow and I talked to a Rams person who saw the Bears in that last game, like, look out for Chicago because they're coming at you. How about the video? The ball is coming right at you. Oh, yeah. Jesus, man. So we talked to Cole in San Francisco about it. I don't know if you guys know I set that up. I had it planned. Oh. You told him sprint back 40 yards. Yeah, yeah. I'll be standing right here. No, Caleb throws it to the left end zone, so it was in the right spot. But then I was just like, yeah, for shits and giggles, excuse me, I'm just going to shoot this because this is a huge play. It's fourth in whatever it was. And I'm like, wait a minute, is he going to get a safety? He's gone. Caleb's gone. And all of a sudden that ball is released, and that baby is, you know, Cole was such a great baseball player, and he left me with that signature. Just straight into the phone. He said he saw you and did it on purpose. Who catches that ball and thinks, let me get Dale's go viral right now? Well, I love Cole, so I don't know. You know what? Let's throw him the ball more, okay? I agree. I agree. Thank you so much, Stacey. Thank you, guys. Appreciate it, Stacey. That was awesome. Stacey's great, and the video was great, and we just learned of something from you, the commenters. That's why everyone's laughing. Apparently, there was a production error to start the show. I feel like we have to back up a few days. Our producer was trying to play the regular open, but he's been having so much fun playing this soundbite all week just to us at random times. So they were right next to each other in whatever buttons that he's pushing. And so he played the wrong button to start the show, which has me saying something that I didn't mean to say. which if you watch the show what was that on Wednesday you heard you heard Carp say it was that Tuesday or Wednesday oh my god yeah so just know that that wasn't it that was not on purpose it was not intended on on any level it wasn't intended to be spoken and it wasn't intended to be played but here we are on day five of the NFL Combine 2026 Mark Harmon Adam Hogue Greg Bragg Steven Nicholas, Fran Duffy, Adam Johns. Who else is down here? Emma. If you hadn't heard that the other day and then you just tuned into this show and that played, I would be so confused. Oh, my gosh. So confused. All right. Well, that's what happens at the Cowboys. Should we actually talk draft now? Well, yeah, we got to get to Fran here. I don't know how to transition out of this now. Well, I'll transition to Fran, who's not what we opened the show with. He's a great man. And Fran's got all the info. We did not want to do the final show of the week without giving you everything that's gone down this week as far as the actual draft because that's why we're here. So our All-City Draft Network guru, superstar, leader. What's going on, Greg? You all right? We're getting close to the top of the hour, and we all know the process that we go through every time we do one of these shows. And, you know, I was looking over at Stephen because we communicate in that way. We have options. We could just play that sound bite, that little drop, you know, 56 times before we get to. We're not going to do that. We're not going to do that. But, no, seriously, appreciate everybody tuning in all week long. Between this and the Super Bowl, these are the two real fun weeks where we get an opportunity to get out of the studio and kind of get in front of people and try to get information. And, you know, this isn't the same kind of offseason that we're used to, but a pivotal one. And so, you know, as we always say at the top of the hour, become a diehard at CHGO Sports for so many reasons. And obviously, Fran Duffy coming up is going to show you every reason why with his draft guide that's going to get you up to speed for the draft. And this draft, trying to figure out who they're going to pick from 25 and beyond is going to be important, not as obvious as other years. you've got obviously exclusive written content adam johns pumping stuff out adam ho working hard on things mark carmen doesn't whatever he's doing if i could specifically tell you monday we're gonna have a big massive uh everything we learned from the combine piece coming out for diehards also if you become a diehard you get a discount on everything including our events which we are going to have a draft party that we'll be announcing at some point right so that's uh Get a free shirt as soon as you sign up, exclusive written content, the draft guide, discounts on future shirts, and so much more. We have a Discord channel where we try to come in there and we communicate with the fans, but it's a good place for fans to communicate as we have officially reached overtime on the CHGO Bears podcast. So that's where we're at. And now we have Fran Duffy to show you all the amazing work we do here at the NFL Combine. I can't believe you guys kicked Fran Duffy to overtime. No better. We wanted to save the best for last. Disrespectful. Wanted a home run on the way out here. So we will be back to say goodbye. But let's listen to our guy, Fran Duffy. Everything going on at the NFL Draft Combine with the best in the business. All right, it is time at the Combine to bring in our all-city draft expert, the man, the myth, the legend. He's not really a myth. We put him on our show like five times a week. The legend is always so overused. I mean, the thing is, I don't feel good about being a myth, and I'm definitely not a legend. So it's like, you know, sure you are. I think you are. So here's why I would say you're a legend right now, Fran Duffy, Fran, I'm a fantastic. I got to watch you work a lot this week, and you've got a playbook out there. Yeah. I mean, when you're talking to guys, you want to know who's toughest for them to compete against, who the next guy is, and then you also go, you don't stop there. You ask why, and you get the details. So has that been sort of – it's a way to get information that other people don't have. Is that what you're doing? I think that's what you're doing. Yeah, I would say I started doing this like four or five years ago because at the end of the day, look, I have specific questions for some players, right? But then for most of them, it's all scripted by this point. If I'm talking to a guy in LaFall, if I'm talking to him, even at the All-Star Games, I might be able to get an unscripted answer. But by this time, everything is so boxed up and so tight. And everybody else is asking those questions anyway, so I can get that from the transcript. So, yeah, I like getting the anecdotes about teammates, about opponents, guys they matched up with the All-Star games, freshman down the line. It helps me for the draft guide in 2029. Yeah, you like who's the next guy. I'll refer back to quotes that I'm getting today. Yeah, I get that. I mean, we talked to Dylan Thienemann yesterday, and he's great. He's a great guy. But he was, like, catatonic by the time he got to us. He had an hour and 20 minutes of podium, network hits, you know, and it becomes a lot, and it does become repetitive. And by the way, all the guys that are speaking today, they got up early this morning and they went through that orthopedic exam. So they're getting every joint twisted, pulled, pushed, prodded. So they do that for 90 minutes, and then they bring them over here and card them in front of us. Sounds like just a great day. Just phenomenal. Well, I'll tell you this much because I want to get into a lot of players that we haven't really talked about over the last few weeks leading up to the combine. But you were right about Emmanuel McNeil-Warren. He was one of the most impressive people to talk to this week where he talked about betting on himself, not running to chase the money, feeling like he needed to be loyal to Toledo because they were loyal to him when nobody believed him. And like that in this day and age in NIL and transfer portal, for him to do that, it's like a unicorn. Yeah, it's really interesting now trying to figure out the whys behind all of those decisions that guys make, whether it's that they transfer or why did you transfer, What was the thought process behind it? Was it strictly money motivated or was it because, hey, you know, like Fernando Mendoza saying I wanted to go to Indiana because of their coaching staff and their history of developing quarterbacks and getting quarterbacks to be conference player of the year and just getting production out of them. And so it kind of informs those guys thought process and their makeup And so with McNeil Warren like he had a concussion coming out of high school and everybody else backed off But Toledo was one of the only schools that stayed loyal to him And so he was like, yeah, I'm going to stay loyal to them since they did it with me. Yeah, that's cool. So let's – what have you learned so far with the workouts? I mean, it just started yesterday, but, like, what were the biggest things that you were like, oh, that guy just helped himself or somebody did the opposite? Yeah, I mean, there's the low-hanging fruit. I mean, like, Sonny Stiles, I mean, was just unbelievable. I haven't seen anything like that. A guy that size, literally, we have never seen a linebacker vert 43. And so where I typically post up is near the broad jump. And so if I'm sitting in the corner of the stadium by the broad, the vert is 30 yards to my left. And there's a big huddle, and they have that huge monstrosity that they do the vert against. So usually the vision's kind of blocked. But whenever a guy jumps out of the gym, the whole group goes nuts. That whole group went nuts. And I was like, I bet you that was Styles. and we look down and you see the 25 jersey. I'm like, all right, let's see what this number is. And we go to the site that I'm locked into. And, yeah, 43 and a half inch. But the thing is is that talking with people leading up to that, you can't find anyone from a team that spoke with Sonny Stiles and said, like, he's one of the best interviews here. And so I think when you look at it, just a very clean prospect, but also like a physical freak. So he's going to go higher than we think, I think. Just sticking with the linebacker here for a second, Steven put Anthony Hill on my radar leading up, and he was, as of right now, and the podiums are done, he was my favorite player to talk to this week. Maybe McNeil Warren was right there neck and neck, but really enjoyed his articulation. You could tell he was very cerebral, confident, detailed. How did he test out? Steven's like, if he's at 57, I'm running to the podium. It doesn't feel like he's going to get to 57. Is he sneaking up into the first round? How did he test yesterday? He tested okay. I think that overall he's a solid athlete, not a special athlete. He's solid like in the box, but not like special in the box. He showed a little bit of a playmaking dimension the last couple of years. He's won the green dot the last two years, so the defensive play caller there for that Texas defense. I think he's well-rounded. I think I'd be a little surprised if he got into round one, and I know a lot of people are talking, oh, I don't think he's going to get out of there. I'll be interested to see where he ends up going. My guess is he's more in like the 50s, so right in 57, as opposed to the 20s and 30s. Okay. Who was the Iowa receiver who stood about 5'3", that me and you were talking to, and then I hear it was like the toughest dude going that might be a returner? He was tiny. Tiny, tiny. Caden Weijin. Yeah. Returner. Wetjen, W-E-T-J-E-N, but it's Weijin. The story is phenomenal. He grew up right on campus, basically dressed off campus there at Iowa. Was under-recruited for obvious reasons at his size. So goes the JUCO route. Still had no recruiting juice whatsoever. Walks on at Iowa. Was basically like a reserve and didn't do anything for a couple years. Finally got his shot as a return man. Was first-team all-conference kick return and punt return in 2024. They put him on scholarship after spring ball. I'm like, man, this guy was just dynamite for you. You couldn't give him the scholarship to get him a free spring semester. They get him on scholarship after last spring, and he went out and did it again. Kick return, punt return. I'll tell you what, though. He's got route running chops, too. I was pretty impressed with what I saw with him at the Shrine Bowl, and that's why I wanted to ask him. He was a guy, like, I kind of want to ask him. He was very under, like, look, we know it's a run-first operation at Iowa. Yeah, they don't know how to throw the football. But even still, like, he was not a full-time player for them. And was that, like, the expectation? You know, what was his mindset there? And he said, yeah, that was all part of the plan. I'll be interested to see where he's drafted. So one of my friends who's – all he does is watch football. 5'8". Almost 5'9", by the way. I'm telling you right now, he ain't 5'8". No way. No – I'm telling you. These are official measurements. Official my asshole. That ain't a measurement. I'm assuming this is from the senior bowl. I'm looking at your draft, guys. Yeah, that should be from the shrine. That should be from the shrine bowl. Okay, fine. 5'8", 3'4". Okay. All right. Let me tell you something. Okay. These things get inflated. Maybe it's right. I'll back up. He's tiny. Yeah, he's small. He's very small. He compared himself. You know, there's, you know, in Iowa kick return, Laura, of course, Tim Dwight's at the top of the list. And he was not a big guy. And he had a hell of a career. Michael Jordan said that he wasn't 6'6". He wasn't. He was closer to 6'4". But regardless of all that, the point I'm trying to make is the guy that watches Iowa all the time, he said Julian Edelman 2.0. I feel like people will be afraid of the size. I mean, I don't know. The Bears need some level of gadget, guy. Ben's always looking for these guys. That's why I'm bringing it up. Yeah, I think that he profiles for me as kind of like your gadget return guy. And maybe he's able to turn into an Edelman, and he's like your primary slot receiver, and he becomes a high-volume guy. I think it's a tough bet to make just because of the lack of usage. It's not even like a production, like the lack of usage in college. To me, that is always like a marker for like something's missing. And so that's what concerns me a little bit. I mean, it's an undrafted free agent guy that you would bring in and give a spin. Did Caleb Banks launch himself past the Bears yesterday? So, for me, look, he tested outstanding, and then he goes out and he does the first field work drill, and he stumbles and he falls. And then that was it. We didn't see him again after that. And from what I saw, since I'm in the stadium and watching, you know, in the stands, I'm not watching the broadcast. So I get word that, oh, he said something was up with his cleat. I was like, oh, all right. So I'm like, all right, well, what happened with the cleat? Like, is that foot? But that's something I want to kind of ask around, the word on that. But that said, yeah, I mean, he tested outstanding yesterday. We know what he looks like. So I think it's kind of status quo. That is the big question, the foot. Yeah, the foot. And so I will say, like, he probably tested better than I thought he would. So that will move the needle for some. Well, that's not good. Well, maybe it is. Maybe it is. Before that happened, I was like, I think he just – I mean, he's like 98th percentile in every measurement. Yeah. Tested well. He's got the largest wingspan of any defensive tackle drafted in the last decade. Let's have the Lee Hunter conversation one more time. You don't like him that much. What's your hesitation? I was talking with a scout about him at the stadium yesterday, and I think he's an archetype of player that I kind of struggle with where he's the type of defensive tackle. And you guys tell me if you've got someone in mind that's played for the Bears recently like this? Ted Washington. Well, here's the thing. He's a little top-heavy, right? He's a little bit leaner in the lower half, so a lot of his weight is carried up top. That's not good. He's not – he's stout, but he's not like a – to me, he's not Ted Washington where it's like, oh, Vince Wilford put him in the middle and he's going to hold up every double team. He's kind of like – he's explosive, but he's a little stiff laterally. He's off balance at times. He can end up on the ground. Deion Walker from last year was a fourth-round pick of the Bills. It was a similar kind of archetype of player. I struggled with him. The flashes are really, really good, but the down-to-down consistency is a little bit worse for me with Lee Hunter. He's got a lot of confidence. He can move, and at that size, that's why I'm very intrigued. But what you're saying there, that's not a good formula for being top-heavy is not what you want. Yeah, to me, I like the guys. That's one of the things I like about being over there and going to the senior bowl, going to the shrine bowl, is just getting eyes on the body structure of these guys and especially how they're built basically from the ground up, from the feet up. And that was a little bit of a concern for me with Hunter. What's a feel that you're getting from a cornerback standpoint? I think that's kind of an underrated position for the Bears. You know, if Nashawn Wright isn't to return, you know, how they're able to map out that. You know, you've got to start developing some guys, right? Yeah. Yeah, I think that this is a class that they'll be able to find somebody to fill that role in terms of a developmental, you know, bring in, he fits our scheme. We know that they want the big, long, ball hockey types. It seems like a lot of the players that they've been rumored to have met with have kind of fit that archetype. You know who stood out to me in conversation was Chuck Demings. Okay, yeah, and he's of that archetype, right, where he's tall, he's long, boundary corner, built kind of like Nashawn Wright. You know, I think that when you look at it this week, there's a bunch of those players. That's why, honestly, the workout today, the DBs, it's my favorite workout of all the positions to watch every year. It sounded like his meeting with the Bears went really well, too. Yeah. I mean, he's probably in that day three range where, kind of where Zay Frazier went last year. I think that's probably the realm we're talking about with Charles Dempsey. Now, I'm still waiting to find out, though, like, it's kind of like when a player has surgery and they're like, it's, you know, successful surgery. And they're like, well, when do we ever hear about the non-successful surgery? Like, so when is there a prospect who's going to be like, you know what, my meeting with the Bears didn't go well. There was a stupid question. No, I mean, one guy that, well, and also if you want me to play the insider role, I've had conversations with people that say they like him. No, no, I'm not. There you go. I like it. Way better. Way better. Way better. I've got one for you. One time, and this is my 13 combines, so we say like 300 players a year, so 300 times 13, and I've heard this question asked, like, oh, how did the interview go? And the guy said, actually, I don't think it went well. But Ja'Kai Polite, the pass rusher from Florida a few years ago, met with San Francisco, and he was like, yeah, I don't know why. It just didn't go well. And that became like a huge, huge story. And John Lynch was asking about it. I'm pretty sure he was like, yeah, I don't know why he said that. I felt like it was okay. But that's the only time in 13 combines where a guy was asked. And he was like, yeah, it didn't go well. His agent was probably like, that wasn't what you were supposed to say. We talked about this, buddy. From what I understand about Polite, that was par for the course. We talked to wide receiver Aaron Anderson today because, you know, Steven's looking at, hey, this could be another returner, right? But when we asked him, like, did you meet with the Bears? How did it go? He was like, we talked for a second. He didn't meet with them. He said they had a slight meet. He didn't have a – he had not had a formal meeting with them. Whatever, they talked, and it didn't go well. That's what it sounded like. Okay, now you're – all right. It was a very weird answer. He's like, well, I'm from Louisiana, so I haven't really talked to the Bears. I'm like, what? What does that mean? We'll play that on the show if we haven't played it already by the time we're having this conversation. All right. Fran, keep it going. Have a good weekend. Come on. Who are the Bears picking? What the hell? That's why we're here. What are they going to do? All their picks. Every pick. I stand by TJ Parker, guys. This is a guy that, you know, I know there was high expectations for him coming into the season and didn't have the production. And now I think we're talking about him in the area where I felt most comfortable. He goes to the Senior Bowl. He's good every day. Plays in the game. Impacts the game. Comes here to the Combine. A bunch of the other edge rushers say, like, yeah, I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do that. He does every workout. He does every single drill. I like TJ Parker. I think to me that's the sweet spot where the Bears are at. If it is a tackle, who would it be? Banks. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I'm nervous about the foot again. I stand by my Caden McDonald feelings, too, by the way, after watching him work out yesterday. I don't think he's going to go as high as people think. He's young, man. He's young. He's not just young in age. He's got him 54th on the big board. He just, like, looks young. Yeah. Like, body maturity. I was talking to the receiver from USC today, the kid Jacoby Lane. It felt like I was talking to a 15-year-old. Like, it's just like how he, like, in terms of, like, he's just very young. He came off very young. It might stand out that way because you've got so many six, seven-year seniors running around here, too. Yeah, that's a good point. I'm thinking about things that are like the best value that you could possibly purchase like in life right now. And I think Fran's draft guide might be the number one thing. It's a great buy. The amount of information in here just to become a diehard right now with the combine deal going on. If you're a football fan, I promise you, you're not going to get a better deal. And I'll tell you right now, the other thing, because Carm gave away all his secrets on how you do this and do your reporting. The other thing I'll say, too, is watching you maneuver around this convention hall and everything throughout the week. When teams, I'll say this for you, you don't have to say it, when teams see you, they come up to him and talk to him and see what he's thinking. So you have respect across the league. Thank you, man. That stands out when I'm around you. Thank you. Yeah, that doesn't happen to me. That does not happen. You didn't have the 49ers to stop you? Hey, what do you think about KD McDonough? He was making the noises he was making outside of Harry and Izzy's. People are walking the other direction. No one has asked me my opinion on anything. Wait. Who was that defensive lineman 19? 19? Who's D-Line? We got to look at it because Carm. So Carm was getting ready to walk out of Harry and Izzy's. Okay. And defensive lineman 19 and his family are walking in. And I'm like. Defensive lineman 19. And as they're in the rotating door, I'm like, lock him in the rotating door. And then to their credit as a family, they did. They helped our efforts. Oh, wow. And torturing. And then he started, like, dancing as he was going through it. Yeah, the guy had a sense of humor. I like him. I want the Bears to draft him. Oh, one of my favorite guys from the workout yesterday. Jackie Marshall from Baylor. He's probably a day three guy. He was at the Shrine Bowl. He's really athletic. Athletic interior defensive tackle. Yeah, well, he was having a good time messing with Carm. Well, now you just told the NFL that he's willing to have fun, and maybe they don't want him to be having fun. This is why we come to the combine. This is how we find future Bears. You could have just ruined Jackie Marshall's day three. We do the CARM test. Yeah. Like, maybe there's another prospect that would have just taken you out or something. Anybody else want to bring up to Fran that said they met with the Bears and they had a good meeting? Just don't do that. Put it in the draft notes. Fran, we love you. Thanks, Fran. Appreciate it, guys. Great work this week. Keep telling them. Appreciate it. defensive lineman 19 jackie marshall i'll be paying attention to him on day three after we have our draft party and how long now hoge wins when's the draft from now today's february the what like two months i know it's like seven weeks we'll say it's seven weeks let's call it seven hoge's going on vacation in the middle of the month he's already on vacation he's going on vacation this week he is yes all week monday i'm gonna do after dark and then tuesday and wednesday I'm going to reset because I have to get on a flight on Thursday to work. He's going to do a reset. He's got to go work in Arizona where he's going to play golf. So we don't have any shows with you next week? Monday. You have After Dark. We have After Dark and also during the day on Monday we have a very special guest joining the show that I'm a part of. Okay, good. That's a good point. He is technically on Monday's show that we just taped. Oh, that was a great interview show. We're going to say who it is? Sure. Alan Robinson's going to join us on Monday, and it's like a longer interview. It's like a 30-minute. It's so good. It's one of my favorite interviews we've ever done. And it's Greg's fault. We're not playing it today. It's actually yours because you want to go home. I'm staying here. Me and Clarence are going out, going to smoke my eighth stogie of the week, real healthy. And we're keeping this party rolling. And Patrick Norton's staying with me as well. Grinder. Yeah, we're leaving. So we got to go. Hogue, it was great being with you this week. Did you talk about the Craigulator? You and John's. Oh, the Craigulator gifted 20 more YouTube memberships. Craigulator, let's do it. It's time for the Craigulator. It's time for the Craigulator. It's time for the Craigulator. You can just feel the Craigulator at the combine. You can feel him, right, Clarence? You can feel the Craigulator. He has no idea what you're talking about. He's just sprinkling at the combine. Hold on a second. Craigulator. What's that? Yeah, no. No, we do it. Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah. I do like that when I come on their show. That's what they do. What's that? They do that song. They all sing for me. Texas and Hogs? No. They do a different song in Chicago for me. What is it? How does it go? I got Hogs. Hogs. You know that song. In different area. You can't sing the real words. Yeah. Hogs. We should have Area Alright I'm going to end the show now guys Before we say something stupid Who was your MVP of the week? Give us CHGO MVP CHGO MVP? Who are we going to give it to? Candidates are Stephen and Stephen And then Greg and Mark And then Patrick Norton And then Emma Alparovic and then Katie Langan and then Adam Johns and then you could shout at anyone from all city. You could give it to Clarence. You could give it to Bo Brock. You could give it to whoever you want. What do you got? I'll just keep naming names. Did he do that on purpose? I don't know. I don't think he. What did he do? What did I do? Well, you didn't mention me. Oh, yeah, that's true. Well, you could. That's true. You could give yourself the MVP. I'm not going to, but I just would like to be at least nominated. Well, I would. Do we not have any super chats? No. No, we don't. So, $20 Super Chat, and Stephen will play the soundbite. Okay? Okay, that's on the table. That's on the table. That's great, Greg. If we delay it long enough, maybe he'll say something else. If we delay the goodbye long enough, I'm just going to start unplugging things. Who's your MVP? We can go. Who's your MVP? Stephen. I don't want to be hurt, so Stephen. All right, Stephen gets the MVP. Greg, you were the. Serial killer. You were great. I was always... What about Uber? I mean, Uber got us to and from a lot of places. I took very little... We all had different roles. Like, John's booked two really good reservations. He did do a great job with the reservations. Last I really enjoyed, Greg was half at both dinners. 40% at both dinners. I don't think anyone in the history of Indianapolis has ever drank more Crown and Diet Cokes in one week than Greg drank. He never varied. Every time. Can I get you something to drink? Crown and Diet. You're in a different restaurant tonight. They've got like the best wine of Crown and Diet. Well, where are you going to eat tonight? What are you going to have at Cigar Bar? Crown and Diet. $20 from the Kregulator. $20 Super Chat from the Kregulator. We're not going to be able to. Yeah, here we go. Huge penis. We're going to have to bury that one. We're going to have to. Why would we bury it? It's forever now. Well, just kind of not great for my career. Oh, that's not great? Oh, yeah, your career. I'm a very professional person, and I don't like that soundbite. That's not good for me. Oh, here we go. But you like all the songs you sing? Absolutely. That is a professional entertainment carm diddy that will stand the test of time. The best things that we've ever done on this show are. That's a carm diddy. I mean, just say. Exes and hoagues. Just saying. What about just saying Carm Diddy is just like not great. It's not great. Justin Fields run the ball. Monday, Alan Robinson joins the show. If any news breaks, which it will over the next couple weeks. Oh, my God. If news breaks this weekend. Swinging in from West Virginia. I'm actually going to give Ryan Poles your itinerary to make sure that he does the trades at the right times. Oh, you joke, and then there will be some big trade this weekend. How would you like that? We'll jump right in. That's what we do. Nothing's going to top the Justin Fields trade. You should hit the subscribe button and turn the notifications on because if something happens and something will happen in this offseason, we will be the first people on live. All right. Damn it. That's the plan. Become a diehard. Hit the like button on the way out. Thank you for all your support with the coverage all week long. Shout out to All City and all of our networks doing such a great job all week long. we will be back Monday Allen Robinson on the show plenty of news we'll dive into free agency it'll be great we'll talk to you then