Ben Johnson - "uncertainty" at left tackle | What's wrong with Kevin O'Connell? New Mock Drafts

Summary

Forward Progress - A Chicago Bears Podcast

Episode Date: March 30, 2026
Hosts: Dan Bernstein & Matt Abbatacola
Episode Title: Ben Johnson - "uncertainty" at left tackle | What's wrong with Kevin O'Connell? New Mock Drafts

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Dan and Matt dive into the state of the Chicago Bears’ left tackle position, review candid updates from head coach Ben Johnson after the NFC coaches breakfast, and compare team drama around the NFL with the relative calm in Chicago. The hosts dissect bizarre commentary from Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell, update listeners on off-field drama elsewhere (notably with the Rams and Eagles), and break down the latest Bears-related notes from fresh mock drafts. Enthusiastic, sharp, and packed with memorable lines, the episode delivers both solid analysis and entertaining banter.

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1. Bears’ Left Tackle Uncertainty (00:40–09:23)

Main Points

• Ben Johnson’s NFC coaches breakfast comments: Johnson openly discussed “a lot of uncertainty at left tackle.” He’s “not sure the Bears are going to have Tripillo at all this year,” and the position may remain in flux all season.
• Braxton Jones Update: Jones is now up to 310 pounds—coaches are hoping for a turnaround after he played lighter and struggled last year.
• Jedrick Wills’ Contract: Structured so the Bears can cut him with minimal consequences.
• No Clear Answer Yet: The coaching staff, with trust in GM Ryan Poles and Johnson, is under pressure to sort out the position, but admit the decision isn’t made yet.

Quotes

• “Johnson said there’s a lot of uncertainty at left tackle. He’s not sure the Bears are going to have Tripillo at all this year. Said it’s hard to say what the left tackle will look like this year or in five years…” – Dan (01:00)
• “It doesn’t sound like there’s a whole lot of confidence, though, from what Ben Johnson had to say.” – Matt (02:25)
• “I’m going to trust Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson and his coaching staff to get this right, regardless of how I feel about it going into the offseason.” – Matt (03:13)
• “Sometimes it means they have a decision made … I believe him when he says there’s a lot of uncertainty. They don’t know what it’s going to look like this year yet.” – Dan (06:15)

Memorable Moment

• “We can stop talking about Ozzie Tripillo. He’s not a name to even talk about…until he is back in a football uniform.” – Matt (06:48)

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2. Looking Back to Move Forward: OTAs, Drops, and Accountability (03:51–06:48)

Main Points

• OTAs Film Review: Johnson and staff reviewed tape of last year’s sloppy early OTAs and want to focus on “fundamentals”—notably catching and attention to detail to address dropped passes.
• Wide Receiver Accountability: Johnson blames offensive staff for not coaching receivers hard enough to get open, not just QB play.
• Culture Reset After 2025 Run: Johnson is “hyper-vigilant to any complacency and entitlement” after last year’s success—“they’ve moved on to 2026.”

Quotes

• “He said coaches will be hyper-vigilant to any complacency and entitlement after the success of last season…” – Dan (05:11)
• “I love how he worded it, that they were one of the 31 teams that failed last year. And I love that perspective.” – Matt (05:36)
• On drop issues: “He said... they want to get back to fundamentals on catching the ball to address drop issues and that he’s not happy with the offensive staff because they didn’t coach wide receivers to get open enough.” – Dan (03:51)

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3. Calm in Chicago, Chaos Elsewhere: Eagles & Vikings Quarterback Sagas (10:22–22:23)

Main Points: Eagles

• AJ Brown Drama: Howie Roseman under pressure over AJ Brown’s future, hinting at a rift.
• Bears Drama-Free: Dan and Matt express gratitude the Bears aren’t dealing with similar problems.

Main Points: Vikings (13:27–22:23)

• Kevin O’Connell’s Bizarre Rhetoric: Multiple rambling, non-committal answers about the Vikings having a “deep quarterback room” with Kyler Murray, Carson Wentz, JJ McCarthy, and Max Brosmer; little clarity on who’s actually starting.
• Critique: Hosts laugh at O’Connell’s “word salad.” They point out no good team ever boasts about depth at QB—they want one elite starter.
• Justin Jefferson Wants Out: Star receiver reportedly wants to leave, underlining instability.

Quotes

• “Something is wrong with that man.” – Dan, on Kevin O’Connell (18:14)
• “It sounds like refrigerator magnets with words on them.” – Dan (18:18)
• “No one wants that, Kevin. You want one guy playing all 17 games at a very high level.” – Matt (15:31)
• “That makes me feel really good about Ben Johnson—because he can express a thought.” – Dan (20:48)
• “Justin Jefferson wants out. He wants to play somewhere else. That should tell you all you need to know about their quarterback depth…” – Matt (21:34)

Memorable Moments

• Dan & Matt’s extended mockery of O’Connell (16:17–21:10), with word-for-word parodies and exasperated laughter.

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4. League Notes: Off-Field Drama & Mock Drafts (22:27–33:47)

Rams’ Puka Nacua Controversy (22:27–24:51)

• Puka embroiled in legal headlines, accused of off-field misconduct.
• Rams coach Sean McVay gives a “supportive but cautious” statement.

Quote

• “You guys know I trust this kid’s heart. Love him, put your arm around him, want to continue to help him grow and really get all the appropriate facts…” – Dan, quoting McVay (23:03)

Bears Mock Draft Analysis (25:41–33:47)

• Field Yates’ 2-rounder: Zion Young (1st), Jacob Rodriguez (2nd).
• Rodriguez’s profile: High production, athletic, minor coverage/instinct weaknesses.
• Matt Miller’s 7-round Bears mock: Includes DT Peter Woods, S AJ Halsey, WR Skyler Bell, and several defensive prospects.
• Hosts react to player ages, athleticism scores, and “bro mustache” styles.

Quotes

• “He’s the winner this year of the Bronco Nagurski Trophy, the Butkus Award, the Lombardi Award…” – Dan, listing Jacob Rodriguez’s college honors (27:39)
• “26 years old! That’s too old. That’s Bayless Jones old.” – Dan (29:16)

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5. Final Bears Discussion: Realism at Left Tackle, Optimism About Offseason (32:11–34:55)

Main Points

• Praise for Ben Johnson honestly admitting left tackle is unsettled, instead of spinning false certainty.
• Unlikely Bears will use a high draft pick on left tackle—Braxton Jones, if healthy and improved, is the practical solution unless a surprise move comes.
• Greater attention to OTA quality this year; mistakes from last year will not be repeated.

Quotes

• “I’m happy to hear that Ben Johnson didn’t give us a load of crap… He doesn’t know either.” – Dan (32:11)
• “The best case for the Bears is that Braxton Jones can actually play.” – Matt (33:20)

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6. Closing Banter: Youthful Energy, Bears’ Relative Stability (34:23–37:33)

Main Points

• Brief humorous reflection on vacations, youthful nights out, and drinking-age anecdotes.
• Final thought: Bears are not the Vikings, Rams, or Eagles—and that’s something to celebrate.

Quote

• “Let’s make sure the Bears are not the Vikings, they’re not the Rams… and they are not the Eagles. So we can celebrate what they are and what they’re not…” – Dan (37:01)

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Notable Quotes Recap

• “Johnson said there’s a lot of uncertainty at left tackle.” – Dan (01:00)
• “Something is wrong with that man.” – Dan, on Kevin O’Connell (18:14)
• “That makes me feel really good about Ben Johnson—because he can express a thought.” – Dan (20:48)
• “26 years old! That’s too old. That’s Bayless Jones old.” – Dan (29:16)
• “The best case for the Bears is that Braxton Jones can actually play.” – Matt (33:20)

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Key Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |:--------------:|-------------------------------------------------------| | 00:40–06:48 | Ben Johnson’s comments, left tackle uncertainty | | 03:51–06:48 | OTAs, drop issues, Bears’ culture reset | | 10:22–12:21 | Eagles/Howie Roseman/AJ Brown drama | | 13:27–22:23 | Vikings: Kevin O’Connell & QB situation | | 22:27–24:51 | Rams: Puka Nacua controversy | | 25:41–33:47 | Mock draft breakdowns & prospect analysis | | 32:11–34:55 | Ben Johnson’s candor, left tackle optimism | | 34:23–37:33 | Final banter & broader team comparisons |

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Summary

Dan and Matt deliver a candid, insightful, and often hilarious look at the Bears’ offseason challenges—especially at left tackle—while underlining how much more stable Chicago seems compared to some drama-plagued rivals. They highlight Ben Johnson’s transparency and the front office’s accountable, no-nonsense approach, dig into the chaos swirling in Philadelphia and Minnesota, and bring listeners up to speed on prospects likely to headline the Bears’ draft. For diehard fans eager for balanced, knowledgeable, and entertaining takes, this episode is both reassuring and energizing as the draft approaches.

Transcript

[A]

I mean, if you're a Bears fan,

[B]

you're thinking forward Progress. Come on.

[A]

10. 219.

[B]

219. Forward progress. A Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abaticola on three one two sports.

[A]

You want forward progress? You have it. On three one two sports. Dan Bernstein and Matt Abata Cola back together again. Mad has returned from the islands, from the crystal clear blue waters of the British protectorate that is Turks and Caicos.

[B]

Oh, it was great, dude.

[A]

And speaking of vacations, apparently all of the NFLers have descended as usual annually. In the Arizona Biltmore, they'll be gathering for that coach's picture that we like to go through every year but today and just concluded with was the NFC coaches breakfast. That means each NFC coach sits down at a table surrounded primarily by the local beat media, and they get about a half an hour to ask a bunch of questions. And we heard a bunch of answers today. I don't know if there's any enormous news, but Matty, you're a guy that is focused, if not obsessed with the left tackle position, and nothing is clearer after today. And even Johnson's first words were, and I'm going through stuff a lot of the beat reporters have put out here. Some of the first I saw here from Courtney Cronin, but I know all our other friends who have been guests in this space are, are all there. Johnson said there's a lot of uncertainty at left tackle. He's not sure the Bears are going to have Tripillo at all this year. Said it's hard to say what the left tackle will look like this year or or in five years of the position. But he does note Braxton Jones weighs 310 pounds and said he's eager to get his career trajectory back on track.

[B]

So he's down to 310 from what? Or is he up to three?

[A]

He says the, the note says up to 310 pounds. The question then was how light did he get last year? That we don't even know. Right. If they're offering that, how light was he getting shoved back into the quarterback's lap?

[B]

Yeah, because that was the criticism. He just, he couldn't get into the weight room to get that base a little thicker, a little stronger that he needed it to be. So he's up to 310. Okay, well, let's, let's see how it plays out. It doesn't sound like there's a whole lot of confidence, though, from what Ben Johnson had to say. I'm not really concerned. Five years from now I'm more concerned with, you know, about 25 weeks from now what the, what the left tackle position looks like. Let's start there before we worry about

[A]

five years from now and whether Jedrick Wills is going to be any kind of an answer. I think is, is answered in part by his contract and the specifics of that deal. Say they have full outs. If they have to cut him because he can't play anymore, they don't owe him anything, right?

[B]

Yeah. No, it's a very team friendly opportunity to take a fly on a guy when you just don't have a legitimate spot at left tackle right now. You know, we'll see how, how it plays out. Again, I'm going to just lean on the fact that I'm going to trust Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson and his coaching staff to get this right, regardless of how I feel about it going into the off season. And now as we're just, you know, weeks away from the draft, if they're not going to address the position through the draft, then I'm just going to trust the coaching staff and if it comes out to bite him in the ass, we're going to see it, we're going to know it right away. It's not going to take weeks to find that out.

[A]

There were also looks forward specifically to what they want to do with OTAs. And apparently Johnson said he and his staff looked at the tape from Family Fest in early August. So before, before 312 sports even existed, before this podcast existed. And he said that those OTAs featured a bunch of delay of game penalties and a sloppy practice. They wanted to see where they were starting camp and how much further ahead they want to be in OTAs with this offense this year. He said in those OTAs they want to get back to fundamentals on catching the ball to address drop issues and that he's not happy with the offensive staff because they didn't coach wide receivers to get open enough. Apparently in their film review of the season, they looked at places where the ball was out and to an area of the field where there was supposed to be a more prepared or aware wide receiver.

[B]

Okay, interesting to hear that. Certainly played into some of the criticisms of Caleb Williams, which led to a lot of questions on this podcast about is that on Caleb Williams, is that on the wide receiver? And I think we've got more of an answer there from the head coach.

[A]

He said coaches will be hyperviligent, vigilant, hyper vigilant to any complacency and entitlement after the success of last season. He was happy to hear from fans and supporters for about a week about how exciting the 2025 season was. Ben Johnson said he doesn't want to hear anymore about how good the Bears were. They've moved on to 2026.

[B]

Oh, yeah, he did that pretty much right on. Yeah, I did. Yeah. I mean, and again, I love how he worded it, that they were one of the 31 teams that failed last year. And I love that perspective. So go out and let's not fail this year. That's the right perspective to have. Yeah, you can, you can celebrate and cherish and remember all the good times of 2025 as a fan, but in that building, it's over and done. It's behind them. Let's move forward.

[A]

He also said he found out about Drew Dahlman's decision to retire in mid February, and the team quickly pivoted to Garrett Bradbury, who they believe, quote, will fit us like a glove. Perfect quote.

[B]

Great. Love it.

[A]

Trust you. That's good enough. I am. I don't know what else he could say right now that is going to get me more excited about this season, but I like the honesty about left tackle. They don't know and they're not afraid to say they don't know. Sometimes it means they have a decision made or they're. They have a draft pick in mind. I believe him when he says there's a lot of uncertainty. They don't know what it's going to look like this year yet. Okay.

[B]

Yeah. So I think. I think we can. When we do talk about the left tackle position moving forward, we can stop talking about Ozzie Tripillo.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Like, he, he is. He's a. You know, this is what happens in the NFL. As unfortunate as it is, when you get hurt, you're a ghost. So we can just stop bringing up Ozzy Chapillo. He's not a name to even talk about the position until he is back in a football uniform, fully cleared to play and can compete at the NFL level. Until then, it's the guys they have in the building right now.

[A]

It's funny, I felt that way about Kieran Amogaje for so long and then we finally saw him and I wouldn't mind if he went back to being a ghost. You know, that's really the. The wild card in this is more God than anything else because we know that it's probably not going to be. Well, I guess I shouldn't say that when the options are the options. And my hope is that if it's not a draft pick and the guy who's done it before is probably the default in, in Braxton Jones, who's done it before over a period of time, if they think he can be good enough. I don't know about. I don't know about your guy who was. Who's out there catching passes or attempting to catch passes in the playoffs. I don't know if he's going to be the new Dan Skipper and they can just use him as like a third tackle or fourth tackle kind of athlete. Dude, but.

[B]

Who are you talking about? Theo Benedict?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. Oh, no. I don't want him. I don't want any more balls thrown his. His direction. I think we're good there. You think so? Because I think. I think we saw enough of that.

[A]

They like his athleticism. Yeah, it's. He's not going to win the job. I don't think. I don't. I don't think he's capable of. Of winning a full competition against a relatively healthy Braxton Jones.

[B]

You know, I think the best case scenario for the, for the Bears, as it lays out right now, is Braxton Jones is the guy that they say, yep, we trust him in all of our run schemes and pass protections. He seems like the most. From a common sense standpoint, he's the most reasonable guy to put out there right now. If, if that's the way it goes, that seems like the best case scenario for the Bears.

[A]

I agree. I agree.

[B]

Not that I would have picked that going into it, but you know, what? If. If he is fully healthy and he has worked out and his body is different and he's more prepared and more capable of playing, even at a, you know, a slightly above replacement level left tackle, great, then that. That's the best case for this team right now. Unless they're going to address it during the draft, which I just don't think they're going to.

[A]

I'm trying to figure out, like, when you. Is there anything that happened since you left in the world of the Bears? This has been a relatively quiet time, you know, to. This morning. This. This little press conference was the first actual Bears news we've had in a little while.

[B]

Yeah, no, I, I didn't. You know, I didn't. I didn't follow much of anything while I was gone for the week. I would occasionally at night just, you know, scroll through headlines and see if anything came up. I think there was a little bit of stadium stuff that kind of came through over the week. This is probably the most. The most activity of any. Any Bears news there has been over the last week. Yeah, I think. I think they decided to shut it down while I was gone. They were like, you know, we won't do it.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, we're not going to bother Maddie. We're not. He's got a lot of stuff going on right now, so we're just going to take it easy on him. Other teams, though, don't seem to have that luxury. And I. The more I hear from other teams, the better it makes me feel about what's going on with the Bears.

[B]

Well, if one of those teams is the Eagles, then I agree with you.

[A]

Indeed it is, because Howie Roseman has had like, he clearly is feeling some pressure and is.

[B]

Is under the micro.

[A]

It's saying, like, I know you're asking all these questions about A.J. brown. I'm going to keep giving you this answer. He's a member of the Eagles at this time, whatever it's been. But he's like, I know you got something to talk about. And that's been the narrative and I'm aware of all that. He seems like he's going through it a little bit here with AJ Brown just for. For him to be already admitting that he's feeling outside pressure about what's going on and the fact that he's even saying, I'm going to give you this stock answer no matter what the are, he is a member of the Philadelphia Eagles.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Things are not well there, clearly.

[B]

No, they're not. And when you, when you go out and make statements like that, that he's a member of this or a member of that, it clearly tells me that you're looking for a way for him not to be a member of this or a member of that. You know, it was similar to like what the. What the Raiders said Kubiak said the other day that getting Max Crosby back is like getting an extra draft pick. Well, no, it's. It's not like that at all. It's. You tried to trade him. It didn't work out because his knees very good right now. It's not like getting an extra draft pick. It's not because he's just not healthy. And where is knee healthy. He'd be a Baltimore Raven right now, not a Las Vegas Raider.

[A]

It just makes me feel kind of, you know, lucky. I'm. I'm thankful, I guess is the word. I'm thankful that the Bears don't have anybody on their team at the moment that pains their ass as much as AJ Brown. Seems to do it for the Eagles, whether it's not getting along with his quarterback, complaining about the offense even after wins and the number of touches that he gets after wins. And they have to decide what's worth it. And based on everything that Bears have said about how they look at players, that doesn't seem to be the kind of issues that they want at all on this team.

[B]

Yeah, no. And it was a pretty fortunate season as well too from that regard. Dan, as far as team drama, there were a little bit of hiccups along the way, but nothing really significant. You had Roma dunes father who caused more of an issue than any player during the season. Jalen Johnson at one point there was that minor I'm, I'm good to go. I don't know why, you know, why I wasn't playing type thing. But that was, that was squashed pretty quick. So there weren't really many areas of drama or concern with players. And it seems pretty much like the players that are, that are here, that were here with the Bears last year wanted to be part of this organization. The biggest question mark we had was the in season acquisition of CJ gj who ended up being nothing but a great teammate. Great for the locker room and great on the field as well. So it is nice, it is nice that the Bears have answered the questions that are the two most important, quarterback and head coach. And it's nice that you don't have drama, you don't have players creating any, any, any issues for a team trying to win a Super Bowl.

[A]

Another place I'm, I'm glad where I'm not following everything that they do. Although that's probably a lie because the content is amazing for our guys. Phil Mackey up at Score north and everything that they do because the reports about the quarterback situation and what is being said about it are absolutely mind boggling to me because the as you know the Vikings have signed Kyler Murray and Carson wentz. They have J.J. mcCarthy and they had a guy who started games for him last year and Max Brosmer is Brosmer. Brosmer.

[B]

I think it's Brosmer.

[A]

I think it's Brosmer. Kevin o' Connell today at his gathering, it's probably, you know, just five feet away from Ben Johnson is the other little table surrounded by the beat media. And he said I think it's about depth. It's about the fact that without too much of a rear view mirror looking backward, you see where the final standings were when we were at nine and eight and ultimately maybe the one or Two, three plays or sequences of games where you find your way into the dance. And that's really all you ever want at the beginning of every year is to punch your ticket to compete in that one game, to continue moving on. What? What? Hold on. This is about quarterbacking. That. That was. That was his initial salvo.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

We've played three guys in one year. We've played four in another. We just feel like having the ability to get quality quarterback play throughout the circumstances we do not control throughout the season. Gives our team pretty historic data that says if we get quarterback play to a certain line, we win a lot of football games. We wanted to ensure we are able to do that, but also make it a very, very competitive room. And that's regardless of who's taking reps with what group. We want the quarterback position to elevate our team with the talent we have around that position. We feel pretty good about it working vice versa the other way around.

[B]

Wow. I. What is he saying?

[A]

Good grief.

[B]

You know what? There's no head coach in the NFL that wants that.

[A]

No.

[B]

What are you talking about? The data tells us we can be successful with four guys playing quarterback. But no one wants that, Kevin. No one wants that. You want one guy playing all 17 games at a very high level.

[A]

Kyler Murray did not sign there to back up JJ McCarthy or Max Brosmer or Carson Wentz.

[B]

Carson Wentz, Right. The hell. Kyler Murray signed there to be the starter and to take one year under Kevin o' Connell and his quarterback. Car wash. And hopefully come out the other side as a different model.

[A]

Okay, see, I'm just getting. You want to hear the best paragraph yet? So those are two Kevin o' Connell paragraphs that make no sense.

[B]

Talking about, were there mimosas or Bloody Marys? I mean, what's going on? Sound like this, right?

[A]

Let me. Let me tell you something about the quarter match. All right, Are you ready for this one? You thought those were good? You ready for this? All right. All right. Get your pencils and scorecards ready. We wanted to be patient and allow Carson to see what opportunities might be out there. But at the same time, Carson knew very early in the off season, regardless of whatever moves or move we made in that room, that we wanted him back. He loved being in Minnesota. He loves our fan base. He loves getting to wear the purple and gold. I know for some it might be a. Why would Carson do that? I think some people are discounting the fact that he's really enjoyed his time not only being around Josh McCown and his teammates are being a Minnesota Viking. It's an important thing to me to always know that it's a place that guys want to come play, whether they have previous experience with us. But there's a desire and an enthusiasm about playing quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings. Okay. Knowing that we feel comfortable and confident about the depth of our quarterback room, we want to prepare all of those guys to be able to take snaps and contribute to winning when called upon. What that looks like, we'll see. I see a lot of ways we'll be able to continue the evolution and evolve our offense here in year five. But at the same time, principals, I believe Kyler will. Will be able to not only make his own, but provide different layers to what we do with some of his experiences. The same goes for JJ and Carson and Max as far as guys who now all have experience in our system. And that's one of the benefits, as we've seen before, of playing multiple guys in a tough year for the quarterback position, just from a pure health standpoint, which is what last year. So now we feel really good about the combination depth, talent, and the fact that we've got a room that's going to push each and all of those guys are going to have great offseasons and be ready to rock and roll.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Something is wrong with that man.

[B]

Yeah. He doesn't sound like Kevin o'. Connell.

[A]

He's. No, it. It. It sounds like the refrigerator magnets with words on them.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

You know what I'm talking about?

[B]

You know it.

[A]

What?

[B]

Yeah, I don't get it. There was a lot there.

[A]

This is the quarterback whisperer.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah, I'm. Yeah, I'm telling you how it's going to shape out. And that. I mean, that section there about Carson Wentz, like, you didn't bring him back to be a starter. Wait, did.

[A]

Did Kevin o' Connell spend the entire off season getting shock treatments?

[B]

I don't know. Or banging his head against a wall?

[A]

She just like sitting in a hillside drinking moonshine.

[B]

Yeah, I haven't obviously, over the last week, I didn't listen to anything. I need to go back to our guys and the Purple Daily because I know they had one day where they talk about the quarterback room, so I'd be curious to hear their take on that. And of course, what Kevin o' Connell had to say today.

[A]

What? What is that? This was all this morning.

[B]

Like, you can't look forward to having all four guys playing like that can't

[A]

be part of your plan, but finish a sentence.

[B]

Yeah. That's.

[A]

They love being around Josh McCown.

[B]

Yeah. Maybe they were out late last night. Maybe.

[A]

Maybe that is. Maybe that is. Maybe he stayed up all night or something.

[B]

Tired or something. Yeah. Because that, that doesn't sound like him. And it doesn't. If I'm a Vikings fan hearing that about my quarterback room, I'm leaving. Yes. I'm not interested. No, this is great. I mean, all four guys be ready to play.

[A]

Like, they all love being here.

[B]

They're.

[A]

They're all ready to play. And we had. We were bad last year and now it's going to be good. And there's got this guy and that guy and this, this sub clause and this digression. But no, I think it's. I think it's all good.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, I'll just, I'll make the statement right now with. And I agree with you that, I mean, Kyler Murray is your day one starter.

[A]

He's.

[B]

He's going to be the starter. That's why he's there. He didn't go there to compete for a job against those knuckleheads.

[A]

He didn't. Yeah. If that's not your plan, why did you sign him?

[B]

Right? Like, I mean, you, you brought him in. I know it's, it financially, it's not destroying the Vikings, but you didn't bring him in to be a backup to Carson wentz or to J.J. mcCarthy. I mean, you saw enough out of Jason McCarthy to know that we need to bring another guy in. Yeah. I don't get it. That's. Wow. Yeah. That makes me feel really good about Ben Johnson.

[A]

Yeah. Because he can express a thought. Yeah.

[B]

That was. Yeah, that was just a lot of words. Here, say things. Here's some words.

[A]

Just say everybody's good and everybody's fine and we're good and it's a room

[B]

and they're all show that we can win games even if all four guys play and we can only win one

[A]

game to keep us going to the other game. And that's all you want to do. And we were close to that with these quarterback. Come on, man.

[B]

Yeah. And if you're, if you're talking about your quarterback depth, like, did Max Brosmer show you something last year in the games he played? That's like, no, this is a guy that can compete for anything. No, no, not right now. No, not even close.

[A]

No. I'd probably bet against ever.

[B]

And you know, all you, you want to, you want to know the health and the depth of a quarterback room. Look at the star wide Receivers, what are they saying?

[A]

Uh huh.

[B]

Justin Jefferson wants out.

[A]

Yeah. He wants to play somewhere else.

[B]

He wants to play somewhere else. That should tell you all you need to know about their quarterback depth and quarterback room. Apparently he doesn't like being around Josh McCown as much as Carson Wentz does.

[A]

If your quarterback is hurt, you got. You generally have some problems. If he's out for more than like three games, it's quarterback depth. You don't want to spend a lot of time bragging about.

[B]

No.

[A]

We're so deep at quarterback. No, you're not. The good teams give half their salary cap to one guy. Right.

[B]

Those are the teams and the guys behind him. You hope you never see.

[A]

Right. Ever.

[B]

That's the goal. Hey, Coach, do I get some snaps today?

[A]

No. Oh, no, no. There's no snaps for you.

[B]

You're good.

[A]

You don't count.

[B]

You go off to the side.

[A]

No.

[B]

Stand in the shade.

[A]

Wow. Okay.

[B]

Yeah. That's interesting to hear that from him.

[A]

Another note from this morning. Last week was kind of rough for Puka Nakua because you saw that there were. He's been on the wrong side of some headlines.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

There was the thing that happened with that. That YouTuber last year who supposedly conned him into doing an anti Semitic dance. And Nikola said he had no idea and he was just sort of led into this by some nefarious YouTuber slash podcaster. And now he's being accused of biting a woman and again, making anti semitic statements that there are. There's a lawsuit, there's a countersuit. There was an application for a temporary restraining order that has been withdrawn and no comment from the league. But there has been a comment from his coach where Sean McVeigh says, you know, you guys know I trust this kid's heart. Love him, put your arm around him, want to continue to help him grow and really get all the appropriate facts before I rush to judgment on that particular situation. But I will say, knowing this guy for three years, I do trust his heart. I trust the human being, and I want to be able to put my arm around him. When asked, is there concern within the organization about him, given that they're likely about to pay him a lot of money? He said the team has had conversations surrounding that he understands what the responsibility is not exclusive to just the production on the field. He and I have a close relationship. The play on the field's amazing. And with what the play has dictated and determined, there's a responsibility in terms of representing all things. He knows that we're hopeful this will be something that. It's an opportunity for him to learn and grow.

[B]

Yeah. Well, hopefully it's not something that keeps him off the football field or impacts any kind of extension. And. And my. My bit of advice to Puka because it seems like he's not making very good decisions. When you're on your way to go sign that contract extension, don't have Tiger woods drive you there. I think you'll be fine.

[A]

The memes have been relentless.

[B]

They should be.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

They should. They should be. And you know, you know why I love Tiger, and I. But I mean, what the fuck, dude?

[A]

I don't know. He's an addict.

[B]

Yeah, he is. Yeah, clearly he's an addict.

[A]

He's an addict and it's man. And everything was seemingly going in the right direction, but seemed that way. Did some guy. One of the guys Jason follows because he's on all of these, like, these. These fun, weird golf sites.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Somebody already has made a head cover out of the Tiger woods newest mug shot.

[B]

Oh, boy.

[A]

A driver cover that's got, like. It's just his head. Yeah, from the mug shot. As his. As his head cover.

[B]

Yeah, That's. That's not gonna end anytime soon. You know what else is not gonna end anytime soon are the mock drafts coming out, which new names love to follow. Yeah.

[A]

And white safeties. Just. No white safeties.

[B]

No, none of these are white safeties. So you're. You're good there. But field Yates put out his. His. A new version of his draft. He did the first two rounds. He has at 25. He has Zion Young for the Bears.

[A]

I'm good.

[B]

That at 57. He has Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez. So that's a new name. New name for us. Senior. Seven forced fumbles, four interceptions in 20, 25. He's 6, 1 2, 31.

[A]

Is he related to the Rodriguez on the Lions?

[B]

I don't know. I don't know. I do know that he has a really cool bro mustache.

[A]

Yeah, he does. So I don't know if that's cool or not.

[B]

His Next Gen NFL score combine score was a 6.34, which means eventually a plus starter. He was an 86. Athleticism score for next gen at the combine, which is 4th highest among linebackers. He was 79 was his total score, which is 4th highest among Linebackers. He ran a 4, 5, 7, 40, a 38.5 vertical, and a broad jump of 10 foot 1 inches. His strengths and weaknesses. Okay, these are. This is Jacob Rodriguez, a new name to us here in Mock Drafts Combines high tackle totals with plus on ball production. Posted 13 career force fumbles including FBS leading seven in 2025. He Keys quickly and races to junction point. Rarely caught flat footed in lateral pursuit. Constant movement makes him hard to hit for linemen. He won't drift deep in the traffic without a plan of action. He punches and plays off the block with excellent technique. Has the instincts, eyes and ball skills of a greedy safety and coverage field command and performance inspire those around him.

[A]

He is the winner this year of the Bronco Nagursky Trophy, the Butkus Award, the Lombardi Award, the Chuck Bednarick Award, the Pony Express Award. He was Big 12 defensive player of the year two time first team all Big 12 and a unanimous All American. Wow. So sounds like great, great college player.

[B]

Yeah, that's what it sounds like.

[A]

Yep. But not necessary. That doesn't necessarily predict being a great pro.

[B]

It doesn't? Like I said, a 6.34 for his next gen score for the combine. Which means eventually a plus starter is their prediction or what, what what they grade his weaknesses. Dan can be knocked around the inside the box by size. Will occasionally false step in the diagnosis stage. We'll take a big bite on misdirection and play action. Coverage busts were costly in 2025. He comes in hot to the catch.

[A]

Be careful with a big bite on Mr. Action.

[B]

Be careful.

[A]

You got to tell Mr. Action and all the little actions that you're. You're coming to take that big bite. It's just nice of you.

[B]

He comes in hot to the catch leading to overruns and he lacks desired length for constant wrap ups and consistent wrap up. Sorry. So yeah, I mean again, some of those weaknesses though are things that can be taught. Yep, things that can be taught. But it sounds like a lot of good pluses there. At number 60 field. Yates had the Bears taking trade on stooks. He's a cornerback slash safety out of Arizona. He's 26 years old.

[A]

That's too old.

[B]

That's my first thought.

[A]

Nope, that's like Bayless Jones old.

[B]

That was my first thought, so I thought I'd share that with you. Our guy, Matt Miller, he put out an entire seven round mock draft. You ready for these seven names?

[A]

All of them.

[B]

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Peter woods, the defensive tackle comes in at 25. I don't think they're taking a tackle at 57. A.J. hawley, the safety out of LSU. Number 60. Malik Muhammad, the cornerback out of Texas 89. This one is interesting. Dan.

[A]

Hold on. I got to look up AJ Hawley. How do you spell his last name?

[B]

H A, U, L, E, Y. Oh,

[A]

I was spelling it like the senator. Okay. Yeah, we're good. Halsey. H A, U, L, C, Y. Oh, we got here. Yeah.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Adari AJ Halsey, safety, lsu. Yep. Okay. Okay. Good job.

[B]

Thank you. You're good on that one. Yep. Okay. 89. He has Skyler Bell, wide receiver from UConn last year. Had 101 catches, 1300 yards, 13 touchdowns.

[A]

Again, I. I don't know. He sure looks the part.

[B]

Sure sounds like it. Yeah. Pick number 129, Mason Rieger, Edge from Wisconsin. Pick 239, David Gusta, a defensive tackle from Kentucky. And at pick 241, Jack Kelly, linebacker out of BYU.

[A]

All right. Mason Rieger is a powerfully built young man. Is he 65251? Oh, he went to Conant. He's here from Hoffman Estates.

[B]

Oh, did he really? We play them a lot in all our sports.

[A]

Yeah. Conant the Barbarian.

[B]

Yeah. Play them in baseball and football.

[A]

Yeah. 652-51-51.

[B]

No, baseball and basketball. Baseball and basketball.

[A]

Yeah. That's a Dennis Allen kind of guy who can. Who can play a little bit of five technique if need be, with a little bit of versatility on that edge. Can line up right over a tackle and hand fight with him a little bit. Gives up some weight, but he's got that height and that reach like that.

[B]

Then Mike band of NFL.com, the next gen, one of the next gen staffers, he has the Bears at 25, taking Emmanuel McNeil. Warren, the safety from Toledo, you're good there as well, too. Yeah.

[A]

Draft ticket.

[B]

So what are we. How many days are there in the month here? Where are we at? 30, 31. So what are we, 24 days away from the draft.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Yeah, we're getting there. Yeah, we are getting there. I'm very excited.

[A]

I'm too. I'm too. But I'm. I'm happy to hear that Ben Johnson didn't give us a load of crap when it came to the left tackle. He doesn't know either. And that stuff about the drops, that gets back to. What I love about these coaches and the way Ryan pulls is the. They're seeing the exact same games. Like, so many. If we write down our gut responses, like, are they dropping too many passes? Does the kick return game suck? Like, all the answers to this are like, yup, yup, yup, yup. And are they. And we don't have to say, God, when are they going to do something about it? When are they going to do something about it? Because they are doing something about it. And that it's clear the top option for left tackle isn't there yet. You know, if Taylor Decker had something left, I think they would have signed him. They must have, because they know too much. Their relationship is too strong for there to be any secrets here. They could be the kind of thing where, you know, Ben could fly out there or text him and be like, look, are you. Are you done, done or can you play? Do you. What do you. What do you have left? Be honest with me. And I think if he had something, he'd be here. Yeah, I know.

[B]

I agree with that. And again, as the scenario lays out right now, I think the best case for the Bears is that Braxton Jones can actually play. That seems like the best case. And I really don't think they're going to address it in the draft. Maybe they do on a day three guy, but that guy you take on day three isn't starting in 25 weeks. That's just not happening. Nope.

[A]

I'm. I remain optimistic that it won't be like last year, where they have to default to the. The least bad option at the position. I think perhaps the experience of doing that last year, you know, Dan Roshar was new to this. Ben Johnson was new to this. Everybody was. I think that if it sounds like they're concentrating on making the very first day of OTAs matter that much more, whatever process resulted in how they got there last year will be better refined this year.

[B]

Yeah. And one last thing I wanted to ask you about. I think I saw a headline somewhere, or maybe just a little blurb of a story. Kevin Byer talked about how off season with Ben Johnson was the hardest he's ever experienced. Did you. Did you see that story? Talk about that at all, about the

[A]

difficulty of the off season? No, I don't think that it was.

[B]

It was like the hardest training camp he's ever been through. With Ben Johnson, that was the. I mean, the hardest one he's ever been through, the one that Ben Johnson led last year was the hardest training camp he ever.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Yeah. Okay. I don't know if you guys. If I made that up or if I saw that somewhere in a. A Heineken 0 stupor. I don't know.

[A]

Again, you can't have too many of those.

[B]

No. Well. No, you can't. You're right.

[A]

No. Okay, good. I'm just making sure I know you were on your best behavior but if, I'll say this, if I, if I were Hank's age, I know that I would have been running around there with it because there's no drinking age. Right. I would have been, I would have been finding stuff at 13.

[B]

You would have. He's 13, probably.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay. Because the drinking age down There is 18. And there was, there was a lot of it going on. I mean, we saw a lot of high school kids.

[A]

Yeah. I think when I was, I think when I was at a Club Med, when I was 14, 14, 15, 16.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I was trying to find whatever I could find.

[B]

Yeah, it was funny. There were. We were walking back to the room one night after dinner. Then evening activity, we're heading back and walked past a couple high school aged looking girls and it was like, oh, they were on the phone with their friends. They're like, yeah, we're gonna, we're gonna go lay and down and watch TV for a little bit and then we'll meet you guys in like an hour and a half. Like, you're starting your night at like 11:30. I was like, oh, my God. Couldn't even imagine going out at 11:30 again.

[A]

I had Jason home all week and

[B]

was he out a lot or no?

[A]

Yeah. And then again, 11 o' clock and I hear near something near the front door. I'm like, what are you doing? He's like, oh, we're going out. I say 11 o'. Clock. He's like, yeah, people are. This is when people go out. People have been pre gaming and now they're, now they're out meeting people at the places. Like, this is sleep time.

[B]

Yes. It's CB time at 11.

[A]

Yes, very much so. Like past sleep time.

[B]

Yes. 11 is like, you got a couple hours of sleep already in you, right?

[A]

I was like, all right, just, you know, be careful.

[B]

God, God bless the youth.

[A]

Don't. Don't be an idiot. Right. It's still wasted on the young, as they say, but God, let him enjoy it, man. All right. We good?

[B]

We're good, man.

[A]

I think so. I think we got things covered that let's make sure the Bears are not the Vikings. They're not the Rams at the moment. Moment dealing with the puka stuff. And they are not the Eagles. Eagles. So we can celebrate what they are and what they're not and be happy with that and we'll get you next time on Forward Progress, the Chicago Bears Podcast 312Sports. Forward progress is stopped.

[B]

Forward Progress a Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abaticola on 312 Sports.