The Chicago Bears need some help
Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles addressed needed positions via the March trade with the Carolina Panthers and free agency last week. The Bears will have an upgraded wide receivers corps with D.J. Moore. But they haven’t addressed the must needs after the trade. One analyst suggested what positions the Bears should address after free agency.
The Bears’ defense will have slight upgrades on the defensive line with the addition of DeMarcus Walker and Andrew Billings. The Bears signed linebackers T.J. Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds to fill in the roles after Roquan Smith was traded and Nicholas Morrow became a free agent.
On offense, the Bears signed some running backs for training camp competition that should render a committee rotation next season. They signed Nate Davis, an interior offensive lineman known for his run blocking. Much work must be done to make the Bears competitive again.
Analyst suggests what the Bears focus on next
The team was full of holes last season, and Trevor Sikkema with Pro Football Focus has ideas for what the Bears should do after free agency. They wrote a piece about what positions all NFL teams needed to address after last week. Sikkema thinks Chicago needs help with the interior defensive line, offensive tackle, and cornerback:
The Bears have brought in a ton of talent since free agency opened. They’ve signed Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards, Nate Davis, Andrew Billings, DeMarcus Walker, Robert Tonyan and D’Onta Foreman. They also acquired D.J. Moore in their trade-down with the Panthers. They’re not quite a complete team yet, though, even despite the positive outlook of those additions. They still need a dominant three-technique pass rusher in the middle and could stand to get a starting-caliber offensive tackle. Though their secondary is already pretty young, another solid outside cornerback could be a target for them on Day 2 of the draft.
Sikkema isn’t wrong about highlighting the positions the Chicago Bears need. Most every Bears fan and thinking analyst has pointed this out for two offseasons. Unfortunately, after striking out for a second offseason free agency in a row at those positions, it’s unlikely the Bears can adequately draft all of those positions in order to see an immediate impact next season. It kind of throws off the whole window to bring in youth to progress and win by the end of Justin Fields’ rookie contract.
Poles has stuck to his principle of not overpaying for premium positions or straying too far from his “scheme” fit. That could mean the Bears’ defense will go a second regular season without having an elite three-technique, which is what head coach Matt Eberflus considers to be his defense’s engine. Or the Bears could take a chance on Jalen Carter if he fell to the ninth position next month. A three-technique would then come at the expense of a Paris Johnson Jr. or another top offensive tackle prospect.
One would hope Poles can find a players at premium positions to fit the scheme cheaply and play and progress for this team eventually. Or the wins and losses aren’t going to change much in 2023. And that could get ugly for the second-year regime.
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