The Chicago Bears’ one glaring weakness before training camp is the defensive line. An NFL insider named a Super Bowl-winning defensive end as a signing the Bears should make before the season.
The Chicago Bears got better at WR
The Bears prioritized rookie quarterback Caleb Williams’ development when they chose wide receiver Rome Odunze with the No. 9 pick in the draft. The Bears were expected to take a receiver, offensive tackle, or defensive lineman with the pick.
The Bears defensive line needs help
According to Pro Football Focus, the Bears’ wide receiver group is the strongest in the league following the draft. However, PFF listed the Bears’ defensive line as the weakest.
Bill Barnwell with ESPN noted the Bears need to get better in the trenches on defense:
The Bears checked off just about everything on their needs list this offseason, but a notable exception was not adding a second pass-rusher behind Montez Sweat. Coach Matt Eberflus might understandably feel good about where his defense stands when you consider Chicago ranked second in points allowed per possession over the second half of 2024, but that was fueled by an unsustainable turnover rate (20% of opposing drives, the second highest in the league) as opposed to a great pass rush.
Even with Sweat playing well after his arrival from Washington over the second half of the season, the Bears ranked 21st in sack rate and 25th in pressure rate.
Barnwell thinks Emmanuel Ogbah could be a good addition
Barnwell thinks the Bears should try and sign Emmanuel Ogbah, who won Super Bowl LIV with the Kansas City Chiefs:
Last year, the Bears took a training camp flier on Yannick Ngakoue, but it didn’t pan out, as they paid him $10.5 million for a career-low four sacks. Ogbah, 30, should come in at a fraction of that cost. He spent most of last season in a limited role with the Dolphins as he returned from a triceps injury and was buried behind multiple standouts on the depth chart, but he still managed 5.5 sacks and nine knockdowns across just 128 pass-rush opportunities. (That’s roughly four games worth of pass rushes for a full-time player such as Maxx Crosby.)
Those numbers aren’t going to project to All-Pro production over a full workload — Ogbah is probably best spotted in a situational role at this point of his career — but the Bears need bodies in their edge rotation. Getting 300 snaps of solid pass-rushing performance from Ogbah for $2 million or so would be a good deal for GM Ryan Poles.
Per PFF, Ogbah earned a 57.2 overall grade for his play last season. He also earned a 39.7 grade for his run defense and a 67.1 grade for his pass rush.
Does that sound familiar? Those are pretty much what the strengths and weaknesses of Yannick Ngakoue were before he signed with the Bears last season. He didn’t do much before Montez Sweat came aboard and was just below serviceable when following the Sweat trade.
Ogbah would be another band-aid for the Bears on the defensive line this season. But that’s what they might have to accept before the season. The exterior pass rush needs another veteran before training camp. The Bears’ top-four defensive end rotation currently looks like this:
- Montez Sweat
- DeMarcus Walker
- Austin Booker
- Dominique Robinson
That doesn’t look like a bunch that can make a difference for a playoff run.
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