GM Ryan Poles has pieced together a strong off-season for the Chicago Bears thus far. D’Andre Swift arrived to bolster their running back room. Keenan Allen was a huge addition at wide receiver, joining D.J. Moore to form probably the best 1-2 punch since Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall. Kevin Byard will step in to replace Eddie Jackson at safety, maintaining stability in the secondary. They also added Ryan Bates and Coleman Shelton to bolster the interior offensive line. Attention has now shifted to the NFL draft, where they hope to address any remaining roster holes.
There is one problem. They may not have enough draft picks to do so. They don’t pick again after their two top-10 selections until the 3rd round. Everybody knows the #1 pick is going to be a quarterback. That means Poles has only one viable pick left to solve any remaining holes on the roster realistically. Unless the team has some sort of crafty maneuver to solve two at the same time, there is a growing likelihood they will have to sacrifice something this season. One position will be left weakened.
Every sign at this point indicates it will be edge rusher. Jeff Hughes of Da Bears Blog alluded to that in his recent discussion on Twitter Spaces. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune and others have also hinted at it. Poles seems focused on upgrading the offense as much as possible to give his young quarterback the best possible chance to succeed, even at the cost of helping the defense.
One of the persistent issues with this franchise has been its inability to properly build a good structure around its young quarterbacks in the past. They were so focused on ensuring the defense stayed strong in case the offense struggled. Almost every past regime was guilty of it. After drafting Cade McNown in 1999, each of the Bears’ next three picks in the 1st and 2nd rounds were defenders. Rex Grossman arrived in 2003. The other 1st round pick that year was defensive end Michael Haynes. The top two picks the next year were both defensive tackles. Ryan Pace opted to take Roquan Smith a year after drafting Mitch Trubisky. For too long, the organization has played it cheap while trying to build around their quarterbacks.
This year might be different. Poles seems focused on offense in one way or another at the #9 spot, most likely one of the top wide receivers. There is also the possibility he is looking to upgrade at left tackle. Either decision would significantly improve the chances of whichever quarterback they draft finding success. While this won’t do much to help the defense in 2024, Poles knows he can trust head coach Matt Eberflus to keep that side of the ball respectable until he has a chance to address it more thoroughly in 2025.
Hopefully, by that point, they will have the quarterback situation settled.
