The Bears’ fell to the Vikings to close out the regular season at 3-14, and, with a little bit of help from the Texans’ win against the Colts, clinched the number one overall pick in the 2023 draft. While the “foundation” has been set by Matt Eberflus, a lot of work in the offseason still remains to be done to help the Bears come back to life.
The Draft
We saw Ryan Poles rely heavily on the draft this past year to help build a young team as he promised to do so. There should be no doubt that the Bears take a similar approach here to help bring in talent to help Justin Fields. The best part about this is the Bears have the number one overall pick in the upcoming draft. Now, while there is great talent available to select first overall with players like Jalen Carter and Will Anderson, trading away the first overall pick could be an option the Bears take in order to help gain draft capital. The thing with it being the first overall pick is that any QB-needy team could negotiate with the Bears and offer generous compensation for the Bears. Obviously, the asking price will be high, and I would not be surprised if at least 4-first round picks are requested in exchange for the number one overall pick. It might sound crazy, but in the 2021 NFL Draft, when the 49ers took Trey Lance, they essentially gave up 3 first-round picks for that pick. And with the market going up and the pick being even higher, I see no reason why the Bears cannot get amazing compensation for the pick. And all the other draft picks the Bears have should help build this team in the right way. The draft will be so critical in bringing in young playmakers to help out Justin Fields.
The Most Cap Space
The Bears have over $115 million in cap space to use in the offseason. And the league requires teams to spend at least 90% of their cap space, so big moves are on the way. From defensive pieces to weapons for Fields, so many high-profile names could be brought in on deals both long and short.
There will be some current players who are at the end of their contracts with the Bears, and will either resign or walk. David Montgomery, for example, is one of these players. The tough decision will have to be made from Ryan Poles whether he wants to keep the running back who has been the face of the Bears’ ground game for the past few years. Either way, expect some big deals, similar to that of the Larry Ogunjobi deal where Poles will try and make some players Bears for life.
1+1=2, right?
That’s just the basis of where the Bears need to succeed to become relevant while Justin Fields is still under center. This draft and offseason will determine a lot about how Poles thinks and what he prioritizes. You assume if he gets great players and deals in the draft and signs some good players in free agency, the Bears will become instantly better. We can all hope so, and with proper execution from the players, the Bears’ 2023 offseason will go down as the most important one in franchise history up to this point.
