The Bears have splashed a decent amount of money in free agency so far to fill some key positional needs. For instance, we locked up our line backing core with Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards. Thankfully so, since the positional depth for LB’s isn’t substantial in the upcoming draft. We also added an edge rusher in Demarcus Walker along with a solid guard in Nate Davis. The acquisition of running back Travis Homer isn’t too vital to our success but certainly adds some important blocking and special teams action to our roster. Going forward, the Bears are going to need to fill a few more positions up in the draft if we want to see more team success. Before we start however I’d like to give an honorable mention to the running back position, hoping that we add one guy to pair up with Khalil Herbert in our backfield. As we know, Homer is more of a special teams guy and won’t see much carries in our offensive scheme.
Offensive Line
Despite already picking up Nate Davis, fans definitely need to see some depth added to our line in free agency. Davis is expected to slot in as a starter immediately alongside Jenkins and Jones. This leaves two spots questionable for the future, with many wanting Cody Whitehair to step down as a starter for our line. Center is the most important spot for Chicago to fill in the upcoming draft that certainly lacks depth at the lineman position. Lucas Patrick would start currently at center if the Bears aren’t able to capitalize on their picks. Along with a center, there is hope that Chicago decides to add 1-2 more lineman in the draft to make sure we have the right guys in the right spots. However, we can already expect to see an upgrade in line production from the year prior.
Defensive Line
Switching to the other side of the spectrum we have the other biggest need for the Chicago Bears. While the Bears did sign Demarcus Walker and are most likely selecting defensive line first round, it wouldn’t hurt to make another signing or late round selection. While he had a rather impressive showing this week, Jalen Carter could possibly fall to the Bears at pick number 9. There is still a chance that Chicago could sign someone like Yannick Ngakoue or Poona Fore in the waning days of free agency. However, as it stands we will need to add at least two defensive lineman in the draft. Thankfully for Chicago, this draft is pretty deep at the defensive and offensive line positions. I’m ready to put my trust in Poles in snuffing out the right guys to fit our scheme as he did find a gem in Braxton Jones late last year.
Cornerback
Corner is a very tricky position and luckily Chicago only needs one more solid corner to pair with Johnson and Gordon. It’s hard to trust Jaylon Jones or Kindle Vildor to be reliable at all in our third starting corner spot. I figure the reason that Poles hasn’t gone after any other corners is due to the fact that this upcoming draft is incredibly deep at the position. With nearly 10 guys that have first round abilities, it wouldn’t be hard for Chicago to snag one in the second round. Our secondary struggled most of last year with Jaylon Johnson hitting the IR and Gordon having initial issues. However, once we put together a third piece, I’m envisioning more lockdown capabilities emerging from our core. We don’t need to go out and get someone like Christian Gonzalez or Devon Witherspoon, as long as the upside is there, I have no worries. Our only concern remaining would be that everyone stays healthy, but there’s not much you could do if that ends up not being the case.
