Bears Positioned To Upgrade At Defensive Line, Wide Receiver

INGLEWOOD, CA - JANUARY 9: Jalen Carter #88 of the Georgia Bulldogs celebrates a big defensive play ... [+] during a game between Texas Christian Horned Frogs and Georgia Bulldogs at SoFi Stadium on January 9, 2023 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Steve Limentani/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

There are no certainties about an NFL draft, especially when it is still three months away, but it seems more likely the Chicago Bears will trade the first overall pick than make their own selection.

Second-year general manager Ryan Poles has said his scouts will evaluate the top quarterbacks — Bryce Young, Will Levis and C.J. Stroud — to see if any are significant upgrades over Justin Fields, the 2021 first-rounder he inherited from the Ryan Pace regime. But Poles turned six picks into 11 picks in his first draft in Chicago, taking a strength-in-numbers approach in his search for long-term fits for the roster he is rebuilding, and the Bears have needs all over the field.

Poles is holding onto one of the strongest hands entering the off-season, with only the Houston Texans in position to add as much through the draft and free agency. The Bears project to have $107.5-$116 million in cap space — not including an increase of as much as $12 million when the NFL sets the cap for 2023 — along with eight draft picks, including three of the top 65 overall.

Let’s say they trade the first overall pick to add at least two more, giving them 10 picks in 2023, including five in the top 65 overall. They use those picks to target three players who can have immediate impact and then fill two other holes with major free-agent signings.

Here’s a look at their needs, listed in the order of significance, and how they can add at least five potential All-Pros this off-season:

Defensive front — No need is more dramatic after the Bears finished last in the NFL in sacks (20), next-to-last in quarterback pressures (15.9 percent) and last in points per game (27.2). The Bears were off to a solid start but cratered in the second half of the season after trading linebacker Roquan Smith and defensive end Robert Quinn.

The Bears’ holdover defensive linemen all ranked 100 or lower in Pro Football Focus’ grades of interior linemen and edge defenders. This is a fairly easy, if expensive, position to add impact players both at the top of the draft and through free agency.

All eyes are on Philadelphia Eagles’ tackle Javan Hargraves at the moment. He’ll be an obvious target if he reaches free agency, as he perfectly fits coach Matt Eberflus’ view of a three-technique lineman. The Bears are positioned to win a bidding war for Hargraves but are likely to have strong fallback options on the market in Denver’s Dre’Mont Jones and New Orleans’ Marcus Davenport (although Davenport’s injury history is a concern).

Should the Bears swap first-round picks with one of the teams picking in the top five (most likely Houston, second; Indianapolis, fourth, or Seattle, fifth), they should be able to land one of the two most highly regarded defensive linemen in the draft. That’s Georgia’s Jalen Carter or Alabama’s Will Anderson Jr., but Clemson’s Myles Murphy, Texas Tech’s Tyree Wilson and Clemson’s Bryan Bresee are also intriguing.

Wide receiver: There’s no question Fields needs a better set of targets to help him turn the corner as a passer. This is a weak free agent class — the reason the Bears traded the 32nd pick in the draft for Chase Claypool — but Poles could take a gamble on Michael Thomas, who has missed most of the last two years with injuries or add someone like Jakobi Meyers, who has averaged 70 catches for 800 yards and three touchdowns with New England the last three years.

But it seems more likely Poles will try to fill the need for a No. 1 receiver alongside Claypool and the undersized Mooney through the draft. The most highly rated receivers are TCU’s Quentin Johnson, Boston College’s Zay Flowers, Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba (a former teammate of Fields’) and USC’s Jordon Addison.

If the right combination of players are there, Poles could follow the model set with defensive linemen, adding one free-agent wide receiver and another with a high draft pick.

Offensive line: There isn’t as much work to be done here as one might think given Fields having been sacked 55 times. The Bears appear to have young linemen to build around in Teven Jenkins and Braxton Jones along with a versatile veteran in Cody Whitehair. Lucas Patrick, signed to a two-year deal last spring, and Alex Leatherwood, claimed off waivers from Las Vegas before 2022, add depth. The Bears face a decision on veteran Riley Reiff, who was a useful player after signing a one-year deal for $3 million.

Cleveland center Ethan Pocic is headed toward free agency and appears the most likely upgrade via free agency. Tackles Mike McGlinchy and Orlando Brown could also be worth a strong pursuit if they aren’t signed to extensions.

This is a strong draft class for offensive linemen but the greater needs at defensive line and wide receiver likely means Poles will stand by when the likes of Ohio State’s Paris Johnson Jr., Northwestern’s NWE Peter Skoronski, Oklahoma’s Anton Harrison and Georgia’s Broderick Jones go off the board.

Running back: The key question here is whether the Bears will re-sign David Montgomery, who is at the end of his rookie contract. He is headed toward an attractive class for free agent ball carriers, although it remains to be seen if the Giants and Raiders extend Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs, respectively.

The Bears could easily re-sign Montgomery and keep the Montgomery-Khalil Herbert combination intact but Seattle’s Ken Walker Jr. is showing the impact fresh legs can play. The top running backs in the draft include Texas’ Bijan Robinson, UCLA’s Zach Charbonnet and Alabama’s Jahmyr Gibbs.

Fields’ second full season at quarterback showed how few difference-making players the Bears have on the roster. They have a chance to add a whole bunch of those guys before they go to camp next summer but the biggest key for their future lies in making the right decision on Fields.