Bears' Biggest Keys To Having Successful NFL Offseason
There are a lot of areas for the Chicago Bears to improve on their roster. That's to be expected coming off a 2022 season in which they finished an NFL-worst 3-14.
But Chicago also is in a great financial position, which should allow it to substantially upgrade its team during the upcoming offseason. According to Over The Cap, the Bears have $94.4 million in projected available cap space, the most of any team in the league.
Not only that, but Chicago owns the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft. So the Bears appear set up well to have an exciting offseason, their second under general manager Ryan Poles.
Here are the biggest keys to Chicago having a successful offseason.
Maximize Having the No. 1 Pick, Perhaps with a Trade
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This is only the third time the Bears have owned the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, and the most recent occurrence was in 1947. So it's been quite a while since Chicago was in this position.
The Bears will have quite a few different paths they could take. They could use the selection on an impact defender, such as Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter or Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. They could address one of their other needs. Or they could trade the pick, which may be the wisest move.
Chicago isn't in the market for a quarterback, with Justin Fields having taken a big step forward during his 2022 sophomore campaign. Other teams are in much greater need for a QB. That means the Bears could move down a pick or two, add more draft capital and potentially still land either Carter or Anderson.
Because Chicago has so many roster holes to address, it needs to maximize the position it's in with the No. 1 picks. The team needs to strongly consider the offers it may receive from other franchises in order to do so.
Acquire More Playmakers to Set Up Fields for Success
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Fields put up some impressive numbers in 2022. In 15 games, he threw for 2,242 yards and 17 touchdowns, while also rushing for 1,143 yards and eight scores. The 23-year-old's dual-threat ability can make him difficult to defend, and he should only continue to improve.
However, the Bears need to surround Fields with more top playmakers in order to maximize his potential. Their receiving corps is greatly lacking beyond Darnell Mooney, unless Chase Claypool can develop into a stronger option.
The unit doesn't have much depth, and it doesn't stack up well with other WR groups around the league. It's likely contributed to Fields not putting up huge passing stats over his first two seasons, in addition to him having to run a lot because he hasn't had time to throw.
Despite the less-than-ideal situation around him, Fields has shown that he can be the Bears' franchise QB. Now, it's time for them to put him in a better situation to succeed.
Upgrade the Pass Rush in Major Fashion
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Chicago's defense has plenty of ways it can get better. But the primary objective this offseason should be to upgrade the unit's pass rush, as the defensive front is severely lacking. And that evident throughout the 2022 season.
The Bears recorded an NFL-low 20 sacks over 17 games. For comparison, San Francisco 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa nearly reached that number by himself, notching 18.5 sacks.
Chicago had only one player with more than three sacks, and that was safety Jaquan Brisker (four). It's a major problem when a team doesn't have a defensive lineman or linebacker with at least four sacks in a season.
There are various ways the Bears can improve this unit. They can address the positions via free agency, the draft, trades or all three avenues. It doesn't matter how they do it, but they need to acquire players who are more capable of putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
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