New Monsters of the Midway?

In the first part of the Bears series I opened by talking about how the team had the best opportunity to provide real answers during the time I’m writing this. The bulk of free agency has already happened and the NFL draft is around the corner. Chicago has made moves in both areas that are going to impact the team for the future. The bulk of this part is going to focus on the needs the team addressed in free agency, then I’ll go into what needs the team should look to address in the draft and some possible fits based on those needs. So let me get right to it.

The most notable move the Bears have made is trading their number one overall selection in the upcoming 2023 NFL Draft to the Carolina Panthers. This was something I said was likely in the last entry, and the deal that went down makes sense. The Bears seem set at QB with Justin Fields, and this move down all but solidifies that point of view from within the organization. The Panthers on the other hand are in desperate need of a QB and will have their pick of the litter with the number one pick. The return for Chicago was excellent as well. The highlights are Wide Receiver DJ Moore and the number nine overall pick in the 2023 draft. Chicago also collected Carolina’s 2024 first-round pick, and their 2025 second. This has the potential to be one of the most impactful trades in Bears history. The three picks could each be impactful players, but could also be used next off-season to acquire an established piece if the Bears take a big jump forward during the 2023 season. I’ll get into what the picks could be in more detail later, but want to focus on the impact DJ Moore could have on the team.

Moore showed flashes of special in his five years in Carolina. He registered over 800 yards in every year but his rookie season, and in three of those years he had over 1,100 yards. Some believe with a decent quarterback, which it appears he has in Fields, he could be a legitimate number one option. He would be more ideal as a number two in my opinion, but a trio of him, Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool is nothing to snarl at. If the Bears continue to prioritize running the ball they can get away with not having a true number one a little easier, but if Moore makes a jump with Fields that’s a moot point.

In free agency the Bears made some other key additions. Just to stick to the offensive side first, I’m going to acknowledge the signing of running back D’Onta Foreman. Foreman, like Moore, comes to the Bears from the Carolina Panthers. Foreman had a bit of a breakout season last year with 914 yards and five touchdowns after the team traded Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers. This creates a nice tandem between Foreman and Khalil Herbert who has been productive since he was drafted out of Virginia Tech, despite primarily serving as David Montgomerey’s back-up. Speaking of Montgomery, I said he would be one of the few productive players the Bears could lose this off-season. Foreman and Herbert should be able to replicate a significant percentage of his production. The annoying part is Montgomerey signed with division rivals, the Detroit Lions. That gives Montgomery the opportunity to haunt the Bears twice a year as long as he’s playing there. In the grand scheme of things however, the Bears should feel much better about their additions than they do about the loss of Montgomerey.

The other headline additions in Chi-town via free agency were: Foreman, TE Robert Tonyan, RB Travis Homer, OG Nate Davis, LB TJ Edwards, LB Tremaine Edmunds, Edge Demarcus Walker, DT Andrew Billings. The most prominent of the bunch are the pair of linebackers. I acknowledged in the first part the importance of this position in Matt Eberflus’ defense. It would be hard to dream up a better duo for Chicago. The Bears dealt Roquan Smith during the 2022 season because they didn’t want to give him an extension, and that seems to have payed off as Chicago gets Edmunds for cheaper than what Smith ended up signing for in Baltimore, and Edmunds projects as a better fit. The addition of Edwards, who the Bears stole from the reigning NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles, gives the Bears an ideal Linebacker duo for their defense. Given that teams play a majority of their snaps in sub packages, rather than their base defense (which to me is stupid because why not start thinking of “sub-packages” as base packages, but that’s not what this is about), Edwards and Edmunds will be the duo on the field most of the time and it shouldn’t be long before their impact is felt throughout the Chicago defense.

Demarcus Walker is a quality signing as well. He had the most productive year of his career in Tennessee last year. This could signal that he fits a specific role rather than being a staple of a defense. His seven sacks last year would indicate he’s best served as a team’s second or third best pass rusher. On a 3-year $11.1 million deal, the Bears appear to share the same view. Walker is more of a step in the right direction for the Bears rather than someone that totally solves the team’s pass-rush issues. Nate Davis also comes from Tennessee and should patch up the interior of the offensive line. This is a unit that has faced scrutiny, maybe too much so, but Davis should help stabilize things as a veteran who shined on a bad Titans offensive-line a year ago.

The rest of the team’s signings will likely not have as major of an impact. Travis Homer will be depth behind Foreman and Herbert. Not to say he doesn’t have the ability to make an impact if called upon, but that’s something that’ll be seen occasionally. Tonyan is interesting, particularly because he left the rival Green Bay Packers for the Bears. Tonyan has a unique combination of size and speed for the Tight end position, but has struggled to stay healthy and be consistently productive. He will serve as a nice compliment to Cole Kmet, and I’m sure we’ll see the two on the field at the same time, particularly in short yardage and the red zone. Billings should benefit the defense in similar situations. He’s a run stuffing interior lineman and won’t regularly be on the field in third down or long yardage situations.

For all the good done in free agency, there is still work to do in the draft. Primarily on the lines. Edge is still a huge area of need. If Will Anderson Jr. or Tyree Wilson fall to them in the draft it needs to be an automatic selection. This is a big “if” and a fairly unlikely one. The other guy that would be awesome to get this late is Jalen Carter. The prospect of him going number nine at the start of the draft process seems crazy, but character concerns have caused him to fall. That will be something the Bears think long and hard about because this pick has to be, at minimum, a starting level player. The most realistic options are offensive tackles. Peter Skoronski seems almost too ideal as he played his college ball at nearby Northwestern University. But guys like Paris Johnson from Ohio State, and Darnell Wright from Tennessee also would be possibilities. Broderick Jones would be interesting as well, but would be perceived as a possible reach in the top 10. Lukas Van Ness out of Iowa would probably receive consideration as well. Based off realism I’d say the first pick is likely to be: Skoronski, Wright or Carter. This is given the team doesn’t trade down even further, which is certainly a possibility.

I’d imagine the Bears would continue to address the line in the second round. Most likely which ever side of the ball they didn’t in the first. Some options could be Mazi Smith, a defensive tackle out of Michigan with freak athleticism, Felix Anudike-Uzomah, an edge from Kansas State with a non-stop motor, but needs polish on technique, and Cody Mauch, a tackle out of North Dakota State who has an awesome draft picture that everyone should check out.

In the later rounds it can be harder to project, but here are some guys I like that would fit some of the Bears needs: Dawand Jones, OT, Ohio State; Kelee Ringo, CB, Georgia; Jon Gaines, OG, UCLA; Charlie Jones, WR, Purdue; Nick Herbig, LB, Wisconsin; Riley Moss, CB, Iowa; Daiyan Henley, LB, Washington State, Marte Mapu, LB, Sacramento State, Robert Beal Jr., Edge, Georgia, Asim Richards, OT, North Carolina.

If any of those guys get picked by the Bears I’ll go into how they project in the NFL and more specifically with the team. The next entry will summarize the Bears draft, project the 2023 season, then highlight the moves the team would need to make in the 2024 offseason to be Super Bowl contenders by that season.

Make sure to check out part 3, as well as the rest of the rebuilds.