2022 Bears current state

    With the Bears 2022 season over its time to evaluate the roster for next season, the 3-14 record does say a lot on where the team is at right now which is obviously not in an optimal place. This wasn't even my worst prediction for this team, I even considered they would be in the mix for the 7th seed, the team took a turn from being shaky offensively and decent to good defensively, to Fields going superman but the defense regressing in run defense, finishing the season with both sides just being inconsistent to bad. At least the worst scenario has earned the Bears the first overall pick in the 2023 draft so the season as ugly as was still gained something from it with the highest pick in the draft to bolster a depleted roster. Thank you Texans and Colts, Ryan Poles will be in contact with you for any negotiations you may want to consider.

Looking at the depth chart with the players already signed for next year, Poles and Matt Eberflus have a lot of work to do.

QB - Justin Fields, Trevor Siemian

Status: The starting QB is not something the staff needs to worry about in terms of filling the spot, but Fields still has work to do once the team gets upgraded, right after the bye week Fields looked like a QB that worried less and acted like someone in between "F it Ill do it myself" and "Ill do it my way" type of mentality and showed the league how dangerous he can be, unfortunately the team didn't have anything to maintain his increasing play and back him up. One thing Fields doesn't seem to get yet, when he is given the proper time by his OL, is to anticipate throws, his WRs don't get open regularly but they do separate on occasions but Fields seems to not thrust his guys to do it consistently which makes him take too much time whit the ball, this might be something that can get better with better protection and receivers and more time to build chemistry, hopefully. 

Upgrade: No upgrade is needed, if Fields gets better with better players around him, the Bears have a bright future. There is one big brain idea the team can opt to do if they aren't content with Fields for some strange reason and that is making a trade for some ones 2023 first rounder, and more. Reasons I thought about this, firstly because the Bears have the first overall pick, that gives them the choice of one of two very promising QB prospects in Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud, second reason is the Bears have numerous needs on their roster because there are too many question marks on players because, like Fields, they don't have much help around them to play to their potential and thirdly is because the Roquan Smith trade is looking bad, forget that the Steelers are basically getting a first rounder with the Bears second round pick which is not ideal, the one that hurts is the second rounder they got from Baltimore for Smith which is not helping cover up the pick sent to the Steelers which is as of right now a 23 pick difference, ouch, so getting additional picks would help a lot and trading Fields and getting Young or Stroud could to just do that and reset the contract timer for the starting QB. With this being said, it would be an insane move to do, yes the move has value but the risk would be huge, picking a QB that doesn't work be it because of his talent or the coaches not knowing how to maximize his traits is something the Bears know too well and have lived all their existence in the NFL, right now they got a very good one on their hands and there isn't a major need to be doing this type of move, before Fields the Bears haven't had a QB that could help the team get interest of other players to join them, maybe even with a little discount, because of the freak QB they got under center to help them win games because of him. If they opt to do the trade though I can get why, but I wouldn't be on board immediately, it would be agonizing to go again on the roller-coaster of "what if he isn't good?". A better option? get someone to trade back with, needy teams like the Colts, Falcons and Panthers could be very good options, the Seahawks could decide to have a backup to Geno Smith or the Raiders if Derek Carr opts out, but this is one thing that could hurt the Bears, FA will have many names that could help teams right now at the QB position like Lamar Jackson, Geno Smith, Jimmy Garoppolo, Baker Mayfield, Daniel Jones or Tom Brady if he doesn't retire, and still there are others that can very well work as bridges if they want to wait one more year to get their potential QB of the future so its not a sure thing the Bears will get a partner willing to give them a bunch of picks, still this is the road Poles should try to take, this team right now is still not just one guy away. Oh yeah, Siemian as a backup is too cliché, some infusion of youth at backup QB wouldn't hurt, some UDFA or a FA like Shane Buechele from the Chiefs is someone I would consider bringing in, some say Malik Willis will be available but I don't think he would come cheap but still its a good option.

RB - Khalil Hebert, Trestan Ebner

Status: Hebert might be the better runner but David Montgomery is the better running back. Ebner didn't show much with the snaps he got not even on return duties. The RB group does go down considerably in talent with just Hebert and Ebner.

Upgrade: Montgomery should be re-signed, only other back from FA that I would consider is Tony Pollard from the Cowboys, I wouldn't consider going high on day one or two of the draft for a running back but Poles could get some help in the mid rounds if needed.

TE - Cole Kmet

Status: Kmet was the one that benefited more from Fields rise in play looking like a respectable Y blocking TE that isn't consistently dominant but is gradually getting better. Still the team would benefit in getting someone that is a receiving mismatch in deep routes so Kmet can do his damage on the short and intermediate.

Upgrade: Dalton Schultz should be considered if available to help stretch the field as the U TE.

WR - Darnell Mooney, Velus Jones Jr., Chase Claypool, Equanimeous St. Brown

Status: Good news, the Bears have three WR signed that can play each position with Claypool at X, Mooney at Y and Velus at Z, bad news, the Bears still don't know if Claypool is viable receiver for Fields, Velus is still to raw and Mooney cant do it alone. So there is a lot of space to fill here. Against the Vikings on this last game, Velus showed up with a good catch and a scoring 

Upgrade: St. Brown got signed to another 1 year prove it deal, no problem with that. I would consider bringing N'Keal Harry and Byron Pringle back and see if giving them one more year with Fields can do some good. from FA I would consider bringing in Allen Lazard or D.J. Chark, depending if Lazard's value as a blocker is more important to the team, to compete against Claypool, add Darius Slayton to back up Mooney and JuJu Smith-Schuster to upgrade the slot position. I don't believe going WR first at the draft will be ideal trying to get someone like Quentin Johnston or  Jordan Addison even if trading down but if they do trade down then adding some one with the Ravens second or their third to get someone like Jalin Hyatt or Josh Downs, guys that don't just separate but get open, could be possible once they do enough to fix both sides of the trenches.

OL - Braxton Jones, Cody Whitehair, Lucas Patrick, Teven Jenkins, Larry Borom, Alex Leatherwood, Ja'Tyre Carter, Doug Kramer

Status: This is where it gets ugly, the trenches. the Oline is not even close of being fixed continuing to be an ongoing issue for this team and that is concerning when considering that Poles was marketed as a savvy Oline guru, Braxton Jones was very inconsistent and neither of the other OL players Poles picked in last years draft played any significant regular season snaps, FA signee Patrick, Leatherwood and Reiff didn't show enough to consider giving them a starting job next season, Whitehair and Borom regressed and the guy that almost left the team in Jenkins was far the better OL guy in the team but is still struggling with neck and back issues that make him a question mark if he is healthy enough to play a full season. Basically there is no player that solidifies a position, woof.

Upgrade: Where to start, they can try and fix everything by literally buying a complete Oline but I'm going to try to not exaggerate. Lets start from the RT which has no owner, I would sign Mike McGlinchey from the 49ers and give it to him making Borom the swing tackle. Jenkins would be no question the LG for next season but his injuries can not be taken lightly, could these concerns with his back be the reason the team tried to trade him in the offseason? someone like Connor McGovern from the Cowboys could help fill the spot if Jenkins isn't available and is someone that can compete for all three interior spots.  I would like to have a legit center please, it doesn't look to be Lucas Patrick, people that know more than me say that Ethan Pocic from the Browns should be the answer for now, drafting John Michael Schmitz with the second or maybe third pick is a popular answer as well. It might be time to let go of Whitehair, he looks to be playing injured most of the time, he might be needing help from the C and LT but paying him big money to struggle isn't going to cut it unfortunately, getting McGovern and trying to get someone like Cooper Beebe at the start of day three of the draft would give good options. LT is harder of trying to get the answer right, giving Jones more time is a valid answer, trying to draft Peter Skoronski or Paris Johnson Jr. in the first round while trading down is a valid answer as well, I wouldn't mind giving Jones one more year to train his body and prove he is the guy for the left side while drafting a tackle in day three like Jaelyn Duncan or Darnell Wright.

DL- Al-Quadin Muhammad, Justin Jones, Angelo Blackson, Trevis Gipson, Dominique Robinson

Status: Its astounding how bad this unit was with the lack of pass rush and no dominance against the run leaving the porous LB core to dry in the process. Muhammad did to little to impress, he might have been brought to accelerate the culture and knowledge of the system to the other players, but he should be starting next year, really none of them showed enough to be considered a starter. Gipson, Jones and Robinson might show better play as rotational pieces mixed up with better players in the starting lineup.

Upgrade: Like the Oline, this unit can be completely overhauled for next season, but let try and limit the spending as much as possible. EDGE options can be Yanick Ngakoue from the Colts and Marcus Davenport from the Saints but this is I say why not both? DT options Dre'Mont Jones from the Broncos  or Javon Hargrave from the Eagles, NT options can be Daron Payne from the Commanders or Fletcher Cox from the Eagles.

LB - Jack Sanborn, Sterling Weatherford

Status: Sanborn was such a pleasant surprise, he may not be a pro bowler but he is good enough to focus on real needs on the roster. Weatherford can still be a good contributor at ST and can compete for the SAM spot, he has the build and back ground that Urlacher had and I remember that he started at that position so I don't see why not.

Upgrade: I would bring back Nick Morrow and Sam Adams to have solid backups or experiences starters at least. Bringing in Bobby Okereke to compete for the WILL spot. Not wanting to bench Sanborn I'm not considering bringing a big name MIKE back, but Tremaine Edmunds from the Bills, Leighton Vander Esch from the cowboys, David Long Jr. from the Titans and Devin Bush from the Steelers are intriguing options.

DB - Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon, Kindle Vildor, Michael Ojemudia, Jaylon Jones, Eddie Jackson Jaquan Brisker, Elijah Hicks, A.J. Thomas

Status: I wont panic if the team goes with this unit untouched, Brisker, Jackson and Johnson are solid players, Jones and Gordon had flashes of being good, improving the Dline will shine a better light in this group but I don't expect them to be as bad as other units are right now.

Upgrade: I would prioritize other needs at other positions. One thing I would like the team to make clear and that is what role is Gordon going to play? he need to focus on one spot, I don't have a preferred one for him honestly, if he goes to be the NB and don't se Jones as a starter, the Bears could target Jamel Dean from the Bucs, if Gordon is moved to be CB2 and they don't see Vildor as a starter, the Bears can go get Byron Murphy, additionally getting Rock Ya-Sing from the Raiders would provide good depth.

ST - Cairo Santos, Trenton Gill

Status: Santos was solid most of the season then started missing extra points for some odd reason because he didn't just miss, those balls would orbit out of the field, then these past games just like that he would start kicking normally again, so yeah there's that. I don't know if a punter can get better with time but Gill had some really good punts, just not consistently. So overall a decent unit.

Upgrade: Just bring back Patrick Scales and be done with it, he is a solid LS and I like how he celebrates.

Obviously all this can change in a heartbeat once teams get to work on re-signing players and draft evaluations come in, also I haven't gotten into simulating contracts with the players I would like the Bears to obtain so all this is a small pipe dream on how I would try to better the team, its going to be a very entertaining offseason for the Bears in terms of moving parts, the 2023 Bears could try to simulate the 2022 Jaguars this offseason, I really criticized the Jaguars moves mostly because their contracts felt too overvalued, don't want to limit Poles in bringing needed help but lets just hope he is a better negotiator.