Mitch Trubisky’s experiment continued, and a failed but ongoing procession by QB Russel Wilson forced the Chicago Bears to become Andy Dalton and Nick Foles. In addition, its great star receiver contemplated holding on after being marked as a franchise (and still could).
The Bears, certainly, had an off-season filled with many uncertainties.
With general manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy appearing to be in their last hands with the team, this offseason has not helped to solidify their position within the organization. Facing an uphill battle to become competitive in the NFC North division, which has been consistently dominated by the Green Bay Packers, there are many holes that the Bears have yet to solve.
Their foray into the free agency did not produce many fruitful additions, as they saw more striking subtractions (CB Kyle Fuller, DT Roy Robertson-Harris, S Deon Bush, Trubisky, etc.) come out of this off-season than replacements. But the Bears are used to looking for talent, and last season was just one more example of that.
Of all the holes this team still needs to fill, dealing with its defensive side is the biggest – and it was a great need even before Fuller was released.
Second year cornerback Jaylon Johnson will enter his first season at the top of the CB depth chart, and his debut season was very promising. Having shown flashes of becoming a strong CB1, he will be thrown to the wolves early and often. In addition, playing in a division where he will be lined up against players like Davante Adams, Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen (in addition to any extended rookie), he will have his hands full.
Desmond Trufant was signed this offseason with a one-year contract after coming from the Detroit Lions, and while ex-Washington Huskie is entering his ninth season in the league for a reason, the 30-year-old defense is nothing more than a temporary option for the Bears. Other options, like Duke Shelley and Teez Tabor, will add depth, but they are not good enough to become this team’s long-term CB2, which will contain this once dominant defense.
For safety, Eddie Jackson will be leading this backend team once again, but since the team let Adrian Amos sign with the Packers a few seasons ago, they have been looking for the perfect addition to the Alabama product. Bush left the city and this team has no official security listed on its depth chart, so addressing security is just as important as adding a corner.
With the first full week of free agency coming and going, the Bears didn’t have (and still don’t have) that kind of free money to make any move to bring in the best defensive defense options. However, there are still a few options on the market that they could look for, if only for a season.
Richard Sherman is still a free agent, and there hasn’t been much interest in his path since the free agency’s inception. Although he would probably prefer to go to a competitive team and close to a block to reach the playoffs, he could do worse on a one-year contract with the Bears, where he would be seen as a veteran option to help prepare Johnson for the championship and line up across the field like him.
Sherman’s wheels are certainly not what they used to be, but he still regularly produces above-average coverage levels, and the Bears really aren’t in a position to be demanding right now.
In the draft, using a choice of Day 2 on Jaycee Horn, Tyson Campbell, Aaron Robinson or Greg Newsome II would be a clever use of your second or third round selection and would go a long way in repairing your defense. Horn and Newsome II appear to be Tier 1B / 2A in the draft (behind Caleb Farley and Patrick Surtain II), with Horn being a likely selection of the top 25 and Newsome II being the first CB to leave after the top three.
By repairing a team that lacks the kind of talent they saw in their double-doink season, the Bears are in need of proven players. If they want to compete in the NFC North division, upgrading their defensive backfield is an important first step towards returning to competition for the divisional crown.
