While most of the attention is on quarterback Caleb Williams, the Chicago Bears have a huge need at edge rusher that is also critical.
We are now ten days ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft. It is all but confirmed that the Chicago Bears will select USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the number one pick.
General Manager Ryan Poles has overhauled the offense to help Williams succeed. He traded away last year’s starter, Justin Fields. He added running back D’Andre Swift to bolster the running game and improve the backfield pass-catching.
Furthermore, Poles added Ryan Bates, Coleman Shelton, and Matt Pryor to add starters and depth pieces on the offensive line. He added another tight end, Gerald Everett, to strengthen that unit. He and Cole Kmet will give Williams an excellent duo. Williams will have two effective and big targets to use as security blankets.
Finally, Poles added a huge piece — wide receiver Keenan Allen. Allen is a six-time Pro Bowl player. Having him and D.J. Moore gives Williams two excellent route runners who can destroy defensive backs.
Williams is set up to enter the best situation a quarterback picked number one has ever had. This offense can quickly become one of the top-scoring offenses in the league. Still, many people feel that Poles will add even more to the offense and help Williams even more.
What will Poles do with the ninth pick?
The Chicago Bears also have the ninth pick in the draft. Some feel that having only four picks in the draft forces Poles to trade down to acquire more picks. However, Poles said he is comfortable with the four picks if he finishes with that. Having two of those picks in the top ten gives the team two blue-chip prospects to choose from.
The way this is set up and [with] some of the draft capital we’ve been able to create in the first two years, I feel pretty comfortable about it. It’ll be boring if we don’t do any trades, but I feel pretty good about where we’re at.
Poles set his staff up into different groups to make the case for what to do with the ninth pick. He settled on three positions — wide receiver, offensive tackle, and edge rusher.
Many feel that the Chicago Bears need to pick up an elite left tackle to help protect Williams. The team has Braxton Jones there now. He is a decent player but to get to the heights that Poles wants the Chicago Bears to reach Williams needs something more than just a decent player.
While Poles did a great job acquiring Allen, he is a 32-year-old player. There is more to see in the rearview mirror than up ahead. Additionally, Allen has an injury history. That injury history does not get better as a player ages. Yes, he had a great 2023 season. However, aging stars usually have that one final great season. The fear is that 2023 was that year for Allen. Picking up an elite wide receiver prospect helps the offense prepare for that.
Making the case for an edge rusher
Then there is the edge rusher. Poles did a great job last year of rebuilding the defense. After struggling early in the 2023 season, the defense became a very stingy unit. In their first four games, the Chicago Bears’ defense gave up 34.2 points per game. In the remaining 13 games, that average dropped to 18.6 points per game.
One of the biggest reasons for the defensive turnaround was the acquisition of defensive end Montez Sweat. Sweat came in and instantly improved the pass rush. The Bears struggled to get to the quarterback before Sweat’s arrival.
It was great to see Sweat raise the level of play by the Chicago Bears’ defense. However, something was disconcerting in the final game of the regular season. Chicago faced the hated Green Bay Packers.
The Packers had a playoff spot on the line and the Bears wanted to kill their postseason hope. Green Bay made it their priority to not have Sweat go off on them. They gambled that no other pass rusher could make a play if they neutralized Sweat.
They ended up being correct. Green Bay sent everyone they could at Sweat and slowed his path to the quarterback. No one else was able to get to Jordan Love and he torched the Chicago Bears secondary.
Other teams will watch the Packers film and do the same. Poles re-signed Sweat to a four-year, $98 million extension. Sweat will be a big part of the defense for the foreseeable future. While Poles has made a big investment to ensure Williams succeeds, he has 98 million reasons to ensure that Sweat succeeds.
The Chicago Bears signed DeMarcus Walker last offseason to rush the passer. He did not have a good season, though. He had only 3.5 sacks. Once the Bears acquired Sweat, Walker became a rotational player.
However, when Yannick Ngakoue‘s season was cut short due to an injury, Walker got a second chance to make an impression. He failed to do so. He is not the answer.
Some feel Ngakoue could sign a one-year, “prove it” deal and help. He had his worst season in 2023, recording just four sacks before he suffered a broken ankle. However, half of his sacks came after Sweat came aboard. How he rebounds from an ankle injury is a question, though. Additionally, he is horrible against the run.
That means the Chicago Bears have to draft an elite edge rusher prospect to help Sweat. Poles has done plenty to accommodate Williams. Poles came in to build an entire team. He cannot just spend capital on offense and forget defense.
In the past, we saw how previous front office personnel did it the other way around. Plenty was invested in defense while the offense lacked talent. That did not work out well. Expecting things to improve by over-investing on the other side is not a recipe for success.
There are excellent prospects at nine who could complement Sweat and make teams pay for putting too much attention on him. Poles has to pick one there. If he does, this could be a balanced team and dangerous. The Chicago Bears could be the Cinderella team in 2023 if that happens.
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