Three biggest concerns for Chicago Bears before draft

The Bears are unquestionably one of the biggest winners of free agency, and thanks to a savvy trade by general manager Ryan Poles, Chicago has solid draft capital for the next three seasons and added a legitimate No. 1 receiver for quarterback Justin Fields.

While they’ve done well to improve this offseason, here are the Bears' three biggest concerns:

1. Who should they select with the No. 9 pick?

It’s no secret that the Bears want Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter, but the 6-foot-3, 300-pound lineman may very well be gone by the time they’re on the clock, as well as Alabama defensive end Will Anderson.

So the question then becomes: does Chicago target the next-best defensive tackle, Clemson’s Bryan Bresee or Pittsburgh’s Calijah Kancey, or does it take the best available pass rusher, perhaps Texas Tech’s Tyree Wilson or Iowa’s Lukas Van Ness? Or does Poles shift his attention to the offensive line where both Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski and Ohio State’s Paris Johnson will likely still be there?

The defensive line, edge rusher and offensive line are arguably the Bears’ three biggest positions of need, so realistically, they can’t go wrong by taking the best player available at any of the three positions.

2. Where can they find pass-rush help?

Say Chicago lands either Carter or an offensive lineman in the first round, will there be any more premium edge rushers available at pick No. 53 in the second round? The answer is yes, but would LSU’s B.J Ojulari, Iowa State’s Will McDonald, Georgia Tech’s Keion White or Notre Dame’s Isaiah Foskey present more immediate help than anyone left on the free agent market?

Yannick Ngakoue, Bud Dupree, Leonard Floyd, Frank Clark, Robert Quinn and Calais Campbell are all unemployed. Maybe the Bears, who still have nearly $40 million in cap space, opt to bolster their pass rush through free agency and use premium draft picks at other positions?

3. What should they do at offensive tackle?

Now that Poles has clearly invested in Fields as Chicago’s quarterback—as was evidenced by trading for receiver D.J. Moore and the free-agent signings of running backs D’Onta Foreman and Travis Homer, tight end Robert Tonyan and guard Nate Davis—it’s time to better protect him. Davis was a good start, but the tackle spots are more of a liability for the Bears than the interior offensive line at this point.

Riley Reiff is in New England, leaving Chicago with Braxton Jones and Larry Borom as the incumbent starting tackles. The duo combined for 54 pressures, 36 hurries, six hurries and 12 sacks allowed last season as Fields was sacked an NFL-leading 55 times.

There are legit questions about whether Skoronski is a tackle or guard at the next level, but should Chicago want a player with fewer question marks, Johnson, Georgia’s Broderick Jones or Oklahoma’s Anton Harrison could be other possible options in Round 1. If the Bears wait until the second round to address tackle with one of their two picks, Ohio State’s Dawand Jones, Tennessee’s Darnell Wright, North Dakota State’s Cody Mauch or Maryland’s Jaelyn Duncan could be in play.