How will they upgrade the offense? Who will headline their 2023 draft class? 10 questions for the Chicago Bears at the NFL combine.
The 2023 Chicago Bears were made for the offseason, a bubbling cauldron of intrigue, possibility and hypotheticals.
With a surplus of cash to spend in free agency, the No. 1 pick in the draft and a last-place roster in need of a major overhaul, Bears general manager Ryan Poles quickly might become the busiest man in the NFL over the next 10 weeks.
Poles’ itinerary figures to be especially hectic this week as he navigates the scouting combine in Indianapolis, furthering his evaluation of this draft class, connecting with agents to better understand the free-agent market and keeping his eyes and ears open for potential surprise developments and opportunities.
Poles and Bears coach Matt Eberflus are scheduled to speak with reporters Tuesday for the annual combine Q&A tango that often produces more questions than answers. But the week in Indianapolis should be helpful to everyone in better understanding the Bears’ offseason intentions and surveying the lay of the land they’ll be operating in during this roster reshaping cycle.
As the combine gets underway, here are 10 issues we’re keeping on the radar.
1. Who will pick No. 1?
Yes, the Bears own the No. 1 pick, but at Poles’ season-ending news conference in January, he made it clear he would explore all options with that selection, including trading back for more draft capital.
“We have really good flexibility to help this team, regardless if it’s making the pick there or moving back a little bit or moving back a lot,” Poles said. “We’ll be open to everything.”
Poles should have plenty of interest for the pick considering the number of teams looking for quarterbacks this offseason, and that includes the teams drafting at Nos. 2, 4, 7 and 9 — the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Las Vegas Raiders and Carolina Panthers. Finding a trade partner among those teams might allow Poles to add to his draft pool while still selecting from the short list of the best defensive players in the draft.
Colts owner Jim Irsay already fueled speculation about a potential trade earlier this month by tweeting a photo of a child on a bear at the Lincoln Park Zoo with the line, “My relationship with the Chicago Bears goes back more than 60 years.”
Or maybe what Poles sees at the combine and in the months ahead during pro days and prospect interviews will convince him there’s a prospect worthy of staying at No. 1.
2. What’s the combine chatter about Bears quarterback Justin Fields?
Poles said in January he planned for Fields to be the Bears starter moving forward and added he would have to be “absolutely blown away” to take a quarterback at No. 1.
But that hasn’t stopped the national talking heads from suggesting the Bears should consider drafting a quarterback and trading Fields. That includes ESPN analyst Todd McShay, who said recently he believes Alabama quarterback Bryce Young is a “smaller version of Patrick Mahomes,” an upgrade over Fields and has the added benefit of a fresh rookie contract. However, McShay added that he doesn’t think the Bears will make that move.
In a February mock draft, McShay projected the Colts to move up to No. 1 to take Young, whose size is sure to be a big topic of discussion during combine week. McShay had the Texans taking Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud at No. 2 and the Raiders taking Kentucky’s Will Levis at No. 7. NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah in his mock draft also had the quarterbacks going in that order, to the Texans, Colts and Raiders at their original spots.
It will be worth listening to Poles to hear what else he has to say about Fields and the quarterback prospect market.
3. Who are the top candidates to become the headliner of the Bears’ 2023 draft class?
As mentioned above, much of that hinges on whether they trade that No. 1 pick and, if so, how far they are willing to move down. If Poles chooses to stay put and make the first selection, there is a sense he would be best served adding to the defensive front with a two-player choice between Alabama’s Will Anderson and Georgia’s Jalen Carter. (That’s assuming, of course, that the Bears stay the course at quarterback with Fields.)
Anderson had 10 sacks and 12 quarterback hits in 13 games for the Crimson Tide last season and is an explosive athlete with great length and impressive lower-body strength that makes him disruptive against the pass and run.
From a talent standpoint, Carter might be even more intriguing, a 6-foot-3, 300-pound wrecking ball who would become an instant starter with All-Pro potential on the interior of the defensive line.
Within some league circles, questions exist about Carter’s maturity and work ethic. Some evaluators worry he might have some high-maintenance tendencies that will need to be addressed.
But no one questions Carter’s potential and how menacing he can be at his best. That’s why many list him as the best prospect in the draft and describe him as “unblockable whenever he wants to be unblockable.”
Jeremiah has had his jaw drop studying Carter: “He is just a freak show when you are watching him. It just looks like he works at a different speed than everybody else on the field. The change of direction? It’s like he can kind of teleport from one gap to the next and you are like, ‘I don’t know how he got there.’ ”
Other names to keep an eye on are Texas Tech edge rusher Tyree Wilson, Northwestern offensive lineman Peter Skoronski, Clemson defensive tackle Bryan Bresee and Ohio State offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr.
4. As the Bears solidify their board for free agency, how will some of their in-house players affect their overall plans?
The negotiating window for teams to begin discussing contract terms with unrestricted free agents will open March 13, with signings able to be finalized March 15. But the Bears could choose to re-sign several in-house free agents before then.
The most notable players potentially on that list are running back David Montgomery, offensive tackle Riley Reiff, linebacker Nick Morrow and safety DeAndre Houston-Carson.
Poles has been effusive with his praise of Montgomery and in January openly expressed a desire to keep the veteran running back in the fold as a valued team leader and “a guy who does everything right.”
“I’ve always wanted to keep David,” Poles said. “I love his mentality and how he plays the game. He’s part of the identity we had this (past) year that kept us competitive. Now, the second part is just the contract situation. We’ll see how that goes and if we can find common ground.”
To sign Montgomery before he hits the open market next month, the Bears will push to finalize a team-friendly deal. Montgomery, though, is probably better served gauging his true value in free agency, then deciding how any Bears offer stacks up and how badly he wants to stay with the organization that drafted him. (The supply-and-demand curve at running pack favors the Bears right now.)
As far as possible extension candidates for players under contract for 2023, three Bears from the 2020 draft are eligible to negotiate new long-term deals. Tight end Cole Kmet and receiver Darnell Mooney may be first in line to secure extensions. Cornerback Jaylon Johnson also figures into that puzzle.
Poles likely will want to navigate free agency and the draft before intensifying discussions with the representatives for Kmet, Mooney and Johnson. But some chatter should start to circulate this week on all those fronts.
5. How will the Bears upgrade their offense?
The Bears selecting a game-changing defensive lineman with their top draft pick this year makes a ton of sense for a team that totaled just 20 sacks. But it doesn’t chip away at the tiny problem of the Bears passing offense being the worst in the NFL in 2022.
Perhaps if the Bears traded far enough back in the first round, they might do that by selecting Skoronski, a former Maine South and Northwestern offensive lineman who is a projected top-10 pick.
But if their first-round pick doesn’t go to offense, the good news is the Bears have plenty of other resources to upgrade there, including a full slate of draft picks and a ton of money to spend in free agency.
On the offensive line, Poles had good things to say about the potential of left tackle Braxton Jones after his rookie season, but adding another tackle seems like a priority. And 49ers right tackle Mike McGlinchey is among the free agents who could be worth watching. Who else will be connected to the team?
The Bears have wide receivers Mooney, Chase Claypool, Equanimeous St. Brown and Velus Jones Jr. set to return, but they certainly would benefit from adding bigger names than their low-cost additions last offseason. The free-agent market isn’t exactly brimming, but maybe the Bears will bring in someone such as New England Patriots free agent Jakobi Meyers or take another swing at a wide receiver prospect outside of the first round. Boston College’s Zay Flowers was a recent ESPN suggestion should the Bears gain a higher second-round pick via a trade.
6. What are Matt Eberflus’ offseason priorities?
It’s natural at teams’ season-ending news conferences for most of the questions to be directed at the general manager. That was especially true in January when Poles addressed his plans for the No. 1 draft pick and lots of salary-cap space.
But it will be worth checking in with Eberflus this week to hear his evaluations two months removed from a 3-14 season. The Bears announced very few staff changes this offseason, the most notable being cornerbacks coach and defensive passing game coordinator Jon Hoke replacing James Rowe, who will coach at South Florida.
So where does Eberflus think he and the coordinators and coaches can make improvements in the months before the draft? What will Eberflus’ role be in helping the Bears determine where to make upgrades on the defense this offseason? And how has his working relationship developed with Poles with some huge decisions ahead?
7. Does the combine still have significant value to draft-eligible prospects?
At the Super Bowl earlier this month, NFLPA President DeMaurice Smith continued trumpeting the union’s plea to abolish the combine, advocating to replace the event with a series of regional pro days instead.
The evolution of the combine has been fascinating over 25 years, particularly in the amount of hype and anticipation it continues to generate. Still, the made-for-TV workout sessions have become increasingly less valuable in the evaluation process, a point Smith emphasized.
“We’re now in an era where we know exactly how fast these guys can run, how much they can lift, how far they can jump and do all of those things,” Smith said. “Why do we insist on them showing up in Indianapolis? It’s not for anything physical, right? It’s for the teams to be able to engage in intrusive employment actions that don’t exist anywhere else.”
The union has objected to, among other things, some of the direction in which prospect interviews veer as well as the extensive medical testing players are subjected to.
For NFL teams, one of the most significant behind-the-scenes components of the combine are the comprehensive medical evaluations and testing done on players who attend. In advocating for prospects’ rights, Smith blasted that process.
“Would you want your son to spend hours inside of an MRI (machine) and then be evaluated by 32 separate team doctors who are, by the way, only doing it for one reason?” Smith said. “What’s the reason? To decrease your draft value.”
Last month, two Bears rookies expressed differing viewpoints on their combine experiences from 2022.
Jaquan Brisker, who was the fifth safety drafted last spring at No. 48, didn’t enjoy any of it, calling the medical evaluation process “terrible” and objecting to the scheduling strains and difficulty getting proper rest or nutrition.
Brisker tweaked his back the day before his athletic testing at the combine, aggravated that issue while bench pressing and running the 40-yard dash and wound up withdrawing from positional drills.
“If I had to do it all over again, I probably wouldn’t go,” Brisker said. “They need to treat the players with more respect and look at them as people and not just football players.”
Offensive tackle Braxton Jones went into the combine process open-minded. Jones played at Southern Utah in the Big Sky Conference and wasn’t picked until late in Round 5 by the Bears. He viewed the combine as another chance to impress NFL evaluators regardless of the annoyances and inconveniences.
“For me, the whole thing was a tremendous opportunity,” Jones said. “The medical process was definitely strenuous. But I also get it. Teams are taking a chance on you. There are thousands of other players and they want to make sure they have as much information on you as possible.”
8. Which local prospects will shine at the combine?
Illinois, Northwestern and Notre Dame each had four prospects invited to the combine.
From Illinois, that’s running back Chase Brown and defensive backs Sydney Brown, Jartavius Martin and Devon Witherspoon. Skoronski will be joined by Wildcats defensive lineman Adetomiwa Adebawore, running back Evan Hull and defensive back Cameron Mitchell. And Notre Dame’s crew will be defensive lineman Isaiah Foskey, defensive back Brandon Joseph, tight end Michael Mayer and offensive lineman Jarrett Patterson.
Some of the other locals who will attend the combine are wide receivers Charlie Jones (Deerfield, Purdue) and Jayden Reed (Naperville Central, Metea Valley, Michigan State), quarterback Aidan O’Connell (Stevenson, Purdue), center John Michael Schmitz (Homewood-Flossmoor, Minnesota) and defensive end Lukas Van Ness (Barrington, Iowa).
Van Ness is a potential first-round pick.
9. What’s the latest with Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers?
The four-time MVP quarterback emerged from his four-day soul-searching darkness retreat last week and faces a pivotal decision for 2023. Will Rodgers continue playing? If so, will the Packers remain committed to keeping him, with the quarterback on the books for a $59.3 million cap hit next season? Or might there somehow be an opening to trade Rodgers to a team such as the New York Jets or Las Vegas Raiders?
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst and coach Matt LaFleur are scheduled to speak with reporters this week at the Indianapolis Convention Center. What they say publicly will be important. And there will be significant reading between the lines to do as well.
At some point soon, Rodgers also figures to pop back up on “The Pat McAfee Show” with a recap of his darkness retreat and likely some introspective feedback on what’s next in his playing career.
10. If Rodgers leaves Green Bay, how wide open would the NFC North become?
Don’t look now, but the Detroit Lions are the favorites to win the division in 2023, listed by PointsBet at +1000 to win the NFC. The Lions are followed by the Packers (+1500), Minnesota Vikings (+2000) and Bears (+3500).
The Lions finished last season on an 8-2 heater and narrowly missed qualifying for a wild card. Now there’s every expectation in Detroit that Dan Campbell will keep the team’s momentum rolling. But the first order of business will be strengthening a defense that gave up more yards than any team in the league while finishing 30th in points allowed.
The Lions also have to weigh the value of sticking with Jared Goff at quarterback long term versus potentially spending a first-round pick on one of the top quarterback prospects in this class.
Lions GM Brad Holmes is well-positioned to make noise in the draft. He has four picks in the top 60, including first-round selections at Nos. 6 and 18.
As for the reigning division champs, the 13-4 Vikings were widely stamped as “pretenders” during their surprise run to the NFC North crown, winning seven games by five points or fewer. A 31-24 home playoff loss to the New York Giants did little to quiet the critics.
The Vikings will head into 2023 with quarterback Kirk Cousins entering the final year of his contract. That leaves GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah to map out the future at the most important position. The Vikings also are adapting after coach Kevin O’Connell fired defensive coordinator Ed Donatell and replaced him with Brian Flores.
The Vikings figure to remain competitive in 2023 but are hardly considered a lock to repeat as division champs.
