Chicago Bears
Projected Cap Space: $53.9 million
Draft Picks: 8
- 1st (No. 10)
- 2nd (No. 39, CAR)
- 2nd (No. 41)
- 3rd (No. 72)
- 5th (No. 149)
- 6th (No. 196, PIT)
- 7th (No. 235, CIN)
- 7th (No. 242, MIN)
Notable Free Agents:
- WR Keenan Allen
- G Teven Jenkins
- DE Darrell Taylor
- C Coleman Shelton
- G Matt Pryor
- DT Chris Williams (RFA)
- DT Byron Cowart
- TE Marcedes Lewis
- LS Scott Daly
Top Three Needs
1 – Offensive Line
There are split opinions about how well the Bears’ offensive line played in 2024. Ben Baldwin, a writer for the Athletic who covers the NFL from an analytics perspective, tracked multiple sources all year, including PFF grade and ESPN’s win rates, and there was a significant discrepancy in how those sources saw the Bears. While first-round QB Caleb Williams was sacked an astonishing 68 times, most in the NFL last year, he would tell you he was responsible for a fair amount of those. PFF agreed, crediting him as responsible for 17 sacks, most of any quarterback. His overall pressure-to-sack percentage of 27.8 was the third-highest of any quarterback.
Still, there’s room for improvement up front in Chicago, especially with new HC Ben Johnson arriving from Detroit where major resources were sunk into building a dominant unit. All three interior starters — Jenkins, Shelton and Pryor — are pending free agents, giving the Bears an opportunity to upgrade. The good news is teams are much more willing to let quality interior offensive linemen reach free agency, so there should be options.
The Bears could also look into upgrading over LT Braxton Jones but Jones has actually been fairly solid in his three years, far and away exceeding reasonable expectations for a fifth-round pick. Although he’s entering a contract year in 2025, the Bears made a move for the future last year with the third-round selection of OT Kiran Amegadjie, who will have a chance to develop into a potential successor.
2 – Running Back
While Johnson’s offense will look different than it did in Detroit because of the different players available to him, one thing that probably won’t change is his commitment to an effective running game. The Bears averaged 4.0 YPC as a team in 2024, which was 27th in the league, so expect fixing that to be a point of emphasis for Johnson in 2025. Addressing the offensive line is an important part of that equation but not the only one. The Bears could overhaul the running back position too.
Johnson actually coached starting Bears RB D’Andre Swift in Detroit for two seasons, so there’s familiarity there. However, the Lions traded Swift going into the last year of his rookie deal because they wanted to get better in the backfield and ended up using a first-round pick on RB Jahmyr Gibbs. Swift has over $6 million of his $8 million total compensation in 2025 guaranteed already, so I don’t think history would repeat itself with another trade, at least not right away. I doubt Johnson wants Swift to be the feature back like he was in 2024, and backup RB Roschon Johnson is just a short-yardage specialist at this point with 55 carries, 150 yards and six touchdowns last year.
The other factor here is after 2024 was the Year of the Running Back with huge seasons from offseason acquisitions like Eagles RB Saquon Barkley and Ravens RB Derrick Henry, other teams will be looking to copy that success. While the 2025 free agent class of running backs isn’t nearly as strong as last year’s group, there will be notable players available. The upcoming draft class is also looking particularly strong at running back, setting up perfectly for a team like the Bears.
3 – Defensive Line
New Bears DC Dennis Allen has some players to work with up front, including DE Montez Sweat and DT Gervon Dexter. Veteran DE DeMarcus Walker and DT Andrew Billings are also good role players and quality scheme fits for Allen. However, the Bears could use more juice on the defensive line, either at the other edge rushing spot across from Sweat or inside with Dexter and Billings.
One Big Question
Can Ben Johnson get Caleb Williams back on track?
The Bears currently are tied for the third-longest active playoff victory drought. The last time they won a postseason game was in 2010, 14 seasons ago. Since then, there have been plenty of times the Bears looked poised to break the streak, only to underperform and disappoint. Chicago has seen both so-called offensive masterminds and top draft picks billed as franchise quarterbacks not pan out multiple times in the last decade-plus.
If the drought is to end, the Bears need Johnson and Williams to actually be long-term answers and not just the latest in a long string of teases. Each arrived in Chicago with promising resumes. Johnson was pulling the strings for an offense that’s finished in the top five for three straight years. Williams was seen as a No. 1 pick by the end of his freshman year in college, and while he might not have been on the same level of “generational” prospect as Trevor Lawrence, he wasn’t far off.
But each has something to prove this year. Johnson has to show that he’s more than just a smart offensive coordinator, he has to establish a brand-new culture of winning and prove he can lead as well as he calls plays. Williams has to reign in the wild aspects of his game and learn how to focus the talent that made him the No. 1 pick into deconstructing NFL defenses.
If they’re successful, the Bears absolutely can be right in the mix for what might be the toughest division in football. If not, well, Chicago has seen that story before.
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