It has already been an extremely productive offseason for the Chicago Bears, and boy did they need it. Last year began with so much excitement and promise. Caleb Williams was tabbed to be the team's new franchise quarterback, and Shane Waldron was there to coach him as the new offensive coordinator in place of the reviled Luke Getsy. Seeing the Bears on Hard Knocks only heightened the anticipation for what fans really believed was a new and improved era of Bears football.
As we all witnessed over 18 progressively more dysfunctional weeks, very few of Bears fans' hopes and dreams came to pass. Caleb did a lot of great things in his rookie year, but he didn't immediately elevate the Bears to contender status, and he got sacked 68 times, more than all but two quarterbacks in NFL history.
Waldron was fired midseason, and it didn't take long for head coach Matt Eberflus to follow him out the door. Eberflus' in-game management was laughably abysmal, as the Bears seemed to create new and more torturous ways to lose on a weekly basis. A Thanksgiving loss to the NFC-leading Lions in which the Bears ran out of time in Detroit territory despite having a timeout in their pocket was the final straw.
In almost all ways, it was a season to forget for the Bears, which is why it was so important for this offseason to serve as a palate cleanser. So far so good, as the Bears reeled in the biggest fish in the head coaching pond, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. Time will tell if Johnson's innovative offensive mind translates into wins better than Eberflus and his HITS principle did (I know that's a term that Bears fans hoped they'd never have to hear again, so I apologize), but Bears fans have reason to be optimistic.
Once he locked down the right coach, the next objective for general manager Ryan Poles was to address the team's weaknesses in free agency. The Bears have talent on their roster, but there are two areas where they were seriously lacking last year — the offensive and defensive lines. To that end, Poles has already done great work by trading for former Kansas City Chiefs guard Joe Thuney and Los Angeles Rams guard Jonah Jackson.
Thuney is one of the most highly regarded linemen in the league, having been an integral part of all four of KC's Super Bowl-winning teams. He was a First Team All-Pro each of the last two seasons. Jackson was injured and only played four games for the Rams last season, but he thrived under Johnson in Detroit in the four years before that.
Poles also added former Atlanta Falcons center Drew Dalman in free agency, completing the total remake of the interior line. Dalman was the best center available, and though the Bears are paying him at nearly a market-setting rate, the knowledge that Caleb will be well-protected for the foreseeable future makes these investments worth every penny.
Defensively, Poles added a rock-solid veteran in Grady Jarrett to help hold down the interior of the line, and he also took a chance on the upside of Dayo Odeyingbo to complement Montez Sweat on the edge.
How can the Bears continue their winning offseason? The best way would be to find the perfect use for their first-round pick in April's draft. Nothing can totally erase the sour taste of last year's weekly lesson in disappointment, but knowing that all those losses went to a good cause would certainly help.
At the end of the day, this franchise will go where Caleb Williams takes it. That's why Poles finally set aside his formerly frugal ways when it came to assembling the offensive line and dove headfirst into investing in proven commodities.
He should look at the draft the same way. How can the No. 10 pick help Caleb become the best player he can be? To my way of thinking, the Bears have five philosophical options when it comes to that pick, and I've ranked them in ascending order from least appealing to most appealing. Here we go.
5. Draft a pass-catcher
Of all the possibilities, this is the least appealing option, but it's not because there's a dearth of talented pass-catchers that could be on the board. Arizona's Tetairoa McMillan and Missouri's Luther Burden III have the potential to be real difference-makers, as does Penn State tight end Tyler Warren.
It really just comes down to need. The Bears already have DJ Moore entrenched as their No. 1 receiver, and Rome Odunze is ready to ascend to the No. 2 spot in his second year. Keenan Allen is a free agent and could still be brought back, but if he isn't, there are options galore in free agency. Stefon Diggs and Amari Cooper have been mentioned as possible Bears targets, as has Josh Reynolds for his ties to Ben Johnson. There are other veterans that could easily fit.
The Bears used the ninth overall pick on Odunze last year. Spending another top-10 selection on a receiver when Moore is already locked up through 2029 just doesn't make sense.
As for Warren, the Bears already have Cole Kmet under contract for the next three seasons. Kmet was criminally underused by Waldron and interim offensive coordinator/interim head coach Thomas Brown last year, but Johnson has shown with Sam LaPorta that he knows what to do with a big athletic tight end. Bears fans should be excited to see how he uses Kmet's talents.
4. Trade the pick
I guess technically the Bears have six options, because they could either trade up or trade down. Those are vastly different strategies, but they're both less attractive than our next three options. Let's look at why.
For all of the positive moves the Bears have already made in free agency, they still have areas that need to be addressed. The offensive and defensive lines could still use more depth. A linebacker is needed to replace Jack Sanborn. You can never have too many cornerbacks.
Trading up would almost certainly force the Bears to deal away additional draft compensation, and that's something they shouldn't be willing to do. No matter how the first nine picks of the draft shake out, there will be someone at 10 that the Bears will be happy to have.
Unless the Bears feel that there's an absolute can't-miss prospect that won't be there when they're on the clock, the inherent uncertainty of any draft pick should preclude Poles from dealing away additional picks to move up.
If there are several players available that the Bears would be equally happy with, a trade down makes sense, but unless a team is willing to make a huge overpay, it's probably better to stand pat and take the top player on the board.
3. Add another pass-rusher
Now we're getting into the good stuff. Drafting a defensive player may not directly help Caleb, but a quarterback's best friend is a good defense. Caleb's record would have undoubtedly been much better if the D didn't blow so many games last year (Commanders Hail Mary, I'm looking at you). The better the defense is, the easier Caleb's life will be.
The Bears gave Odeyingbo a three-year, $48 million contract, but even if he blossoms into a star, there's still work to be done when it comes to getting to the opposing quarterback. Luckily, there are several potential blue-chippers that could be had at No. 10.
Marshall edge rusher Mike Green is one of them. He led the nation in sacks and was extremely impressive at Senior Bowl practices. Tennessee's James Pearce Jr. is another — a fast, explosive athlete with room to grow. Staying in the SEC, Georgia's Mykel Williams has risen up draft boards thanks to his impressive measurables and ability as a run defender.
If by some miracle Penn State's Abdul Carter falls due to concerns about the stress fracture in his foot, the Bears will have to take him. He's been compared to Myles Garrett, for good reason. The same goes for Michigan's Mason Graham, whose ability as an interior disruptor would be too tantalizing to overlook.
2. Draft some more beef to further bolster the offensive line
Bears fans are so scarred from watching last year's MASH unit of an offensive line that no amount of big bodies up front will ever be enough. Are Thuney, Dalman and Jackson an enormous upgrade over what the Bears had last year? Yes they are, but the odds say that the chance of each one remaining upright all year is slim.
Two years into his career, Darnell Wright is already a franchise cornerstone at right tackle. The jury is still out on Braxton Jones on Caleb's blind side, though. The former fifth-round pick has proven himself to be an exceptional value considering where he was drafted, but when compared to the rest of the left tackles around the league, he's no better than league average.
There could definitely be a chance to upgrade at No. 10 in the form of LSU's Will Campbell or Missouri's Armand Membou. Even if the Bears don't plan on replacing Jones outright, both of those players could be the first guy off the bench, and their positional versatility (both project to be able to play tackle or guard), could give the Bears options even if one of the guys on the inside gets hurt.
Membou is a freak athlete for an offensive lineman, capable not only of stonewalling opposing pass-rushers but of pulling and leading the run game, as well. Campbell was an immovable object at LSU, and the Bears shouldn't be concerned by his arms measuring shorter than expected at the combine. If the rest of the league is foolish enough to let him slip, Poles should pounce. Other linemen, such as Ohio State's Josh Simmons and Texas' Kelvin Banks Jr. could also be in play.
The way the Bears have attacked their offensive line makeover this offseason is the closest thing you'll see to a public display of affection from a team to its quarterback (except, that is, for the Bills giving Josh Allen a well-deserved $330 million contract). Using the 10th pick on yet another offensive linemen would be an even stronger signal to Caleb of how much the organization values him.
1. Ashton Jeanty
There are some Bears fans whose top choice would be to select an offensive or defensive lineman with the 10th pick. I'd have no issue with that. Reasonable people can disagree, but if the Bears want to help Caleb as much as possible, then I fail to see how they could do better than to select the guy that has been favorably compared to LaDainian Tomlinson.
Ashton Jeanty is the most excited I've been for a running back prospect since Adrian Peterson, and no Bears fans, I don't mean the Georgia Southern product who once called Soldier Field home. Jeanty is like a one-man cheat code, an electric game-changer that is a threat to take it to the house every single time he touches the ball.
Jeanty scored 30 touchdowns last year, and very few of them were of the one-yard plunge variety. He hit multiple home runs every week, often bouncing off multiple defenders and juking others out of their shoes along the way. Whether taking a handoff or catching the ball out of the backfield, he's a nuclear weapon that the defense has to overcompensate for at all times.
D'Andre Swift is the incumbent starting running back, and whether measured by PFF grades or the eye test, it's fair to say that he was at least a mild disappointment in his first Bears season. As mentioned above, the offensive line was banged up and ineffective all year, but Swift still missed plenty of opportunities. He did make a few big plays, but there were even more times that he didn't have the vision to see a huge hole or he couldn't break a tackle in a one-on-one situation.
Swift could still get touches as a change-of-pace back, or even better, he could be traded so that Roschon Johnson could occupy that role. Regardless, Jeanty would be such an upgrade that he would immediately be thought of as the heir to Gale Sayers and Walter Payton.
Drafting a running back this high has been frowned upon in recent years, but we already have irrefutable evidence that Ben Johnson can make it work. The Lions were ridiculed for drafting Jahmyr Gibbs with the 12th pick in the 2023 draft, but who's laughing now? With Johnson calling the plays, Gibbs has become one of the most terrifying offensive weapons in the league.
One of the common threads that tied together many of last season's top teams was an elite running back. The Lions and Gibbs. The Eagles and Saquon Barkley. The Ravens and Derrick Henry. Jeanty could be that for the Bears, and he could help Caleb Williams on his path to becoming an elite quarterback more than any other option. Let's just hope the Raiders don't take him first.