The NFL draft is over and the Chicago Bears have also concluded their work in undrafted free agency. Now head coach Matt Eberflus is tasked with sorting through the flurry of young additions to see which can help make this team a success. However, that doesn’t mean the work of GM Ryan Poles is done yet. The Bears are far from a complete roster. More moves can be made to improve. It’s a matter of finding the right players at the right price. One can expect them to be active on the waiver wire in the coming months. That said, the veteran market is now back in play.
Free agency slowed to a crawl at the start of April as teams shifted their focus to the draft. Several notable names remain available. Chicago still has more cap space than any team in the league. It feels like a foregone conclusion that Poles will look to add a few more names to the mix. What remains unclear is who it will be. Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus studied the post-draft landscape. He pinpointed two names that fit what the Bears are missing.
Both shouldn’t be difficult to acquire if the Bears move quickly enough.
EDGE YANNICK NGAKOUE
2023 team prediction: Chicago Bears
Original FA ranking: 62
Ngakoue’s 2022 production makes us wary once you look at his underlying metrics, with his 9.5 sacks this past season well above the expectation of a player with his pass-rush win rate and pressure rate. That being said, he’s registered at least eight sacks in every season of his seven-year career and was a more menacing pass rusher on a per-snap basis from 2017 to 2021.
OT GEORGE FANT
2023 team prediction: Chicago Bears
Original FA ranking: 104
Chicago drafted Tennessee tackle Darnell Wright No. 10 overall to solidify both bookends of their offensive line, but it could be a good idea to add a cheaper veteran swing tackle with familiarity in a wide-zone rushing attack…
…Injuries derailed his 2022 campaign, but the seventh-year tackle earned a career-high 75.1 pass-blocking grade in 2021, playing almost exclusively at left tackle. His 3.2% pressure rate allowed was the sixth lowest among tackles on the season.
The Chicago Bears would undoubtedly benefit from both additions.
Ngakoue is the definition of a designated pass rusher. He won’t help you stop the run, but the man is consistent when it comes to getting the quarterback on the ground. He has 65 sacks in his career and is still only 28 years old. He also has connections to the coaching staff. Travis Smith worked with him in 2021 as the Las Vegas Raiders’ assistant defensive line coach. Ngakoue had one of his best seasons that year, with 10 sacks and 23 quarterback hits. If the Bears can get that player on this defensive front, they’d be in great shape.
As for Fant, he has 60 games of starting experience. He was terrific in 2021 for the New York Jets, allowing only 18 pressures and one sack in 594 pass-blocking snaps. Injuries hampered him last year. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better swing tackle this late into free agency. Better still, he has experience in the Chicago Bears’ offensive scheme. He played in it for two years under Jets offensive coordinator Mike Lafleur, an understudy of Kyle Shanahan and brother of Green Bay Packers head coach Matt Lafleur. People will remember Luke Getsy worked with Matt up north.
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Both players would be quality additions at the right price.
