Since the end of the regular season, so much attention has been paid to the NFL Draft. Speculation was rampant about who the Bears would take, whether or not they would trade down and if the team would come out stronger on the other side.
The draft has now come and gone, but the Bears find themselves in unfamiliar territory. They’re being praised for their draft class. Draft analysts are lauding the Bears’ ability to walk away from the draft and address a lot of their needs with quality players. But now, the attention turns away from the draft and towards the upcoming season.
What remaining needs do the Bears need to address before Week 1? They addressed middle linebacker, depth on the defensive line, wide-receiver and other positions in the draft, which plugged a lot of holes on their roster. However, there’s a few positions that need shoring up if this team has any intentions of competing deep into the playoffs next season. ESPN claims to know the Bears biggest remaining hole…
FO looks at the biggest holes remaining for all 32 NFL teams on ESPN Insider. https://t.co/j4zPNSssTe
— Football Outsiders (@fboutsiders) May 4, 2018
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If you pay attention to any publications about the Bears, you will know that edge-rusher is talked about frequently. The expectation was for the Bears brass to address the need early on in the draft, but instead they went middle linebacker, guard and wide-receiver with their top 3 picks. They didn’t end up using a selection on an edge-rusher until the 6th round when they selected Kylie Fitts out of Utah.
Gathering that information, and looking at the rest of the Bears roster, it would be assumed that edge-rusher would be the Bears biggest remaining need, right? Well, ESPN says otherwise.
Bears biggest remaining hole to fill is the secondary
“The Bears also snagged another cornerstone linebacker in Roquan Smith with the No. 8 pick in the draft.
However, there continues to be a lack of playmaking ability in the secondary, and none of Chicago’s seven draft picks was used on a defensive back.
The Bears have a league-low 24 interceptions on defense since 2015. Cornerback Kyle Fuller has a new long-term deal through 2021, but the Bears need more production from the secondary in a division with quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford and Kirk Cousins.”
It’s been well-documented that the Bears defense, especially the secondary, struggled with forcing turnovers in 2016. However, last year the Bears saw an increase in their total turnovers and the defense took a massive step forward to a Top-10 ranking. All of the starters for the Bears defense last year are returning this year as well, which means another year of chemistry and building off the foundation laid out previously.
Kyle Fuller, Prince Amukamara, Bryce Callahan, Cre’von LeBlanc, Eddie Jackson, Adrian Amos and upside players like Jonathon Mincy, Michael Joseph and Kevin Tolliver (provided they make the 53-man roster) is a pretty stout group. There’s always room to add more talent, of course, but it’s a solid secondary compared to some others around the league.
What do you think? Does ESPN have it right in saying that the secondary is the Bears biggest remaining hole? Or does edge-rusher take the cake in that category?
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