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Adding an asterisks to all the players that are under contract in 2024: Key Notes: TE has zero players signed beyond 2023. I assume Kmet gets done soon. WR2 and WR3 are both open for business in 2024 unless one or both of Mooney/Claypool sign The entire projected starting OLine is signed thru at least 2024. If you project Dexter and Pickens into the starting lineup, the only starting spots not signed in 2024 are CB (Johnson) and Edge on defense. So in total, only 5 starting spots not signed for 2024 (TE, WR2, WR3, Edge, CB) The Bears have 2 2024 1st rounders, so if they lock up Kmet and one of the WRs, it looks like Edge, WR, and CB will be priorities next offseason The Bears still have the next wave of free agency to upgrade and fill holes with vets.

Cut and Paste fail, pasted right over him, he definitely bumps Jones down. Still feels like we need an upgrade, I don't know if Poles is sold on Vildor either.

Here is what I got after the draft w/o UDFAs. I still feel like the Bears could use an upgrade at TE (Allen), OL (Leatherwood/Eiselen), LB (Weatherford), and DB (Vildor or at Safety). All the colored cells are the available slots, blue being filled, and red being filled but in need of upgrade. It looks like Poles raised the floor considerably across the board. The DL may have 6 new players from last year (out of 9), while the LB corps will have 4 new out of 6. That is 10 new players in the front 7. The worst players on offense are Allen and Leatherwood. On defense, it's Vildor or Hicks. Travis Ebner is the odd man out in the RB room. With Blasingame, there is only room for 4 backs. The RB room will have 3/5 new faces. So DL, LB, and RB are the position groups with the biggest turn over. If the Bears want to add a veteran Edge, who do you drop from the DL group? Bell to the PS?

Rodgers couldn't win in GB, in the NFC, which has been weaker for several years. Now he has to face BUF, MIA, and NE for 6 games, and will have to get thru BUF, CIN, KC, LAC, BAL, MIA, JAX, and PIT in the AFC playoffs. Good luck. GB is going to be interesting. There is a lot of pressure on Love. GB actually drafted some skill position players early, but drafted 2 TEs in the first 3 rounds? Bold strategy Cotton! Comparing the Bears and Packer skill position players, outside of the RB room, which may be closer depending on how Johnson looks, the Bears seem to have the edge in every position group. Skill Position Players: Fields | Herbert, Johnson (R), Foreman | Moore, Mooney, Claypool, Scott (R), Jones | Kmet, Tonyan Love | Jones, Dillon | Watson, Reed (R), Doubs, Wicks (R) | Musgrave (R), Kraft (R)

Yeah I forgot about Kramer. Seems like Edge and TE are left.

Sewell adds to a pretty stacked LB room. Edmunds, Edwards, Sanborn and Sewell is really solid top 4. Also going to be a top ST contributor. I know I saw him in a few early mocks.

Got Roschon in the 4th. Great value and a different runner compared to Bijan.

C, TE, and Edge left

Tyler Scott, WR, Cincinnati

Now 3 picks in the next 33 picks to end the 4th/start the 5th. They can scoop up a C, TE, WR or Edge in that range.

Roschon Johnson, RB, I love it. He runs violent. Great change of pace from Herbert and Foreman.

Edge is obviously the biggest need now but outside of that and Center, Poles filled the roster in pretty well. Maybe WR or TE?

PFN's drafts are so crazy. I got Will Anderson at 9. Super unrealistic. So are the trade offers.

The more I think about the trade down worries me a little bit. On one hand people say that we need to build with top talent, and when you are this high you have to take one. Then on the other hand, it's like, it's ok, trade down from 9 into the late first round so we can get a high second rounder (who won't be elite talent). I get that if you on your highly rated guys falls and you can get him later, great, but that is the only scenario I see that makes sense. I feel like once you get to the mid-3rd round, almost every guy is replaceable by a guy on a vet minimum deal unless you get lucky.

Based on everything I have read so far. I feel like the following is going to happen: Only 3 QBs will go in the top 8, which might give the Bears potential to trade down. Either Levis or Richardson could be available at #9. For defenders, Anderson and Wilson both will be gone before 9. I think Carter goes in the top 8. Seattle or Detroit. That leaves 2 other players selected before the Bears pick, if 4 QBs do go, then it is only 1 other player before the Bears pick. The top players remaining are: Witherspoon, Gonzalez, Johnson Jr, Skoronski, Jones, Robinson, JSN, and Van Ness. With those players listed, the Bears could drop all the way to #13 or #14 (depending on QB's selected) and still get one of them. Prediction: trade down, if no partners, draft Johnson Jr, if he is gone, they go Van Ness.

With sub packages basically becoming primary packages, you need players that can move around in a pinch, sometimes without substitutions. So guys like Green and Walker are sneaky good signings as they can play 5T and DE, and maybe even some 3T if needed.

In the last 10 years, there have been only 6 WRs to eclipse 1600 receiving yards in a season from a Power-5 conference: Jaxon Smith-Njigba - 1606 yds J'Mare Chase - 1780 yds DeVonta Smith - 1856 yds Amari Cooper - 1727 yds Brandon Cooks - 1730 yds Davante Adams - 1719 yds That is a pretty solid group of NFL WRs with a combined 19 seasons with 1K receiving yards and several 900 yds seasons.

Cole and Green fill some holes, bumping guys down the roster. Biggest needs now look like OT, CB, and DL (DE or DT depending on where Green slots in).

Add Rasheem Green to the mix on the DLine. Andrew Billings, Rasheem Green, and DeMarcus Walker are upgrades over Muhammad, Blackson, Pennel.

Decent production for 568 defensive snaps: 3.5 sacks, 20 QB Pressures, and 5 TFL. He played the Bears in 2022, had 0.5 sacks, 7 total tackles, and 2 QB Hits against Fields. This seems like a upgraded rotational piece over the likes of Muhammad/Blackson.

I don't know why, but I am worried about Poles. His top 3 picks were Gordon, Brisker, and Velus last year. Gordon was his first pick. Pretty much any mock draft or big board did better with those 3 picks. His only saving grace was getting Braxton Jones in the 5th. Now, because of the Claypool trade, he has 44 picks after the 9th pick before he picks again, so a ton of elite talent is going to be gone before his 2nd pick (unless he trades down). If Paris is there at 9, I assume he is selected. If Paris and JSN are gone, I could see him moving down (if there is a team looking to move up).

for positional value, it is more than likely a 2nd rounder, probably within the top 50.

Carter would be a huge risk. That just doesn't seem like the type of character guys they are bringing in.

One of the amusing things to do sometimes is to see what some other teams have added this offseason so far. The Packers have added a Long Snapper and backup Safety/Special Teamer. That's it. However, they lost Lowry and Reed from the DL, and Lazard and Tonyan on offense, while Amos, Cobb, Crosby, and Lewis (TE) are all still UFAs, AND they still have the Rodgers thing hanging over their heads. Rodgers is $31M against the cap now, and a trade would bump it up to $40M in dead money, which would leave them about $8M in cap space for any free agents, resignings, and in-season operating money (to sign players mid-season). They were an 8-win team with Rodgers, so with Love and a lesser team? Maybe 6 wins?

Yeah, I think it will be Wilson (if he is there, but highly doubtful), Johnson Jr, Jones, or Van Ness. Nolan Smith wouldn't shock me either. If all 4 of these guys are still on the board at 9, I would love a trade down to 11 or 12, net an early 3rd rounder and still get one of those 4 would be epic masterclass by Poles. Then you would be looking at 5 picks in the top 75 and 6 within the top 103. The wild cards are going to be the top 2 CBs. If one of them is there at 9. For me, that would be a tough sell after going DB, DB in the first two picks last year. The D-Line is BAD right now, and based off some articles, Walker is more of a 3T than a DE, so Edge is bare right now. Going off last year's opening day roster, the biggest weaknesses on the team are at RT (Borom), DE (Gipson), DE (Robinson), CB (Vildor), and DT(Jones). Individually, which player is the worst of the bunch? I almost have to say Vildor, no? Going off PFF grades, Borom is the best, followed by Vildor. Gipson, Robinson, and Jones were terrible (in the 40s for PFF grades.