Introduction
The Chicago Bears had an interesting season last year. While their offense was pedestrian as many were quick to point out, their defense was what kept them in a lot of games. They finished 1st in opponent rushing yards/game and 4th in opponent yards/rush attempt. The offense was completely overhauled in the off-season, and the Bears are now looking to make a playoff push in the 1st year of the Caleb Williams era, so let's take a look and see if this team is good enough to accomplish that goal.
Coaching Staff
Head Coach: Matt Eberflus has been the Head Coach of the Chicago Bears for two full seasons and heading into his 3rd season with more momentum than he had going into the first two. Coming off of a 7-10 season but getting the first pick (courtesy of the Carolina Panthers), Eberflus and GM Ryan Poles have created a new team with a new direction, however, that also comes with expectations, and Eberflus will not last if this team does not show signs of upward mobility in the upcoming season.
Offensive Coordinator: Shane Waldron is entering his first season in this role with the Chicago Bears after serving as the OC in Seattle since 2021. Waldron's offense is not a balanced one, he leans heavily on the passing game, as Seattle was 31st in rush attempts/game last year. The Seahawks were above average in points per play and Waldron proved that his system was more than just his players when the backup QB, Drew Lock, led the team on a 2nd half comeback against the defending NFC champion Eagles at the time to win the game in the final moments. Bringing him in to pair with a dynamic young QB could be dangerous, especially with the weapons he has at skill positions, I like the fit here, but Waldron will need to keep it simple while Caleb Williams learns how to play at NFL speed.
Defensive Coordinator: Eric Washington is in his first year in the role of DC for the Bears, he was in Buffalo as a senior defensive assistant and Defensive Line coach before taking this job and will be given a strong roster to command in his inaugural season. While Buffalo has had a good defense in past years, I am not sure how much of that I can/should attribute to him, but I do know that he has experience. He was the DC for the Panthers in 2018-2019 and that defense got to the QB early and often, with the help of Eberflus on the defensive end, I am looking forward to seeing what Washington does with his defensive scheme and this roster.
Offseason Additions/Losses
Key Additions
WR Keenan Allen
S Kevin Byard
C Ryan Bates
RB D'Andre Swift
QB Caleb Williams
WR Rome Odunze
Key Losses
LG Cody Whitehair
DT Justin Jones
QB Justin Fields
WR Darnell Mooney
RB D'Onta Foreman
C Lucas Patrick
The Bears got better this off-season, no two ways about it. I'll go over it in more detail in the depth chart section of this article, but the losses on the roster are marginal for the most part and the additions they made are both great fits for their team and very talented players.
Depth Chart Strengths
Wide Receiver: This is no-brainer when you take a glance at this roster. Rome Odunze falling to the 9th pick was a blessing for Ryan Poles and his staff and they knew it too. Odunze fits perfectly as the 2nd outside receiver across from DJ Moore, while Keenan Allen can slide right into his role in the slot, which is where he does the most damage. When it comes to rookie Quarterbacks, too many of them have failures that get blamed on their lack of receiving options around them, that will not be the case here, this is about as good of a rotation of receivers that I've ever seen for a 1st overall pick, and I am excited to see how this offense opens up when they all get going.
Starting Secondary: The top two corners on this team are guys I am a fan of in Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson, and Jaquan Brisker has really started coming into his own at the Strong Safety position. Kevin Byard was an interesting addition, and whether or not he can still hold his own in a starting role is up in the air, I feel they have done a good job with their depth chart to make sure that if he is not up to standard, they can swap someone else in like Jonathan Owens or Elijah Hicks, neither of whom I am a huge fan of, but as far as backups go they aren't bad. Lastly, Kyler Gordon has been underrated in the slot ever since he entered the league in 2022 and I have a gut feeling this is a breakout year for him.
Tight Ends: Listen, I know talking about TE's is not sexy when it comes to team breakdowns, but that doesn't make them unimportant. Last year the Bears were 8th in 12 personnel frequency, the Seahawks were 10th, so whether it's the offense from last year or if it's Shane Waldron's system from Seattle, there are going to be a decent amount of 2TE formations in this offense. CHI lost Robert Tonyan to their division rivals the Vikings, but replaced him with Gerald Everett from the Chargers. Everett joins Cole Kmet and Marcedes Lewis for a group that has balance in every sense of the word. Lewis is mainly a blocker at this point in his career, Everett is reaching the twilight of his career and is doing a bit of blocking and a bit of route running, and Cole Kmet is a premier pass catcher on the team, at least he was last year. This is a complete position group room and I think it will benefit the Bears as well as Caleb Williams.
Depth Chart Weaknesses
Tackles: I am not saying that Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright are bad players, I was actually a fan of both of them as prospects, but I just don't think the Bears have done enough in terms of top-level talent or depth to ensure that their star rookie #1 pick stays healthy. Yes, I am aware that Caleb Williams was able to put up numbers with a bad offensive line at USC, but first of all, that is a different game than the pro level, and secondly, it is just bad practice to draft a guy and then leave him to die behind a bad offensive line, and it can cause trauma for the QB who can become scared of the pass rush, just ask the New York Giants. Jones and Wright are backed up Kiran Amegadjie and Larry Borom, an undrafted free agent and a guy who was mediocre at best last year. It just doesn't feel right that the people who made the moves to solidify the skill positions are the same people willing to risk the health of their QB of the future, especially after having that very same issue with Justin Fields and his offensive line protection in his tenure as a Bear.
Cornerback depth: Alright, I talked up the top half of the secondary in the strengths portion, but in terms of the depth chart after the top 3 guys, I really am not a fan of any of them. Terell Smith, Josh Blackwell, Leon Jones, Jaylon Jones, Reddy Steward, and Greg Stroman Jr. I genuinely do not think any of them besides maybe Smith and Blackwell belong on an NFL roster and expect several of them to be cut before the regular season starts, but the question then becomes, if someone in the starting unit gets hurt, who will be trusted enough to take over that role? Depth is important on rosters of teams that are trying to make the playoffs, and I think the Bears will have to make another move or two to shore up the back end of their secondary if they want security back there.
Schedule
2023 playoff opponents: 7 (4 of the games are divisional)
*= Neutral Site
Week 1 vs Titans: WIN
Week 2 @ Texans: LOSS
Week 3 @ Colts: LOSS
Week 4 vs Rams: WIN
Week 5 vs Panthers: WIN
Week 6 vs Jaguars: LOSS*
Week 7 BYE WEEK
Week 8 @ Commanders: WIN
Week 9 @ Cardinals: WIN
Week 10 vs Patriots: WIN
Week 11 vs Packers: LOSS
Week 12 vs Vikings: WIN
Week 13 @ Lions: LOSS
Week 14 @ 49ers: LOSS
Week 15 @ Vikings: WIN
Week 16 vs Lions: LOSS Week 17 vs Seahawks: WIN Week 18 @ Packers: LOSS
Schedule Prediction: 9-8
Summary
The Bears have really taken strides in the right direction, and I feel a 2 game turnaround from their record last year is fairly significant seeing as they have overhauled their offensive roster and have two rookies starting in very prominent roles that may take some getting used to. I think they will struggle with some divisional games, the Packers and Lions will not be easy, and I think their defensive styles may cause problems for Caleb Williams the first couple times that he faces them. I think there are still a couple defensive holes that can be poked at with this team that may hold them back, particularly if someone in the CB room gets injured I worry about how they will fare against teams that run a lot of 3WR sets, but overall, this team is an improvement from last year and I think they will be playing meaningful football in weeks 17 and 18, which is more than most Bears fans have dreamed off in the last few years. I'll be rooting for Odunze and tracking that CB room closely, and if any CB names get thrown on the trading block before the season starts, don't be surprised if the Bears are the popular team in the rumor mill.
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