The Chicago Bears are in a position where they might have some positions to address, but the ones that need attention have plenty of talent in the NFL Draft to fill them with.
Many mock drafts have the Bears targeting an edge rusher, a defensive tackle, a safety, and potentially an offensive tackle. NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah spoke with reporters at the NFL Combine as he was asked about the Bears' draft strategy, and Jeremiah gave some good advice on what general manager Ryan Poles should do.
"I'd be excited if I was Chicago because most times, your team in the past had some struggles," Jeremiah said via CHGO. "You come in here and you're like 'Well gosh, we hope we have the right coach, we hope our quarterback can pan out, or we're looking for a quarterback.' So, having those pillars taken care of, this is the easy part. Find safeties who can run and cover. You're going to be able to find those in every draft in the second, third, fourth round. There's going to be options for you of guys who can come in and play and contribute. They got the pillars in place. The offensive line is in a pretty good spot right now, so get some edge rushers and some dynamic edge rushers. This is a good draft to do that and if you are looking at the safety position, Day 2 even into the fourth round there's good players."
Daniel Jeremiah shared what Bears should do in the NFL Draft
Over the last five years, the Bears have entered the NFL Combine with so many questions about the franchise and more uncertainty than most teams in the league. This year is much different, as the Bears are on the map of success after going 11-6, winning the NFC North, and advancing to the playoffs against the Green Bay Packers.
The edge rusher position has been a common one for the Bears to address, especially after recording only 35 sacks last season, finishing 26th in the NFL in that category. Going into the draft, the position is so deep that 10 edge rushers are projected to potentially go in the first round.
At safety, the Bears have both of their starters, Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker, hitting free agency. With Byard being a target to be brought back by the Poles, the Bears will need to use the draft to replace Brisker, which they could do in the second through fourth rounds, according to Jeremiah.
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Chicago might have some flexibility to move around in the draft and use some rounds to find the best available player on their draft board, rather than just focusing on the position of need. That's something the Bears have not felt in a long time.