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Chicago Bears Offseason Guide: Three Moves For Ryan Poles To Make

The Chicago Bears finally have new management. With the Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus era ready to begin, no one knows how they will approach this team. Let’s take a look at three offseason moves the Chicago Bears could make.

1.) Bring In A Veteran Wide Receiver

Darnell Mooney should be a perfect partner for Justin Fields. Mooney’s deep threat ability is impressive and Justin Fields throws the best deep ball Chicago has seen since Jay Cutler. However, this offense needs more than one good weapon.

Allen Robinson is coming off of a brutal 2021 season. Some are pointing out that Matt Nagy iced him out of the offense because of a contract dispute. Others are just saying Robinson is washed up and this is the start of his decline. Either way, Allen Robinson will most likely not be back in 2022. Chicago needs new weapons on offense.

Bringing in a guy like Brandin Cooks could be the perfect solution. Cooks has had over 1,000 receiving yards in six of his last seven seasons. At 28 years old, he still has plenty of juice left in his game as well.

He’s a guy who Chicago would have to eat a lot of money for, but could provide a huge boost to this offense as well as help Justin Fields in his development. His 16 million dollar cap hit isn’t appealing, but Houston could look to trade him for nothing or even give up a draft pick to get him off of their books.

Chicago has 25 million dollars in salary cap space without making any cap saving moves heading into the 2022 off-season. If Ryan Poles wants to surround Justin Fields with talent in 2022, adding a proven veteran playmaker like Cooks would be a good under-the-radar move while gaining a late-round draft pick.

Another possibility is that Brandin Cooks becomes a cap-casualty in Houston and Chicago is able to sign him as a free agent at a much lower salary.

Projected Trade Compensation:

Chicago receives: Brandon Cooks, 2022 6th round (183rd overall) draft pick, 2022 6th round (206th overall) draft pick
Houston receives: 2022 6th round (185th overall) draft pick

2.) Trade Back From Pick #39

Ryan Poles inherited a less-than-ideal situation from former general manager Ryan Pace. With only five draft picks in 2022 and an aging roster. Chicago needs an injection of youth and talent.

The NFL draft is often times called a “crap shoot” because of how unpredictable it is. Players drafted in the top 50 picks sometimes ‘bust’, players drafted outside of the top 50 sometimes hit. It’s common sense, but taking as many “dart-throws” as possible could be a good way of adding talent without a first round draft pick.

To gain extra picks, Chicago is going to have to trade back from #39 overall. At the top of the second round is where we often see the most trades of the draft. With teams having a night to reassess and reconstruct draft boards, there’s a great chance teams will be calling for that pick.

If Chicago could trade back with a contender trying to win-now, they might be able to add a few extra draft picks in 2022 in the process.

A potential trade with the Los Angeles Chargers could make some sense. Brandon Staley and the Chargers are fighting to make the playoffs in a tough AFC conference.

Los Angeles has eleven draft picks in the upcoming draft. Trading away a few late round picks while jumping up ten spots in the draft could be beneficial for both sides. The Chicago Bears offseason would be a major success if they pulled off a trade of this caliber, while still drafting a difference maker.

*Note: Chicago traded up from 52nd overall to 39th overall last year and gave up their 3rd round pick (83rd overall) in the process as well, a trade of this size isn’t unrealistic.

Potential Trade:

Chicago receives: Los Angeles Chargers 2nd round draft pick (49th overall, 4th round (119th overall), 5th round (158th overall), 6th round (195th overall), 7th round (251st overall)
Los Angeles receives: Chicago Bears 2nd round draft pick (39th overall)

3.) Prioritize Offense In The Draft

This is slightly more open ended for a Chicago Bears offseason move. Ryan Poles inherited Justin Fields. We assume that he likes Justin Fields and believes in him, but he did not make the choice to trade up for him and name him the next franchise quarterback.

Poles will have to find out as soon as possible if Justin Fields is the answer in Chicago. Similar to why the Bears need to bring in a veteran wide receiver, they also need to bring in young talent at offensive line and also at receiver.

Offensive Line Questions

Last season’s starting left tackle, right guard and right tackle Jason Peters, James Daniels and Germain Ifedi, respectively are all set to become a free agents. Teven Jenkins is still an unknown At left tackle. Poles has to operate as if he is the starter, but that shouldn’t hinder him from adding more talent along the offensive line.

Sam Mustifer was also below average as a starting center for Chicago last year and Poles could look to upgrade there as well.

Questions At Receiver

As mentioned above, Allen Robinson is most likely gone this offseason. Without many proven options on the roster to begin with, Chicago needs to continue to add playmakers, even if they do bring in a veteran like Brandin Cooks.

Drafting a wide receiver on day two of the draft would give Chicago a nice mix of veteran and youth talent.

A player like Chris Olave in the second round would be a perfect fit for Chicago. Although many draft analysts think me may be gone by then, Olave and Justin Fields’ chemistry from Ohio State would help both of their developments immensely.

Another option could be small-school standout, Christian Watson. Watson displayed surprising agility and route-running acumen at the Reese’s Senior Bowl last month. At 6’4” he would also add a different body-style to the receiver room as well when paired with 5’11” Darnell Mooney.

Adding two or three new pass-catchers to this offense should be a priority for Ryan Poles as he tries to distinguish if Justin Fields is a star quarterback or not.

Chicago Bears Offseason Conclusion

“There’s a heigh ceiling. It’s just putting him [Justin Fields] in a position to succeed and seeing how high that ceiling really is.”
— Ryan Poles

The Chicago Bears offseason is going to be filled with moves. The defense is aging and the offense is under-developed. However, finding out if Justin Fields can be a great quarterback will be the priority. Building an offense to cater to his strengths will be offensive coordinator Luke Getsy’s number one priority. Getting Luke Getsy all of the players he needs sounds like it will be Ryan Poles’ number one priority.

Be sure to follow us: @bears_atb and @ryanmcaloon on Twitter! Until next time, peace!

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Chicago Bears Mock Draft

This season has been brutal for Chicago fans. At this point it feels like the Bears are playing just to get Justin Fields more experience in the NFL. With the 2021 season looking as bleak as ever, let’s look ahead into the 2022 NFL draft. Here is my November Chicago Bears mock draft. Grab yourself your favorite beer, cocktail, or a cup of coffee and let’s run through it!

Round 2

Jameson Williams, Wide Receiver, Alabama

The Bears offense is set to lose Allen Robinson this off-season and doesn’t have a very great receiving corps to begin with. Darnell Mooney has been solid, but Chicago’s front office must give Justin Fields the weapons to help him succeed at the next level.

Let’s give this Bears offense some more juice. Jameson Williams is a burner out wide, as evidenced by this video. Williams also has some chemistry with Justin Fields already, as both were at Ohio State in 2019 and 2020. In those two seasons, Williams had 266 yards and three touchdowns on 15 receptions, that’s good for 17.7 yards per catch.

This season, Williams has taken his game to the next level. Williams, through eleven games, has 59 receptions that have gone for 1,218 yards and 13 touchdowns, good for 20.6 yards per catch.

JAMESON WILLIAMS 79 YARDS TO THE HOUUUUSE 🚀 pic.twitter.com/iFTZCJvSwB
— 247Sports (@247Sports) November 20, 2021

That kind of game-breaking ability is exactly what this Chicago offense needs. Vertical passing is probably Justin Fields’ greatest strength as well.

Round 3

Jarrett Patterson, Interior Offensive Line, Notre Dame

Protect Justin Fields at all costs. Jarrett Patterson is one of the better pass protectors on the interior in this draft class. Patterson also has the capability to play all three positions on the interior of the offensive line.

This Bears offensive line is still a work in progress even after drafting Teven Jenkins and Larry Borom last off-season. With James Daniels still without a contract extension, this could be a huge need for Chicago. If Daniels does get his extension — which in my opinion he should — the Bears can easily drop Patterson in as their starting center day one.

My summer scouting report on Jarrett Patterson can be found here!

Round 5

Cam Hart, Cornerback, Notre Dame

The Bears secondary is still going to be an issue in 2022. Jaylon Johnson has been solid, but the rest of the secondary has been poor. Good teams have depth in the secondary and Chicago has none.

Cam Hart may not be a sexy name, but he has been a rock-solid cover man for the Fighting Irish this season. As the draft nears closer and closer, he might be a guy who won’t even make it out of Day 2 of the NFL Draft.

I have some thoughts on him after I attended the ND-USC game this season that you can find here!

Round 6

Cade Mays, Interior Offensive Line, Tennessee

As I mentioned above, this Chicago Bears offensive line needs improvement. Even after selecting Jarrett Patterson, Chicago could add a depth piece in Cade Mays late in the draft.

A nice complement to the Teven Jenkins pick last year, Mays will bring the intensity this offensive line room lacks at times. Mays isn’t afraid to block defenders through (and sometimes after) the whistle.

Clearly you can see that I think the biggest objective for the Chicago Bears this off-season should be to build up this offense around Justin Fields. He has shown glimpses of incredible arm talent already this season, even in a poor situation.

With only four draft picks (not including any comp picks that will be coming Chicago’s way), it is tough to imagine this team getting much better though the draft.

Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace are almost definitely gone after this season. You can read my thoughts on that here. It’s hard to predict how a new general manager will draft and what he prioritizes, but I will continue to do Chicago Bears mock drafts throughout the season and in the off-season. Until then, peace!

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Chicago Bears Head Coaching Candidates

The Chicago Bears are in the midst of disappointing season. Matt Nagy is public enemy number one in Chicago. It is looking more and more likely that the Chicago Bears will be looking for a new head coach this off-season. The Chicago Bears head coaching candidates will have a talented young quarterback to work with.

With that being said, who should be the Bears head coaching candidates? Grab yourself your favorite beer, cocktail, or a cup of coffee and let’s talk about it!

The Chicago Bears Head Coaching Candidates

Kellen Moore

The Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator is going to be one of the hottest names this off-season. He has led Dallas to one of the best offenses in the NFL, leading all teams in yards per game (418.1 yards/g) and coming in at third in points per game (29.3 points/g).

The former Boise State and Dallas quarterback might be the favorite for the job when the season is over. He has taken all of the talent in Dallas and maximized it while keeping his offense multiple. Using a blend of quick passing game, zone running game, power running game, play action, and vertical passes to make Dak Prescott’s life as easy as possible.

Brian Daboll

The Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator was one of the most talked about assistant coaches last off-season after helping Josh Allen develop into a bonafide MVP candidate.

The 2021 season has not been as virtuous for Daboll, but he still has a nice track record of success. Daboll was with the Patriots organization for five of their Super Bowls as a positions coach and won a National Championship with Alabama as their offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Joe Brady

The Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator is going to be another hot name on the coaching carousel. After being attributed to LSU’s historic offense in 2019, Brady came back to the NFL as the Panthers play caller in 2020 and 2021.

Joe Brady is the youngest coach on this list at age 32. With his limited experience as a play caller, he would be one of the riskier head coaching candidates for the Bears.

Byron Leftwich

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator has worked with Tom Brady and Bruce Arians to create an incredibly potent offensive attack. Another former quarterback, Leftwich is only in his fifth year coaching, starting off as a quarterback coach under Bruce Arians in Arizona.

Leftwich spent nine seasons as an NFL quarterback. Although he is still new to coaching, his ties to Bruce Arians will be a boost in credibility when looking to fill out his assistant coaches.

Patrick Graham

The New York Giants defensive coordinator is the first defensive mind we will talk about here! Graham comes from the Bill Belichick coaching tree, which I’m sure causes some hesitation among fans. However, Graham has proven to get the most out of his defenses.

Graham’s defensive mindset might not look ideal when finding someone to pair with Justin Fields to develop at first glance. However, Graham’s knowledge on NFL coverages, blitzes, stunts, and defenses as a whole could help Fields’ processing speed. Bill Belichick helped Tom Brady in a similar way in the beginning of his career.

Dan Quinn

The Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator is our only former head coach on this list. Quinn has transformed the Dallas defense into one of the best units in the league after being one of the worst the years prior.

If the Chicago Bears front office wants to play it safe, Dan Quinn will be the best option. He did take Atlanta to a Super Bowl, even if Kyle Shanahan gets most of the credit.

Closing

Overall, there are a lot of Chicago Bears head coaching candidates to get excited about. All having obvious perks and flaws. Kellen Moore, Joe Brady, and (maybe) Byron Leftwich have not been NFL coaches for very long. They could all struggle to fill out assistant coaching spots with solid coaches due to lack of connections. Brian Daboll and Patrick Graham also have never been head coaches and come from a coaching tree that has not produced many good head coaches in the NFL. Dan Quinn, for the most part, failed as a head coach in his first try in Atlanta.

Check out some of my other articles:

Week 3 RECAP: Chicago Needs New Leadership

The Chicago Bears fell to (1-2) with the loss to Cleveland on Sunday, the final score being 26—6. The Browns dominated from start to finish defensively. Chicago was out-coached as well, with little adjustments made throughout the game to help Justin Fields while playing behind an over-matched offensive line. This recap is going to be short and sweet, fire Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace.

Matt Nagy

As an “offensive guru” Matt Nagy should have this offense looking competent and at least average. Nagy’s biggest draw as a head coach in 2018 was his scheme coming from Andy Reid’s coaching tree. As it turns out, Nagy’s biggest weakness is actually calling plays in a game. The scheme means nothing if you don’t know how to tie them all together to keep the defense off-balance.

It might be okay if Nagy was just a bad play caller, but he also has shown he’s incredibly ignorant to his own shortcomings. At the end of last year Bill Lazor took over as offensive coordinator and the offense looked and played better on Sundays. This off-season Nagy announced he would resume calling plays for the 2021 season, highlighting his arrogance. Nagy has always come off as thinking he is the smartest guy in every room, exuding arrogance.

Ryan Pace

Ryan Pace has a long list of questionable decisions. One of the worst he has made is releasing Charles Leno, in favor of keeping Jimmy Graham. Pace signed Jimmy Graham before the 2020 NFL Draft. In that draft, Pace used their first selection (#43 Overall) on Tight End, Cole Kmet. Pace has a history of signing deal with players then immediately drafting their replacements in the same year, doing it with Andy Dalton and Mike Glennon as well. However, Pace did not let Graham walk and save the team roughly $7 million. Instead he cut Chicago’s starting Left Tackle, who saved them roughly the same $7 million. Pace also re-structured Graham’s deal right before the 2021 season, Graham now will be on the roster for the 2022 season as well. The unwillingness to let go of Graham is perplexing.

Ryan Pace has also shown a complete disregard for the future of the franchise. Highlighted by the Jimmy Graham re-structure, Pace has a long history of pushing money into the future. This is most famously used by the New Orleans Saints, however they were perennial Super Bowl contenders with Drew Brees. The Chicago Bears are not that at the moment and haven’t been for a very long time. 2018 was a great year and I can understand being aggressive in the off-season to go all-in for the 2019 season.

That did not work, Chicago ended with an 8-8 record on the season. At that time, Pace should have just accepted that this team was not ready to contend for a championship. Mitch Trubisky had taken a step back and was not looking like a franchise signal caller. Instead, Pace traded for Nick Foles. A quarterback who was outplayed in 2019 by an undrafted free agent. This was a desperation move to win-now and hopefully not get fired.

Pace would continue to sign players in hopes of winning and therefore saving his own job. Robert Quinn would be signed to a five-year $70 million deal in 2020. A significant over-pay for an aging pass rusher. Pace would continue the trend by signing Andy Dalton to a one-year deal and restructuring it to be spread across two-years. Again, highlighting how Pace continues to push money into the future to try and win right now. A bad strategy or a team that is in no position to even make the playoffs, let alone actually contend for a championship.

Conclusion

Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace have displayed an incredible amount of arrogance and self-preservation. Something this franchise needs to purge and start new. As most Bears fans are aware, the problems do not stop at the General Manager, they go all the way up to the CEO and President, Ted Phillips. The McCaskey’s have to make a change, similar to what Washington has done. They brought in former NFL player, Jason Wright as their President. Bringing new life to the franchise and someone who has knowledge and experience in NFL locker rooms. Ted Phillips has made plenty of bad hires at the general manger position, it’s time for Phillips to look in the mirror and wonder if he is the problem as well.

My apologies for the gloom and negative article, but after Sundays showing I’m not sure there is anything positive about this Bears organization. As long as Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace are the Head Coach and General Manager I can’t imagine Chicago developing and maintaining a championship-level team. Furthermore, as long as Ted Phillips is running the front office I can’t imagine Chicago finding a championship-caliber General Manager and Head Coach.

Check Out Our Other Articles: Chicago’s Football Miracle & Darnell Mooney’s Hype Train

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Chicago Bears Week 3 PREVIEW

Matt Nagy and the Bears took care of business week 2. Beating the Cincinnati Bengals 20-17. In that victory the Chicago Bears lost Andy Dalton, their starting quarterback. Dalton is reportedly dealing with a knee injury and is return date is up in the air. The injury sets the stage for Justin Fields to lead Chicago’s offense this Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium.

With the defense playing better in week 2 and Justin Fields taking over as the new QB1, Chicago’s faith has seemingly been restored in the Bears 2021 season. How will the Bears’ offense look this week versus a good Browns defense? How will Chicago’s defense look against a great Cleveland running game? This will be one of the best teams Chicago plays all season long, so grab yourself your favorite beer, cocktail, or a cup of coffee and let’s see how they matchup.

Chicago’s Run Defense

Chicago’s run defense ranks eleventh in DVOA. With Eddie Goldman as a limited participant and Akiem Hicks as a DNP for Thursday’s practice, Sean Desai will likely bring in a consistent rotation of Hogs upfront. Bilal Nichols, Angelo Blackson, Mario Edwards, and rookie Khyris Tonga will all get snaps Sunday. Eddie Goldman has not played yet this season, but figures to be an important piece to this defense. Bilal Nichols and Akiem Hicks have been getting the start but Goldman is the best run defender of the bunch.

Cleveland has the best offensive line in the NFL currently. Featuring second year standout Jedrick Wills at left tackle, three time pro-bowler Joel Bitonio at left guard, NFLPA president J.C. Tretter at center, second-team all-pro Wyatt Teller at right guard, and two time first-team all-pro Jack Conklin at right tackle. This Browns running game also features two of the best running backs in the NFL, Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt.

Sean Desai and Chicago’s front seven will face an incredible test this Sunday. If Eddie Goldman and Akiem Hicks play and are close to 100% healthy, I think the Bears will stack up well. I imagine we will see three defensive linemen plus two edge rushers often on Sunday. Khalil Mack will have to play at an elite level to help disrupt and force the running backs to cut back into the teeth of the Bears defense. Robert Quinn and Jeremiah Attaochu will have to do the same on their side to prevent Cleveland from dominating in the run game.

Chicago’s Offense with the New QB1

As mentioned above, Justin Fields is now Chicago’s starting quarterback. Get excited, the future of Bears football is now upon us. Justin Fields is unlike any quarterback Chicago fans have ever seen. In college he excelled in big moments, including a college football playoff win over eventual number one overall pick, Trevor Lawrence.

Matt Nagy should be creating a game plan to highlight Justin Fields strengths while also protecting him from the Cleveland pass rush. Jason Peters has been great through he first two weeks at left tackle. Ifedi has also been serviceable at right tackle. However, the interior of the offensive line has been a problem. Whitehair, Mustifer, and Daniels have all been below average at their positions according to PFF.

The Bears offense should feature plenty of outside zone, read option, and bootleg play action plays. Giving the interior offensive line an easier job. This will also help highlight Justin Fields’ athleticism by getting him outside of the pocket and on the move. The offensive line is not equipped to handle five and seven step drop backs consistently. The Bears will have to attack deep down the field on play action plays to stall the Browns defensive line, even if it’s just slightly.

Closing Prediction

Overall, the Bears are (+7.0) underdogs this Sunday. They are facing one of the best and most complete teams in the NFL. The Browns have a much-improved defense this season and have an elite running game to compliment them. Baker Mayfield has taken steps forward and looks like a true franchise quarterback. Justin Fields is in his first start in the NFL and has limited talent around him on offense. I don’t see the Bears winning Sunday and I honestly do not even see them covering the 7 point spread.

Final Score: Cleveland — 35, Chicago — 17