The Chicago Bears‘ main area of focus this offseason has been the trenches, with the team adding threw new interior offensive linemen, a new starting defensive end, Dayo Odeyingbo, and adding defensive tackle, Shemar Turner, in the second round of the draft.
Not to mention potentially drafting their potential future left tackle, Ozzy Trapilo – also in the second round of this year’s draft.
But there is still perhaps work to be done – especially on the perimeter of both the offensive and defensive lines. There are still question marks surrounding whether either of Jones/Trapilo will make for a high quality starting left tackle for the bears. Whilst on the D-line, there is almost nothing going after Odeyingbo and Pro Bowler, Montez Sweat.
And given Odeyingbo has started just 19 games in four seasons in the NFL, perhaps some additional, competitive faces may well be helpful for the Bears exterior pass rush.
Bears’ #1 Offseason Priority Is Running Back – Patra
Yet, according to NFL.com, sorting this out is not the team’s biggest priority for the rest of the offseason. Rather, they have tagged the running back situation as Chicago’s biggest question to answer before the start of the regular season.
Per Kevin Patra, the Bears’ number 1 aim should be to “figure out the plan” in the backfield.
“Heading into the 2025 NFL Draft, there was a lot of chatter about the Bears potentially selecting a running back in the early rounds.” Patra writes, “The board didn’t fall that way, with seventh-rounder Kyle Monangai being the only backfield addition.”
Indeed, many believe that the Bears’ recorded attempt to trade up one spot in the second round – from 39 to 38 – was to take TreVeyon Henderson, whom the New England Patriots ultimately selected at #38.
Bears RB Situation Not Terrible, But A Downgrade From Detroit
“That leaves D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson atop the depth chart.” Patra continues, “It’s not an awful duo, but it’s not close to what Ben Johnson enjoyed in Detroit with David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. Swift was traded away from the Lions after Johnson’s first season as the team’s offensive coordinator — a year in which Swift saw a career-low 99 carries. Since taking over in Chicago, Johnson has said the right things about Swift.”
“However, an upgrade would have been beneficial. Swift was very inefficient last year behind the Bears’ porous offensive line. Will he improve with better blocking? At its peak, Johnson’s offense dominated with a multifaceted running game. Without the same dynamic backfield, can it be as potent in Chicago? It wouldnât be a surprise to see another veteran added to the crew.”
The free agent running back market is not totally decimated yet, with both JK Dobbins and Nick Chubb still available as high-upside options. The issue for both is health, with both having struggled to keep healthy over the past couple of seasons, but as we come closer to training camp both players may be willing to sign for a little less.
It is unlikely that either player will allow the Bears to recreate what Ben Johnson had with the Lions, but it will certainly add some flair and value to an otherwise very run-of-the-mill position group.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Bears Given Surprising Offseason ‘Top Priority’ Pre-Training Camp appeared first on Heavy Sports.