Thought experiment.
Name a position on the Chicago Bears that can’t be significantly improved.
The quarterback is the most exciting football player in Chicago since Devin Hester, but he certainly has much room for improvement, and our own Data detailed where that improvement might come.
The running back room is as deep as you’ll find in the league but is there a home run hitter in the group? Are any of these guys a Derrick Henry, or Travis Etienne?
The pass catchers and offensive linemen are both bottom five in the sport. Is there a single irreplaceable player to be found at center, guard, tackle, tight end or wideout? (I have seriously high hopes for Chase Claypool and think Braxton Jones and Teven Jenkins can develop into players. But that’s about it.)
There are some serious young talents on the defensive side of the ball. But there is not a single player over there that currently ranks in the top ten in the sport at their position.
When you look at the top teams in the league – Buffalo, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Philly, San Francisco – what do you see? With a proliferation, a plethora of blue-chip players, these are not rosters stuffed with talent deemed “good enough” to compete. These are rosters with a half dozen or more guys who define how the sport is played at the highest level. And the Bears must not rule out addressing ANY position on the roster (outside QB) until they have found several of those players for themselves.
“Good enough” is not good enough. “Good enough” only works when a roster is also littered with “great”, and the Bears are a long way from that. Ryan Poles has shown himself to be somewhat ruthless when it comes to reconstructing the Chicago Bears. He’s good at demolition. For the Bears to win under his leadership, he’ll need to show he can not only tear down the block, but he can also build something beautiful on the site of the wreckage.
That works starts as soon as this season comes to its merciful end.
