Chicago Bears: These sophomore players must improve to make playoffs

The Chicago Bears need their 2019 draft class to step-up.

The Chicago Bears and most NFL teams need to rely on their young talent to help the team ascend to future success. While many have focused on the 2020 NFL draft class as of late, the real focus is who is going to thrive in year two.

The Chicago Bears 2018 draft class has shown its colors of what the players should become year in and year out. Roquan Smith should be a perennial pro-bowler. Anthony Miller and James Daniels are looking like the will be valuable starters as a number two receiver and a starting-caliber guard in the NFL. Joel (Iggy) Iyiegbuniwe seems to be the Sam Acho long time special teams player Ryan Pace projected Iggy to become.

Kylie Fitts failed to become a secondary pass-rusher in the league while Javon Wims has had meaningful snaps as a receiver. While he has shown he’s good enough to be a depth piece on an NFL roster, he is not a starter at this level. Both players might have missed the mark, but that is expected as sixth and seventh-round draft selections.

Looking ahead, we need to see what players are going to become boom or busts in the NFL entering their second year. The 2019 NFL draft for the Chicago Bears was limited to five players due to the Khalil Mack trade and the Anthony Miller trade.

The players selected in 2019 will curve the fate of the Chicago Bears based on how they blossom. With the first pick for the Chicago Bears in the 2019 NFL draft, they selected David Montgomery, running back from Iowa State.

In the fourth round, the Chicago Bears selected Riley Ridley, a receiver from Georgia. Duke Shelley, a cornerback from Kansas State, was selected in the sixth round with the  205 selection by the Chicago Bears. The Last two draft selections are still in the league but were seventh-round draft picks.