Chicago Bears: Grading the offseason of each NFC North team

Now that the 2021 NFL Draft has come and gone, we have a good idea of what rosters are going to look like going into training camp in the late summer. In the NFC North, there is a lot going on, from the Chicago Bears picking Justin Fields, Aaron Rodgers drama with the Packers, the Vikings trying to trade up for Fields and the Lions starting over with a shake up in coaching and player personnel.

I am going to be giving each NFC team a grade for their offseason so far, based on how they have addressed team needs and what kind of talent they brought in.

Chicago Bears – A

Key Additions –

Andy Dalton, QB; Desmond Trufant, CB; Marquise Goodwin, WR; Damiere Byrd, WR; Jeremiah Attaochu, EDGE; Angelo Blackson, DL; Christian Jones, LB; Damien Williams, RB; Elijah Wilkinson, OL

Key Losses –

Kyle Fuller, CB: Buster Skrine, CB; Roy Robertson-Harris, DL; Mitchell Trubisky, QB; Charles Leno Jr., OT; Cordarrelle Patterson, WR/RB/KR

Key Draft Picks –

Justin Fields, QB; Teven Jenkins, OT; Larry Borom, OT; Khalil Herbert, RB; Dazz Newsome, WR; Thomas Graham Jr., CB; Khiyris Tonga, DT

As free agency went on, it was safe to say that fans were a bit disappointed with how things were looking. Although Andy Dalton is a quality player, it was not ideal having him as the lone quarterback besides Nick Foles. Fortunately, the Chicago Bears did exactly what they needed to do in this draft, and it made the Dalton signing look a lot better in my opinion.

Drafting Justin Fields gave the Bears a direction going forward, and finally, a player that could be a franchise quarterback. Plus they did a great job addressing the offensive line, which was a huge hole on the team.

Fields, Jenkins, and Borom, plus adding to the offense with Newsome and Herbert will be something special to watch this year and in the future. Also, I am high on both Graham as a slot corner and Tonga as a run stuffer. The Bears aced the draft this year and came out a lot better than they were going into it.

Losing Kyle Fuller was not great, as well as Robertson-Harris who was good when healthy. Still, the Bears did a good job of not only addressing their needs but finding great value for the spots they were picking. Fields at 11 and Jenkins at 39 are huge steals, especially if they live up to their hype. The Bears were not super active in free agency, but they signed some great depth pieces