The Chicago Bears are in serious need of depth at these three positions
Roquan Smith is elite, but the Chicago Bears need depth at linebacker
This position is more of a position of need for the Bears for next year with the new defensive systems that will be used under Matt Eberflus and Alan Williams. Obviously, Roquan Smith is the main piece of the linebacker group, but there are question marks behind him.
Danny Trevathan has been banged up the last couple of years and is a shell of his former self. Alec Ogletree had a nice year on the Bears but is also on the wrong side of 30 on an expiring deal. Joel Iyiegbuniwe is a free agent and has made it clear he would rather get an opportunity elsewhere. Christian Jones is also a free agent and was mainly a special teamer last season. It would be wise for the Bears to spend some money in free agency to bring in another off-the-ball linebacker as well as look at draft options.
Some of the key names on the market include Foyesade Oluokun, Jayon Brown, Anthony Walker Jr., Jawon Bentley, Leighton Vander Esch, and Krys Barnes, among many others. Inside linebackers usually do not require the biggest contracts, so dishing out some money to a young linebacker with potential who can play with Smith would be wise.
The Bears were able to get by last season with Smith and Ogletree as the linebacking core, with Trevathan, Jones, and Iyiegbuniwe as rotational pieces. This was partly because of how good Roquan was and the surprising resurgence of Ogletree. They cannot rely on a repeat year from Ogletree because he is getting up there in age. Having a young, athletic playmaker to pair with Roquan Smith will go a long way for the new defense.
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The Bears have some glaring holes on their team, but there are positions that are already filled on the depth chart with starters that need attention too. A team is as good as its depth in a lot of cases. Filling up these positions will help the starters and give the team more talent to work with. There are many options in free agency and players that could be resigned in order to add depth.