All the attention this offseason has been on how the Chicago Bears were going to respond to the defense after a rough season of it.
Despite leading the NFL in takeaways with 33 last year, the defense was still able to mask the real problems. This was a Bears unit that allowed 361.8 yards per game, with only three other teams giving up more. They struggled to stop offenses until they got in the red zone.
That led to a busy offseason with Tremaine Edmunds getting cut and the Bears signing key defensive starters in Coby Bryant and Devin Bush. The question is, how do NFL executives feel about what Chicago has done so far, and what do they need to do next?
NFL executives chimed in on Bears' offseason with defense
The Athletic's Mike Sando wrote an article in which he spoke to NFL executives about other teams' offseasons. Chicago got praised for trading wide receiver DJ Moore for a second-round pick.
One major topic of discussion was the defense, as two executives liked the Bryant signing for three years and $40 million. With Bryant and Bush on the team, though, an executive told Sando that the Bears can't continue to live off of takeaways.
“You cannot bank on that stuff,” an exec told The Athletic of the turnovers. “They had to get better. They are banking on (corners) Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon being healthy. Coby Bryant is going to play in the post. Devin Bush is the athlete that they like. They will probably either (blitz) him or match him underneath. And then I’d be shocked if they do not continue to build the defensive front.”
One part of the defense that Bears fans have been disappointed the team has not addressed is on the line after just 35 sacks last year. Despite all the moves at defensive tackle, the edge rusher position still leaves much to be desired.
NFL executives discussed the Bears' defensive line and how it needs to be the focus over the secondary.
“The pass rush has been their biggest question on defense the last few years,” another exec said to The Athletic. “It hasn’t really been the back end, where they’ve given contracts to Jaylon Johnson and their nickel (Gordon), drafted Tyrique Stevenson. They need to improve the D-line, but they couldn’t really do it because they are locked into guys with guaranteed money. They didn’t really address their biggest defensive need.”
Read more: Caleb Williams finally opened up about "Iceman" trademark (and it all makes sense)
If the Bears can create some cap space since they are just at $1 million, they might be able to continue to do more, but for now, they are stuck, as they have to wait for the NFL Draft to fix the rest of their issues on defense.