Chicago Bears fans were hoping for a little bit more fireworks from the team with over two weeks of free agency completely, but there have been some moves made, but not many that would move the needle.
The Bears are in a situation where they have only $1 million in cap space and can't really do much without restructuring contracts, cutting players, or trading them to free up more cap. Sports Illustrated NFL insider Albert Breer was asked on ESPN Chicago whether he believed the Bears are better in 2026 than the 2025 team that made the playoffs, with Breer being honest while adding some optimism.
"I don't think they are now, but I think that there's a good chance they will be after the draft, and I do think that Ryan Poles has done a good job," Breer said via ESPN Chicago. "There's a little bit of a recognition in what the draft class is, where they're more likely to find help in the draft. The edge group is really good. Now again, there's no (Jadeveon) Clowney, there's no Myles Garrett at the very top of the draft, but there's depth into the second and third rounds, so they could theoretically come away with a couple of edge rushers, you know, if they wanted to double down on the position. Meanwhile, on the flip side, there are some really good safeties at the top of the draft. You know, there's obviously (Caleb Downs), there's the Toledo kid, there's the kid from Oregon, Dillon Thieneman, but there isn't great depth, so they take care of the safety spot, they take care of a linebacker in free agency, and now that allows them to dive into, you know, their front in the draft. And so I think that's one piece of it."
Albert Breer thinks Bears have a chance to get better
Offensively, outside of the concerns with the center and left tackle position, the Bears are solid there with so many weapons on that side of the ball. Led by rising star quarterback Caleb Williams, the Bears have everything they need from a great ground game with Kyle Monangai and D'Andre Swift to the weapons to throw it to in Colston Loveland, Rome Odunze, and Luther Burden.
Defense will be getting all the attention in Chicago with the NFL Draft starting in a month. Poles and Bears head coach Ben Johnson has to pretty much use all their Day 1 and 2 picks on defense to give their defensive coordinator, Dennis Allen, all the weapons he needs to work with.
The NFL Draft should provide the ingredients the Bears need to improve the defense. In recent mock drafts, the Bears have mostly been attached to selecting guys like Missouri's Zion Young, Thieneman, and Toledo's Emmanuel McNeil-Warren.
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If the Bears can have a successful draft this year, it will make fans forget about the quiet offseason they have had.