The Chicago Bears are a team on the rise. Ryan Poles has clearly taken this team in a strong direction, and they look much better than the past couple of seasons on paper. However, there are still weak links on the roster on paper. Caleb Williams is the ultimate wildcard, but if the Bears do not live up to expectations this year, it may be more about these three position groups struggling when it matters.
The Chicago Bears need to sign an edge rusher
This is the biggest weakness on the roster. It was a weak spot last year, and they traded for Montez Sweat to resolve that. Still, while he thrived and played better, the unit was not quite complete.
The issue is that the team lost Yannick Ngakoue and Rasheem Green and replaced them with Jacob Martin and Austin Booker. Green and Ngakoue had awful seasons with the Bears, so the bar is low, but neither can say they are a surefire upgrade at this point.
Booker is a day-three rookie and Martin has been around the NFL, we know who he is. The Bears need to sign a veteran edge rusher, but the list of names is getting thin. As noted, Ngakoue struggled here, would he even want to come back? Can they find anyone better? Are they that confident in Austin Booker? We will find out soon enough.