The Chicago Bears had the number one overall pick, so there is only one place to go but up. Beyond that, this was not an off-season spent running back anything close to a similar roster, and it is easy to get excited at the thought that the Chicago Bears just got a lot better.
However, for as much optimism as that can bring, there can be plenty of views from the other side as well.
3. Did the Chicago Bears upgrade their pass rush enough?
The Chicago Bears have Matt Eberflus as the defensive coordinator, and they made big splashes on defense. Considering that they also invested two second-round picks in defense in each of the past seasons, the defense should start improving this season.
When they had a historically bad run defense and a bottom-level pass defense to match it the thought is that the unit has to improve. The question is how much better it can get. In terms of run defense, they did get some help up front. Andrew Billings, Rasheem Green, and DeMarcus Walker have stuck around the NFL despite low sack numbers because of their ability to defend the run.
However, that leaves Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens as the top pass rushers that were added this off-season. There could be a day when this is true, and both have true upside as pass rushers. However, six sacks for a rookie interior lineman is a pretty impressive season. Are the Bears hoping that a couple of three or four-sack interior lineman are their top pass rushers?
Are they really relying on rookie Noah Sewell and Jack Sanborn to get that many sacks as blitzers? If the pass rush is not good, it could expose the secondary for another season. All of the assets invested in linebackers could be a problem in offensive lineman are getting to the second level clean and taking them out. This is a reason to maintain a worry about the Chicago Bears.