The five biggest needs for the Chicago Bears in 2024

4) Defensive end

The addition of Montez Sweat has been a complete and total win for Ryan Poles. The former Washington Commander has been even better than even the most optimistic Bears fan could have hoped, transforming Chicago's pass rush while also being a stout presence in the run game.

Sweat has made everyone around him better, but there's still room for this line to grow. The Bears have been fantastic against the run all year, with a rotation of Andrew Billings, Justin Jones, Gervon Dexter, and DeMarcus Walker all doing their part. Getting to the quarterback has been another story though, and the fact that Sweat leads the team in sacks despite playing less than half of the Bears' games is telling.

The Bears haven't gotten nearly enough from Yannick Ngakoue, but they aren't committed to him beyond this year, so drafting a replacement is an obvious and necessary move. With two first-rounders and such an obvious need, look for players like Alabamas' Dallas Turner, UCLA's Laiatu Latu, and Florida State's Jared Verse to be on the Bears' radar.

The defensive end free agent class could be fairly robust depending on how teams decide to use their franchise tags, but after inking Sweat to a four-year, $98 million extension, it's more likely that Poles replaces Ngakoue in the draft rather than spend more money on someone like Josh Allen of the Jaguars, Brian Burns of the Panthers, or Sweat's old teammate Chase Young, now of the 49ers.