Identifying the needs on Chicago Bears 53-man roster

The Chicago Bears only have four draft picks in the 2024 NFL draft, and we know that they are going to spend the first pick on a quarterback. While Ryan Poles is known for being able to trade down and pick up an asset or two in the current draft, the roster also has far fewer holes than in previous years. 

What does the Chicago Bears 53-man roster look like right now?

If there are only three spots and potentially five at most, where do the Bears need to add? We will go through a potential 53-man roster based on where the team stands now to find holes. 

Quarterback (3) - Caleb Williams, Tyson Bagent, Brett Rypien 

The Bears are going to go into the first week of the season with these three on their roster, barring a huge change. 

Running back (4) - D’Andre Swift, Khalil Herbert, Roschon Johnson, Travis Homer, Khari Blalssingame

It is hard to see the Bears spending any draft capital on this spot when you see where they stand. 

Wide Receiver (5) - DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Tyler Scott, (2 of Velus Jones, Nsimba Webster, Dante Pettis, Colin Johnson)

It is clear the Bears could add to this room. First, Tyler Scott may not be ready to be the number three wideout. Next, they have four guys competing for two or three spots, and all of them have enough ability to make the bottom of the roster. Still, the best case would be pushing Scott to four and having one of these guys compete for the fifth spot. 

Tight End (3) - Cole Kmet, Gerald Everett, Stephen Carlson 

The Bears will want to upgrade from Stephen Carlson, but he is their third tight end, so the draft capital spent on that is questionable. Perhaps it will even be a UDFA. 

Offensive Line (10) - Braxton Jones, Nate Davis, Ryan Bates, Teven Jenkins, Darnell Wright, Larry Borom, Matt Pryor, Coleman Shelton, Ja’Tyre Carter, Jake Curhan

The team actually has starters locked in and depth on the offensive line. They only have to draft this area if they want to go to the best player available. 

Defensive Line - (8) - Montez Sweat, DeMarcus Walker, Jacob Martin, Dominique Robinson, Gervon Dexter, Andrew Billings, Zacch Pickens, Byron Cowart 

It will be interesting to see if the Bears want to add more depth to the room. Still, as it is, even with eight names in the room, they probably want to add an edge rusher and interior lineman to compete with or push out Robinson and Cowart. 

Linebacker - (6) Tremaine Edmunds, TJ Edwards, Jack Sanborn, Noah Sewell, Amen Ogbongbemia, Micah Baskerville 

The Bears do not have to keep six linebackers, and perhaps they will elect to keep more defensive line depth. Still, as it stands, they have six linebackers capable of making a roster. 

Cornerback - (6) - Jaylon Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson, Kyler Gordon, Terell Smith, Josh Blackwell, Jaylon Jones

It is hard to see the Bears drafting a cornerback with their needs. 

Safety - (4) - Kevin Byard, Jaquan Brisker, Jonathan Owens, Elijah Hicks 

After signing Jonathan Owens, it is hard to see the Bears going safety. 

Specialists - (3) - Trenton Gil, Cairo Santos, Patrick Scales 

NEEDS:

Wide receiver, Defensive line (edge and interior), third tight end