Fixing the Bears is up next, and I feel like it's a relatively easy task compared to other teams who finished with similar records. They've got the QB who they'll be rolling with, and they've got the top head coach hire of this year in Ben Johnson. Things are looking up in Chicago, and a year of development from Caleb Williams will only raise that excitement bar even further.
Coaching Staff
Ben Johnson has been one of the most sought after names in the last few years of head coaching interviews now. He is largely credited with running the Lions' high flying offense, and even decided to stay with the Lions last year in order to 1) attempt to win a championship and 2) find the perfect HC job for him. Losing him to the Bears just has to sting for the Lions, but Bears fans are reveling in this victory, and rightfully so. Johnson is a premiere play caller in this league who will immediately raise the ceiling of this offense. No more of the overly conservative, slow-paced cadence we saw last year. On defense, Johnson has brought in a similarly accredited name in Dennis Allen. Allen failed as New Orleans Saints Head Coach, but that's what happens when you have negative cap space every year. Either way, Allen's defenses were never the problem. He coached some elite defenses in New Orleans over the years, and his guys constantly fight for him on that side of the ball. With nobody - presumably - chomping at the bit to hire Allen as a Head Coach any time soon, the Bears are primed to have one of the more scary coaching staffs in the league at their disposal for years to come.
With that conversation over, let's get into free agency and the rest of the Bears' offseason still to come:
Keep/Trade/Walk
Keep ✅
Keenan Allen (WR)
Teven Jenkins (OG)
Coleman Shelton (C)
Jack Sanborn (LB)
Let Walk ❌
Travis Homer (RB)
DeAndre Carter (WR)
Marcedes Lewis (TE)
Darrell Taylor (EDGE)
The big move here will be trying to keep Keenan Allen around. He already has a relationship with Caleb Williams, and he can play that Amon-Ra St. Brown slot role in the Ben Johnson offense. He would likely be the focal point of the passing game in this case, and would be pivotal for this team for the next few years. Another focal point for Johnson is his offensive line, and the Bears have to maulers set to hit free agency. Teven Jenkins and Coleman Shelton were both good players for the bears last year, and I suspect Johnson will want to keep good linemen around until he can fully craft his own. Jenkins would probably require a multi-year deal.
We'll mostly just let some role players walk in order to free up some roster spots and money for some of the coaches' guys. We'll find other answers at RB and WR.
Free Agency
Next up is free agency. The Bears have ~$62 million in salary cap space to work with. Let's assume we spend about $30 million of that on our re-signings, leaving us with just over half of our 62 to sign some new guys.
Signings
Javonte Williams (RB)
Kevin Zeitler (OG)
Netane Muti (OG)
Payton Turner (EDGE)
Justin Simmons (S)
On Offense, Ben Johnson will bring in some of his guys from Detroit's trenches. The big name is Javonte Williams, who I think will command more money than Sean Payton is willing to pay with his RB by committee approach. He will bring Ben Johnson an extremely high ceiling duo at RB to play with... we'll see if either him or D'Andre Swift will be able to put together a dominant, consistent season. Next, Kevin Zeitler put in a rock solid year this past season on the Lions' OL, and will serve as a short-term band-aid here in Chicago for his coach as he continues to age. He'd likely be an anchor n this line. Netane Muti also comes from Detroit, and is a flier for depth on a guy that I once liked as a prospect.
On defense, Dennis Allen continues the Payton Turner development experiment here in Chicago A former first round pick who never quite got over the hump, Turner will follow Allen to Chicago to see if he can provide them with some much needed pass rush alongside Montez Sweat. Justin Simmons is a more established name, who can bring some stability to a secondary that struggled to contain big plays at times last year.
NFL Draft
On days 1 and 2 of the draft, the Bears will pick 4 times. They don't have too mny more highly pressing needs, so we'll likely go with a combination of best player available & positional need/value here.
Round 1: Mykel Williams, EDGE, Georgia
Round 2: Walter Nolen, IDL, Ole Miss
Round 2: Cameron Williams, OL, Texas
Round 3: Lathan Ransom, DB, Ohio State
With the 10th pick, we'll select Georgia EDGE Mykel Williams. It will be good to get multiple young bodies in the EDGE room opposite Montez Sweat, and Williams will be provided with the optimal setup for development: a part time rotational role with plenty of snaps and plenty of coaching to hopefully become this franchise's long term DE2.
In the second round I took Walter Nolen and Cameron Williams to provide depth in the trenches. The IDL also could use some bolstering, and you certainly can never have too many bodies on that part of the field. As for Williams, he provides OL flexibility at 335 pounds. He'll be a pivotal piece immediately, whether he's the sixth man or thrown into a starting role on day one.
Lathan Ransom will provide further secondary depth, with the hope that he can get eased into the league. In an ideal world, Jaquan Brisker will fully recover, manage to stay healthy, and lead this safety group for a long time.
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