Bears Likely To Upgrade Lines With Their Highest Picks In Draft

Free agency provides a pretty good road map for what the Bears will do in next week’s draft. They have 10 picks after trading the first overall pick to Carolina, including No. 9 and four of the first 64.

They’ve already given quarterback Justin Fields a major weapon by acquiring two-time All-Pro receiver D.J. Moore in the trade with the Panthers and committed $142.5 million to sign linebackers Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards, guard Nate Davis and defensive end DeMarcus Walker. But they still have a lot of work to do on both sides of the line.

The team’s glaring needs entering the draft are for an elite blocker to protect Fields and a disruptive player in the middle of the line, preferably a 3-technique player with quickness to pressure quarterbacks and the strength to blow up running plays.

ESPN’s Todd McShay nicely illustrates the need for offensive line help beyond the addition of Davis, who allows head coach Matt Eberflus to either return third-year man Teven Jenkins to tackle, his position at Oklahoma State, or to use versatile veteran Cody Whitehair at center. McShay and ESPN researchers point out Fields was sacked on 11.5 percent of his drop backs last season, when his 55 sacks was most in the NFL.

The last team to allow that high of a percentage of sacks was the 2006 Oakland Raiders, who went 2-14 behind quarterbacks Aaron Brooks and Andrew Walter. The Raiders shockingly did not take an offensive linemen with any of their 11 picks in the following draft — selecting JaMarcus Russell first overall instead of future Hall of Fame tackle Joe Thomas — and improved only to 4-12, 5-11 and 5-11 the next three seasons.

The Bears have visited with polarizing defensive tackle Jalen Carter of Georgia and seem sorely tempted to use their first pick on him if he slides past the Seattle Seahawks, who are intrigued with the fit for their defense. But they also could have their choice of the first three offensive tackles, Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski (who some see more as a dominating guard), Georgia’s Broderick Jones and Ohio State’s Paris Johnson Jr.

Barring a trade up in the draft — which isn’t the usual practice of General Manager Ryan Poles — the Bears will watch a lot of offensive linemen go off the board if they take Carter or another defensive player early. They sent their No. 2 pick to Pittsburgh to acquire Chase Claypool and currently don’t get to make another pick until No. 53. They’re also holding picks 61 and 64 and it seems highly likely they’ll focus on linemen with those three picks.

Wide receiver isn’t the priority it once seemed given the addition of Moore and Claypool as well as a second pass-catching tight end in Robert Tonyan, who is reuniting with offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. Cornerback and running back — in particular a running back who can develop into a strong pass-catching option — are likely to be addressed in the middle round of the draft.

The draft will hardly end the Bears’ acquisitions for the 2023 season. Poles figures to be aggressive in what’s called the cap casualty market, as they currently have $36.7 million of cap room remaining, per Spotrac, and have 22 veterans, including nine starters, heading toward free agency after ’23.

They are positioned to meet Fields’ needs for a long-term extension if he makes the improvements they hope for after upgrading the offense, and can be a player for veterans who are available through trades and waiver claims.

That list could include the Chargers’ offensive dynamo Austin Ekeler, New England tackle Trent Brown, Colts cornerback Kenny Moore and rusher Carl Lawson and New England tackle Trent Brown. Poles led the NFL with nine waiver claims after the draft last year, while also investing $12.6 million in a group of late-arriving free agents led by tackle Riley Reiff.