Bear Digest

Biggest Questions About the Bears After NFL Draft

The draft might have provided a few answers but it created many more and many others remain unaddressed about the Bears for 2024.

Gene Chamberlain

The biggest question about Caleb Williams heading into his rookie year isn't why he's wearing No. 18 instead of 13 or 1.
The biggest question about Caleb Williams heading into his rookie year isn't why he's wearing No. 18 instead of 13 or 1. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
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Answers always beget questions in the NFL. Always.

The Bears went through a five-pick draft process when they originally had only four picks. They found their franchise quarterback, a spectacular college receiver who could be their future at this position.

They even found one of the most effective punters college football has seen in some time.

Yet, they didn't answer every question and created even more questions with some of their answers.

Here are the top questions and answers about the Bears for 2024 coming out of the draft.

What Happens If Montez Sweat Is Injured

They lose.

Or at least they better hope Caleb Williams can outscore the opponent the way he had to do at USC last year.

Their defensive success in the second half of 2023 was based on Sweat's pressure and the only additions they've made are adding journeyman Jake Martin, who is probably more of a 3-4 linebacker than an end, and drafting Kansas' Austin Booker in Round 4. While Booker has some promise as a 4-3 end, he is underweight at 6-4 1/2, 240 pounds, had only one real college season when he made eight sacks.

"He's 21 years old," scout John Syty pointed out. "I mean, he's still becoming a man and growing into his body."

GRADING RYAN POLES' THIRD NFL DRAFT

When he's done growing he'll get sacks. Until then some reps will have do do and the Bears pass rush is back to where it was last year if opponents or injury neutralizes Sweat.

Is There a Free Agent Option at Edge Rusher

It's Yannick Ngakoue. No one has signed him. His season ended with a disappointing four sacks due to an ankle injury in the 13th game. They would need to know he's healed before extending him an offer.

They also have $12.5 million left in effective cap space, according to Overthecap.com. So it's not going to be the bigger type contract Ngakoue has been used to getting as a one-year edge mercenary.

How Did They Replace Justin Jones?

They really didn't. He got the third-highest free agency contract for defensive tackles. Signing Illinois undrafted free agent Keith Randolph gives them an extra candidate on the interior but this one is on Gervon Dexter, and then if not him Zacch Pickens. The two young DTs have been in Chicago a year. Neither one graded well stopping the run last year and running game disruption is the primary goal at 3-technique. The good ones also get the sacks, too.

Dexter showed promise with 2 1/2 sacks and pressures late last year but his run defense was graded at 118th out of 130 defensive interior players last year by Pro Football Focus.

Normally at the this time of year, there are no answers of value at defensive tackle because it's a difficult position to find extraordinary talent.

The free agent edge rushers are a band of highly paid mercenaries floating about outside the NFL every year before teams bring one in at a high cost for one  year but this is not so with tackles. What they add isn't as valued by most teams. It's grunt work. But it's necessary grunt work.

The Bears do have Byron Cowart, a spare veteran with his third team in four years after starting one disappointing year in New England. The Colts didn't get much out of him last year. He's 6-3, 300, about the size of a 3-technique.

Want creativity? Move Andrew Billings over to play more 3-technique and let either Dexter, Pickens or Cowart play some nose and pick the double teams off of him. He's pretty forceful inside.

Billings played one-third of his snaps last year in the B-gap where 3-techniques reside anyway, and the rest in the A-gap. 

More creativity?

There's a guy named Fletcher Cox, who is still 33 years old and is unsigned. Who better to teach two young defensive tackles for one season than a six-time Pro Bowler and former All-Pro who still was a starter last year?

If you're going to sign a free agent rusher, you could be better off devoting the money to Cox. He'll get push on the inside.

You might not need any edge rush help then if you sign Cox.

What About a Third Tight End?

This one is a problem. Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron used 13-personnel packages, and, besides, you need a third in case something happened to Cole Kmet or Gerald Everett.

They signed undrafted free agent Brenden Bates from Kentucky but he only contributed 26 college catches in five seasons. He's regarded as a good blocker. It's possible he'll be one of the few undrafted players to make this roster.

Remember what Poles said: "It's going to be hard to make this roster."

The other option they have at this time is Stephen Carlson, who was in camp and on their practice squad last year after he tried making a comeback from injuries in a career that was derailed in 2020.

Signing someone wouldn't be a problem here. There are always backup tight ends on the free agent merry-go-round.

Former 49ers tight end Ross Dwelley is out there. Logan Thomas and their own tight end from last year, Robert Tonyan Jr., are still unsigned. This isn't a big issue.

Waldron might use less three-tight end stuff with the spectacular wide receiver group he has assembled and iwth good targets at the top two tight end spots.

Is There a Long-Term Safety Answer?

No. Kevin Byard isn't ready for a wheelchair yet. He's 31 and Tashaun Gipson was a key starter for the 49ers at safety the last two years at 32 and 33. And Byard has never had an injury, so he's in good shape.

There are more depth answers at safety than they've had since DeAndre Houston-Carson left. They have Elijah Hicks, Jonathan Owens and Tavarius Moore and all have started multiple games.

This will be a one-year deal and they'll need to find the safety of the future in the next draft.

No one has rushed out and signed Eddie Jackson yet. Maybe he winds up back in Chicago on a low contract as a backup. It's not likely, but still a possibility.

Is Braxton Jones Headed for the Bench?

Not by a long shot. Jones was a mid-level tackle last year and a bit better than that in 2022 according to Pro Football Focus blocking grades.

Rookie third-rounder Kiran Amegadjie is a project. He has physical traits but remember, he played at Yale. That's not big-time power-5 conference football.

Jones has been tested by some of the best pass rushers and is an above-average left tackle answer.

As for Amegadjie, Poles flat out said it's more of a projection with him as a starter.

"Potentially, probably not Year 1, but again, I don't want to put a ceiling on Kiran either," Poles said. "I think we'll open that up and kind of see how it goes."

The role Poles said he saw for Amegadjie could even be guard, as Poles pointed out, the Yale Bulldog played there earlier in his career.

Here's creative thinking. Those 36-inch arms look better at tackle, just like with the 35-inch arms Jones has.

Darnell Wright, on the other hand, was in the bottom 33% for arm length among all combine tackles ever when he was drafted. Maybe they move him to guard.

Just saying.

What Is the Biggest Question About Caleb Williams?

People will tell you his reliance on extending plays is the big issue, and this does need to change in the NFL somewhat.

The real question about Williams is whether the Bears coaches can actually develop him. Their quarterbacks coach, Kerry Joseph, has two years experience as an assistant quarterbacks coach and no other NFL experience working specifically with the quarterback, although he was a QB in the CFL.

On the other hand, Joseph has no less experience working with QBs than Jerrod Johnson did last year with C.J. Stroud at Houston. So it's no cause for alarm. But experience can matter handling QBs.

Patrick Mahomes had Matt Nagy as the effective QB coach for a year, even though the former Bears coach was also Chiefs offensive coordinator then. He also had Corey Matthaei as an assistant QB coach. But Nagy had plenty of experience working with QBs when the Chiefs drafted Mahomes.

Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron has always been working with veteran QBs. This will be a

Who's the Slot Receiver?

Does it matter?

All of them will be able to play it and all will be able to go outside. But Allen figures best as a slot because of his knack for getting open over the middle late on plays for first downs.

Is D'Andre Swift Necessarily Starter?

It will be a "competition" but you don't pay a back $8 million a year at a time when backs are a dime a dozen and then play him as backup to a sixth-round draft pick who had injury issues last year and wasn't a starter before prior to 2023.

Is There Competition for Any Starting Spot?

There's always competition at every spot.

That's the coachspeak answer.

The only real competitive spot looks to be center between Coleman Shelton and Ryan Bates.

They like Bates or wouldn't have tried to sign him as a restricted free agent in 2022, and then trade for him this year.

However, Shelton was Rams starting center in the Sean McVay offense, an attack like the Bears will now use.

He snapped the ball 1,771 time in four years, 1,113 last year. His play at other positions amounted to only 299 plays.

Bates, on the other hand, was a lightly used sub last year, and when he played it was 35 snaps at center. That's it. In his five-year career, he has 203 snaps at center, 843 at right guard, 214 at left guard. So he has been more of a guard on either side than a center.

He also has been a tackle for 95 plays on the left side and 29 on the right.

That's a really valuable player for game day when you can play five offensive line positions. But it's not necessarily a starting center.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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Gene Chamberlain

GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.