Bear Digest

Ten Burning Questions for Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson at NFL Combine

Chicago Bears decision makers will study and talk to the talent on hand at Indianapolis this week with several team needs obvious on defense.
Gene Chamberlain|
Luther Burden III, Bears wide receiver, runs a 4.41 in the 40-yard dash at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
Luther Burden III, Bears wide receiver, runs a 4.41 in the 40-yard dash at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The annual pilgrimage of personnel people and coaches to Indianapolis for the NFL Scouting Combine is this week with the Bears taking part.

GM Ryan Poles and coach Ben Johnson will speak with the media throng Tuesday morning, something not every team's coaches and GM do. It will be their first public comments since the season-ending presser a little over a month ago. The schedule of combine speakers includes no one from the Vikings, Cowboys, Bengals, Saints and Rams this year, as those teams have decided to stay in the background. The Vikings don’t even have a real GM yet, anyway.

The Bears are in demand nationally these days after last year's miracle comebacks, and Poles will speak at 9:15 a.m., with Johnson talking at 10:30 a.m.

Players will be interviewed by media starting Wednesday and workouts start Thursday with players of real interest to the Bears: the defensive linemen and linebackers. They'll work out from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Kickers will work out then, as well. The rest of the schedule is defensive backs and tight ends on Friday from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.; QBs, receivers and running backs Saturday from noon to 8 p.m. and offensive linemen on Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. (NFL Network)

The press conferences are one thing, but talent available for workouts and team interviews is what's most important. Team get to hold 45 interviews of up to 20 minutes with players.

Johnson and Poles working together last year produced one of the best Bears draft classes in recent memory, and definitely one of the fastest ever to develop. Colston Loveland, Luther Burden III, Ozzy Trapilo and Kyle Monangai became key performers in the playoff run as rookies.

The willingness and ability of the coaching staff to work closely with the personnel department and the coaches’ ability to develop rookies was credited for making this happen.

"Drafting and developing, that's the ultimate collaboration between a front office and a coaching staff," Poles said at season's end. "You’ve got to have a shared vision of what we're asking those guys to do. Then that commitment to, the players have to commit to, improving, but also the coaches pouring into them and getting them up to speed so that they can become pros is important.

"That clear vision, clear collaboration between coaching  and front office, that's something that we’ve got going on and we'll continue to improve and get better. You can see it come to life. You can really see it come to life this year. The way Colston played, to Kyle, Kyle did a great job this year too. That's a lot of coaching, once guys get in the building and they did a great job.”

The shared vision starts again this week. Here are 10 burning questions about the Bears with the combine at hand, and none of them involve a stadium location because Poles and Johnson are not Kevin Warren, George McCaskey or J.B. Pritzker.

1. They've made it clear in the past that drafting and developing are the way to build a team but could they be close to a point where one key acquisition through trade or signing could transform them into a Super Bowl team? Hint, think edge rusher.

2. Is the need for defensive end help greater than the defensive tackle need or vice versa? The Bears were next to last in ESPN's pass rush win rate but they were 29th in yards allowed per rush.

3. At defensive tackle, is the need greater for an attacking three-technique or nose tackle? And are their players in this draft who it's believed can play both roles?

4. Did Austin Booker prove himself as the starter going forward or is he still merely part of the defensive end rotation? (If he's starter, it could be a sign they wouldn't pursue a big-name free agent or a trade).

5. Is a bigger defensive end an absolute requirement or can the Bears make use of a 240-pound speed rusher off the edge? Booker was only 245 when drafted and has worked, but traditionally defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said he needs bigger edges to combat the run.

6. Are there offensive tackles in this draft worth taking on Days 2 and 3 who could start as rookies? A year after taking and succeeding with Trapilo, the Bears need someone to, at the very least, hold his spot well into the season because of a patellar tendon injury.

7. Can a running back in the draft be ruled out after they succeeded with Monangai last year? D'Andre Swift is entering the last year of his contract in 2026 and his deal is such that he could even be replaced immediately if they had someone spectacular fall into their laps, such as Notre Dame's two running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price.

8. How realistic is it to expect Kevin Byard can sign back with the team and is the draft deep enough at safety for the Bears to find more than one player? Their top four safeties are out of contract at this point and Poles already indicated Byard is a player he wants back.

9. What is the degree of certainty cornerback Jaylon Johnson can return at 100% now after his core muscle surgery last season? He admitted he was far from full strength after his comeback late in the season, and if he isn't going to be the lockdown cornerback he was in the past, the Bears would need to draft one.

10. Does Caleb Williams need a receiver with world class speed like Johnson had in Detroit with Jameson Williams in order to complete the weapon set, or can this attack operate without a true field stretcher who runs in the 4.2s for the 40?

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

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.