PHOENIX — Bears coach Ben Johnson tried to argue Monday morning his roster was deep enough that the team could afford to draft the best available player next month.
“I think we can go any direction we need to, and stay true to that,” he said, “and feel pretty good about it.”
Deep down, he must know better. So must general manager Ryan Poles. Because this year’s draft cries out for the Bears to draft a defensive player in Round 1. And maybe two more in Round 2.
It’s essential to the team’s future on and off the field. They haven’t picked a first-round defender since Roquan Smith in 2018 and are set to pay $166 million, the fourth-most in the NFL, to their 2026 defense alone. That’s unsustainable. The Bears need an influx in young defensive talent on the field who collect a reasonable paycheck off it.
“We talk about that a lot,” Poles said Monday at the NFL’s annual meeting.
Poles just told the world what he, Johnson and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen thought of the team’s defense. He traded linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and let starting safeties Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker and cornerback Nahshon Wright leave via free agency. No NFL team gave any of their defensive backs more than a one-year deal.
The Bears swapped them out for players who they think better fit Allen’s defensive mindset — but need to add more in the draft.
“If you go back and see the teams that D.A. has had, specifically the defenses in New Orleans, there’s an aggressiveness, there’s a violence and there’s a speed that they play with,” Poles said. “So we’re trying to match that …
“That’s part of our evaluation process with the rookie class — prioritizing the guys that fit perfectly or that kind of borderline fit and need some development. And then we really try to push aside the guys that don’t fit.”
The hard part about drafting someone who fits Allen’s prototype is that the Bears are picking so late in Round 1. Poles looks to two late-round stalwarts for inspiration — the Steelers and Ravens. S
