The Chicago Bears’ 2022 was, in short, lousy. Matt Eberflus’ team finished the season with a 3-14 record, the worst in the entire NFL. It was the season with the most losses in the history of the franchise and for the first time, they lost ten consecutive games.
The truth is that the roster of the NFC North team was not ready to compete and made water in several sectors of the field. A weak offensive line and little help from receivers made things uphill for Justin Fields, who before all that still managed to give evidence of his great athletic ability and speed, to the point that he became the quarterback with more rushing yards in a game. The defense also failed to get strong and suffered especially in the running game: 31 ground TDs received, six more than the second-worst team.
At least, Chicago made up for a bad year: the #1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The front office decided to continue betting on Justin Fields as a franchise QB, and based on that decision they decided to move down. Sure, in a class with several interesting quarterbacks, the Bears didn’t need such a high pick to find quality players at other positions, and some team with more urgency could give them good material in return. Said and done, Carolina Panthers gave their WR DJ Moore four picks, three of them first-round picks. The reconstruction, little by little, seems to be taking shape.
The players who could stand out from the Chicago Bears in 2023
There are several names that are called to make a leap and others who, while they have had a good season, are still in a position to show more progress. In addition, some of the additions in free agency could give Chicago that kick it needs to fight in an NFC North that seems more even than a few years ago.
Justin Fields, QB
As we already mentioned, the 24-year-old quarterback had a good season and made a major leap, but he still has a long way to go in the air game. Although the position has evolved towards more mobile players, the truth is that all the stars still have the arm as their main weapon. With the additions to the offensive line via draft and free agency, plus the arrival of DJ Moore, Fields will need to prove he can be a double-threat QB if he has the necessary help.
Of course, the responsibilities also begin to be greater. After two bad years, Chicago fans are still waiting for their quarterback to lead them into a positive season, in which they at least fight for the playoffs. Mental strength will be key to silencing those who still doubt that Justin is the solution in the future.
DJ Moore, WR
As we said, Moore arrived as part of the #1 pick trade between the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers. In his previous franchise, the receiver had shown productivity even without ever having an elite quarterback throwing passes at him. Although in 2022 his volume decreased, he still remained involved and totaled seven TDs, a record in his career.
The truth is that DJ comes to reinforce a position in which Chicago has been having problems for years. It’s vital that Fields finally finds a player with whom he develops chemistry and feels confident to throw at him frequently. Neither Allen Robinson II in 2021 nor Darnell Mooney or Chase Claypool in 2022 turned out to be that player.
DeMarcus Walker, DL
Signed offseason, DeMarcus Walker is coming off an interesting campaign with the Tennessee Titans. He played every game and had ten tackles for lost yardage and seven sacks, career highs. In addition, he tallied 16 QB hits, only four fewer than the Chicago Bears as a team. The interesting thing is that he put these numbers as a starter only six times. It is versatile, it can help in the trenches both against the ground game and against the air, undoubtedly a piece that can give a necessary replacement to the unit.
Tremaine Edmunds, LB
Another good free-agency addition. The player coming from the Buffalo Bills is an immediate improvement to the linebacker position, especially against the ground game but also in the coverage of the air attack. Selected in the 2018 NFL Draft, Tremaine Edmunds is an athletic linebacker who in his five seasons never managed fewer than 100 tackles. He has been a Pro Bowler twice and comes to help a unit that, as we said, has been very weak against the race.
Newbies
There were ten rookies that the Bears selected in the 2023 NFL Draft. The most prominent is first-round pick Darnell Wright (#10), an OL who didn’t allow any sacks in his senior year. He has the conditions to become a safety on the right side and protect a Fields that have not enjoyed good offensive lines in his first two years in the NFL.
In turn, players with playmaking skills such as running back Roschon Johnson and receiver Tyler Scott arrived. Defensively, reinforcements arrived for all units, among which stand out the coach Gervon Dexter and the physical CB Tyrique Stevenson, both chosen in the second round.
