The Chicago Bears are hoping that a change to the coaching staff and filling a few team needs will push them back into the playoff hunt.
Things haven’t gone as planned for the Chicago Bears and General Manager Ryan Pace. The team’s struggles resulted in John Fox being replace by Matt Nagy. However, this team has plenty of needs to fill before they are ready to compete.
Chicago is projected to have around $40 million in cap space and have 7 picks in the 2018 NFL Draft. They don’t have a pick in the 3rd round by do have two in the 4th.
Below are the Chicago Bears top 3 team needs:
1. Wide Receiver
The Bears are in desperate need for playmakers at the wide receiver position. They could realistically add three new starters to the roster. The only potential building block is Cameron Meredith who is coming off a knee injury.
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Look for the Bears to hit the free agent market to at least address some of this need. It would make sense to bring in some veteran talent to help Mitch Trubisky’s development.
However, they also need a young playmaker they can build around. The 2018 NFL Draft is light on high-end receiver prospects which means targeting someone in the 2nd round might make the most sense.
2. Cornerback
Chicago could potentially need to replace a majority of their cornerback depth chart. Kyle Fuller and Prince Amukamara are free agents and Marcus Cooper is a potential cap causality. It’s hard to imagine the Bears not spending big bucks on free agent additions at this position.
The draft is obviously another way from them to add help at cornerback. Ryan Pace has been very aggressive moving up the draft and could look to swing a deal to grab Alabama’s Minkah Fitzpatrick.
3. Pass Rusher
Leonard Floyd has done a good job getting after the quarterback when healthy. However, he has struggled to stay on the field. Chicago needs to find more help in the pass rush department based on Floyd’s lack availability.
However, the Bears could use more pass rush help even when Floyd is on the field.