Ben Johnson and Ryan Poles don't rule out adding more talent to the trenches despite additions made during free agency
Fixing the trenches has become the mantra for the Chicago Bears offseason and those plans have been coming to fruition over the past few days at Halas Hall.The Bears have added multiple quality, veteran, talent to the offensive and defensive line via trades and free agent acquisitions.As a result, the Bears have addressed the two […]
Fixing the trenches has become the mantra for the Chicago Bears offseason and those plans have been coming to fruition over the past few days at Halas Hall.
The Bears have added multiple quality, veteran, talent to the offensive and defensive line via trades and free agent acquisitions.
As a result, the Bears have addressed the two most glaring needs on the roster, although more additions could be made to give the team some long-term assurance.
That means don't fully rule out the Bears using the rest of the remaining capital to add even more to the trenches, either by scooping up what's left of the free agent market, or by using some of the seven upcoming draft selections.
While speaking to the media on Thursday, head coach Ben Johnson all but confirmed more offensive line help is on the way in some fashion despite the starting five being set already.
"You usually play with eight or nine guys [on the offensive line] over the course of the season. It's not just the starting group that needs to be gelled, but we have some depth players, some young guys, that may or may not be in the building right now that we're going to be counting on," Johnson explained.
As for the defensive front, general manager Ryan Poles had some interesting statements about potentially looking to make more additions to the room.
"You can't have enough pass rushers on your team," Poles said. "We all watched the Super Bowl, right? You want to have waves of pass rushers."
That certainly sounds like more bodies could potentially enter the room. The follow-up question after that was: "Is pass rush still a group you're looking to add to?" And here was Poles' response.
"Like I said, you can't have enough pass rushers, we're always looking to add and improve that group. But, I feel good about where we are today."
Well that decides it. But for the time being, where are the Bears currently on the defensive line to feel good about? Well, the starters are already set for 2025 and 2026 with Montez Sweat, Dayo Odeyingbo, Grady Jarrett, and Gervon Dexter. And the roster still has solid depth in Austin Booker and Andrew Billings.
That's already a solid room. And it looks much better on paper compared to what the team was working with in 2024. But that doesn't mean the work should stop there.
When looking ahead to the NFL Draft, if someone like Mason Graham is available at 10, or a top edge rusher like Shemar Stewart or Mykel Williams seems appealing based on the board, you shouldn't pass that up just because you "feel good" about the room.
The same goes for the offensive line. If a guy like Will Campbell falls, you take him. The team could even consider another top offensive tackle such as Josh Simmons.
In my opinion, you have to keep building both units with the best players available to you. That doesn't have to be with the 10th overall pick, specifically. The Bears also have the 39th and 41st overall picks in the second-round. At the end of the day, two of those top three picks should still be a top offensive and defensive lineman, even after the recent moves.
Poles and Johnson might be leaning that way too, and hopefully they don't get too content on what they already have in the building to overlook any top prospects.
