Taking over the Chicago Bears is certainly not an easy job.

When Ryan Poles was brought in as General Manager in late January, he knew that he had his work cut out for him if he wanted to redirect the path the Bears were on. Poles wasted no time, quickly bringing in a head coach in Matt Eberflus to help him rebuild the Bears and win over Chicago.

That’s a lot easier said than done.

Both Poles and Eberflus were attracted to the Bears job opportunities because of their young quarterback, Justin Fields. Fields was the shiny toy that dangled in front of every potential hire, enticing them to choose Chicago over other destinations. It’s not every day there is an opening in a major market organization with the talent and potential of Fields under center.

While Fields was an obvious pro towards taking the job, the negatives and challenges would be just as apparent. Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy left behind them a Bears roster that was littered with aging veterans signed to lucrative contracts and an underwhelming amount of draft capital.

The Bears do not have a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft after trading it to the Giants to move up in last year’s draft.

Not ideal for a first year GM or Head Coach.

So, the challenges are clear. How is a new leadership group supposed to turnover a roster and bring in a slew of young talent with no cap space or first round pick at their disposal?

Coach Eberflus may have answered that very question on The Chris Collinsworth Podcast earlier this week.

The Bears were quiet in free agency, but Eberflus claims the Bears are looking to add “three starters” with their first three selections in the upcoming draft and feel confident in the caliber of talent the Bears could acquire.

He also cites an unlikely reason for the Bears’ confidence…COVID-19.

“What’s nice about this draft is that it’s deep. It’s deep at receiver, deep at offensive line, defensive back,” Eberflus said. “Just because of the whole COVID thing, we feel it’s a good draft to be where we are. We’ve got three picks inside of 71, and we feel we’re going to pick up three starters there.”

Chicago will have two second-round picks (39 and 48) as well as pick 71 in the third-round in the draft, which will take place in Las Vegas from April 28-30. 

Recent NFL Mock Drafts have cited the three position groups the Bears are looking to target: Wide receiver, offensive line, and defensive back.

Now the question is which position the Bears will prioritize, whether they will find starting caliber talent in the second round, and what can Poles and Eberflus do to best help their young QB succeed?

Featured image via Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports