Everyone keeps talking about offense, but defense should be the pick at 10.
It’s our final look in our “The Case for” series, and this time, we are talking defense in general. This article isn’t about the Bears adding a specific defensive player, just that ignoring this side of the ball when there’s a good chance that the best player available (BPA) is going to be on the defensive side of the ball.
I get it, the Bears need a lot of help on offense. They need a 3-down running back. They don’t have one. They need more help at tight end. They don’t have it. They need to start getting a youthful pipeline at the offensive line because they don’t have one.
All those points are valid. But the Bears also brought in Ben Johnson, right? All offseason, the fans of the Chicago Bears have said that the reason the Bears were so bad last year wasn’t because of the players, but because of the coaching. Well, if that’s right, then we should expect Ben Johnson to make significant improvements to the offense as a whole because he’s here.
Combine that with the idea that they’ve added three starters across the offensive line, and it’s time to realize that there are two sides to a football game, and the Bears need to focus on defense.
Yes, the Bears have some good defensive players, but what defensive players do they have on rookie contracts that can be relied on? On the defensive line, they only have Gervon Dexter; every other player is on a veteran contract, and a handful are rather expensive. At linebacker? Both are on veteran deals. In the secondary? You have Jaylon Johnson and Kevin Byard, and Kyler Gordon is about to get paid. What players on this defense are performing well on rookie deals?
Jaquan Brisker is but his concussions are an issue. Tyrique Stevenson could rebound; he’s flashed plenty of skills, but his play in 2024 (and his maturity) should be a concern. Other than those two, it’s Dexter.
That’s a problem.
The Bears need to start infusing this defense with more young talent. They don’t have enough right now, and as we’ve seen with both the Lovie Smith defense and the Vic Fangio defense, defenses fall off a cliff in a hurry if there isn’t enough depth behind them.
There’s a limited pool of highly talented players that will be going in the top ten. We’ve said multiple times that there aren’t 10 “top ten” players in this draft. If one of the more talented players in the draft is available, why pass up on them for more of a reach on the offensive side of the ball?
The Bears are a 5-12 football team. We can blame coaching all we want, but 5-12 teams usually have a talent issue as well. The Bears need to add talent wherever they can.
Of the elite players in this draft, the one who probably has the best chance to fall to 10 is Mason Graham of Michigan. It’s still probably a long shot, but adding more talented players to a defensive line is never a bad thing. Grady Jarrett and Andrew Billings are both on the wrong side of 30. Montez Sweat will be 29 when the season kicks off. The Bears need youth on the defensive line, and Graham would be a huge boost.
Jalon Walker of Georgia could also be available at 10. Walker is a guy who might be able to come off the edge and also play linebacker. He’s a guy that a strong defensive coordinator (Dennis Allen) should be able to utilize in multiple ways and create problems for an offense. If he develops, he could be a defensive Swiss Army Knife.
Michigan CB Will Johnson is another interesting chance. Johnson was considered one of the top 3 or 4 players in this entire draft for most of the college football season, but his hamstring issues and injuries have bumped him down the list. If you draft Johnson, what do you do with Stevenson? How do you make the secondary work? Again, that’s one of those things that you figure out later because Johnson can become a shutdown corner. Perhaps Stevenson could move to safety? Think about how strong the Bears’ secondary could be.
Edge is a little trickier. Abdul Carter won’t be there. The next best edges are probably James Pearce and Mike Green and both of them have off-the-field issues that would probably make them look elsewhere. Shemar Stewart is a project. Mykel Williams? The Philadelphia Eagles seem to do well just taking Georgia defenders.
Regardless of which direction the Bears could go on defense, there’s going to be a quality player there. Will Campbell and Armand Membou are both probably off the board. Don’t reach. Why take a running back when you are going to be able to get a good one in round 2? Why reach for a TE when you have Kmet and have a solid starting 11 on offense already?
Take the best player available. If the draft breaks the way many think it will, it is highly likely that the BPA at 10 is going to be a defensive player. That’s the move. Don’t overthink it. Get a good football player in the first round. Take a defensive player and don’t look back.