*Note: Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson’s full press conferences from Day 1 of the NFL Scouting Combine can be found embedded in the article below.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WGN) — It started with individual conversations between Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson. Then it evolved into a front office-wide effort to understand the vision Johnson has for the Chicago Bears roster.
On Tuesday, the Bears general manager and their new head coach dropped crumbs hinting at their approach toward fine-tuning Chicago’s roster heading into this week’s NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
“We went through position by position, the criteria of what he’s looking to do, and then we did it again when all of our scouts flew in for draft meetings,” Poles said. “Just to understand and have a clear vision of what we’re looking for.”
Parts of that “clear vision”—upgrading the offensive line and adding a pass rusher opposite Montez Sweat—have already been made crystal. But as for other position groups, like running back and tight end, there are variables at play that make it murkier to understand at this point in the offseason.
The Trey Smith situation and addressing the O-line
Poles was asked what he remembered about evaluating offensive guard Trey Smith when he was still in Kansas City. He declined to comment, saying “I’m not going to get into players that aren’t on our roster right now,” but the Bears general manager did say he was proud to be a part of the draft process that helped land Smith with the Chiefs. He was selected by Kansas City in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL draft.
Smith is 25 years old and heading into his fifth year in the NFL. The interior offensive lineman is currently caught in a peculiar position—one where if the dominos fall in the right direction, it could land him in a Bears uniform.
Smith is coming off his first Pro Bowl selection in 2024, but with his rookie deal expired, Smith is headed toward free agency if the Chiefs don’t franchise tag him or get a contract extension done.
Kansas City general manager Brett Veach told media at the combine Tuesday that the Chiefs are “pretty optimistic” they can retain Smith, according to nfl.com’s Kevin Patra. Veach added, “We’ve already had some good dialogue with him” and his agency, CAA.
However, if the Chiefs let Smith walk, Chicago is in prime position to back up the Brinks truck for his services. According to Spotrac, Smith should fetch a deal of around 4-years, $78.8 million in free agency, which boils down to about $19.7 million a season. The Bears have nearly $75 million in cap space this offseason.
With all three of their interior starting offensive linemen set to hit free agency—Teven Jenkins, Matt Pryor and Coleman Shelton—Johnson was asked if he thought it was realistic to flip so many offensive linemen in one offseason.
“I think it’s been done before. I think there’s a number of teams that did that last year. The Panthers come to mind when they went out in free agency and got a couple of top guards and really changed the dynamic of their offense,” Johnson said. “You saw them clicking there in the second half of the season, once they started to really gel.
“There’s no question you can change the dynamic of a room, just like that. That particular room, it does take a little bit of time for five guys to come together, especially if you have to deal with the attrition and the injuries, for five guys to come together and be on the same page.”
What does Johnson want from those five (six, seven, eight, nine) guys up front? He wants those on the field to be a nasty bunch who finish around the football, while those on the sidelines stay ready so they don’t have to get ready.
“We want a physical group. It starts with that, and that’s not just the offensive line. That’s the entire team. [Dennis Allen] and I have been talking about what that looks like on defense. It’s going to look that way on offense,” Johnson said. “It starts in the trenches up front. We talk about finishing in a dominant position. We want to be around the football.
“The best football players, they finish around the ball. That’s what you’re going to see from our unit, the five guys that we roll into. It’s not even going to be just five. The last few years, it ends up being six, seven, eight, nine guys end up playing a significant number of snaps. So, we’ve got to find those five best guys, but we also have to get a good bullpen, if you will, ready to go, to go in at a moment’s notice.”
Adding pass rusher(s)?
With the release of veteran DeMarcus Walker, the Bears’ depth along the defensive line continues to thin, pointing toward the likelihood of Chicago adding EDGE help in the draft, free agency, or both.
It’s not something that Poles and Johnson seem overly concerned about though, as both used the euphemism, “supply matches up with our demand.”
“It’s a big puzzle. Free agency comes first. There’s a lot of unknowns in the draft, in terms of who’s going to be there for you … You can have philosophical beliefs in how you build a football team, how you prioritize, but the supply has to match the needs,” Poles said. “Those opportunities have to present themselves at the right time so, we’re starting to put that puzzle piece together.
“What I like about, really the pairing so far over free agency and the draft, is I do believe that the supply of players are matching our needs so, there’s going to be good opportunities.”
Whether it’s in the draft or in free agency, there is a surplus of talent available along the defensive line.
Pro Football Focus has 31 defensive linemen ranked in the Top 100 NFL draft prospects on their 2025 Big Board. NFL.com has 13 defensive linemen ranked inside their Top 50 free agents, including three inside their Top 10.
“I think Ryan talked about it this morning a little bit. We feel really good about free agency and the draft and how supply matches up with our demand,” Johnson said. “So, we’ve been able to dive into the film over the last few weeks, but now we can verify the personality, the football intelligence, and all those types of things that you wouldn’t normally have known just by watching the tape.”
D’Andre Swift’s role in Chicago’s offense
A player who will play a major factor in the year 1 framing of Johnson’s offense is running back D’Andre Swift.
Swift should become a more valuable asset in 2025, given he already has experience in a Johnson-led offense. Swift had 931 scrimmage yards on 147 touches (6.3 yards-per-touch) for the Detroit Lions in 2022, when Johnson was promoted to offensive coordinator. Last year for the Bears, Swift had 1,345 scrimmage yards on 295 touches (4.5 YPT).
“I was with Swifty when we first drafted him in Detroit a number of years ago, and I followed his career even after he left Detroit,” Johnson said. “[I] think very highly of him. He’s an explosive athlete. There’s a number of things that he can do, both in the running game and the passing game. I do think he can help ignite an offense because he has that play-making ability.”
Poles was asked if he thinks the Bears have the personnel to mirror the run-game success Johnson found in Detroit, and how that view impacts his decision to approach adding or adjusting the talent they already have at running back.
“We’re going to take a look at what’s available to us. I really believe it lines up with the additions we’re going to have over the player acquisition periods of free agency and in the draft,” Poles said. “We’ll be in a position to have a strong run game to stay balanced, which in turn, helps the quarterback.”
The Lions forged a talented rushing attack from the moment Johnson took over as offensive coordinator and improved with each year that went by. In Johnson’s first season as Detroit’s offensive coordinator, the Lions finished 11th in the NFL in team rushing yards (128.2). Over the next two years, Detroit finished sixth (134.3) in 2023 and third (149.4) in 2024.
What’s going on at tight end?
Another veteran who recently joined Walker on the chopping block was No. 2 tight end Gerald Everett. The 8-year NFL veteran was cut Friday in a cost-cutting move that saved Chicago $5.5 million toward this year’s salary cap, and freed up the possibility of the Bears adding another tight end via free agency or the draft to pair with Cole Kmet.
“Part of his scheme, he showed it in Detroit. I know it’s not going to be exactly the same, but he is going to put those guys in a position to be successful,” Poles said. “Usually with a young quarterback, tight ends are able to have a lot of production so, making sure those guys were lined up, have the chemistry seeing things the same [way].
“I believe from his past, that should be able to take off pretty good.”
Kmet saw his production drop last season from a career year in 2023, while the now departed Everett—brought in to be an effective pass-catching backup behind Kmet—managed all of 8 catches for 36 yards last season.
Johnson was well known for using 12 personnel—or packages featuring two tight ends—when he called plays for the Lions. According to Sumer Sports, Detroit was in 12 personnel on 32.2% of their plays on offense, the third-highest rate in the league behind the Chiefs (33.9%) and the Las Vegas Raiders (35.5%).
For a full preview on the Chicago Bears’ outlook heading into the NFL Scouting Combine, you can read Kaitlin Sharkey and Eli Ong’s combine preview by clicking here.