Take a look at the Super Bowl and you’ll maybe find a blueprint for how the Bears should be approaching this upcoming offseason. The Chiefs allowed 0 sacks. The Eagles came into the game with one of the best defensive lines as far as sack totals go in history. That same Eagles team has one of – if not the – best offensive lines in the game. Exciting young quarterbacks aside, the rosters were constructed with that game in mind by two of the NFL’s brightest General Managers and they both invested heavily in the trenches.
Free Agency is coming up. Everyone loves a good mock draft and they’re fun but a lot of the draft talk is moot until the Bears plug many of the roster holes with qualified veterans. The Bears don’t have many options, as of right now, to make bullet-proof signings that elevate the entire team. If we’re being honest, the free agent class is kind of weak and could become weaker with some of the top targets getting franchise tagged. Not many options at wide receiver, no true upgrade at running back and few shut-down corners available. However, where the free agent class is strong is exactly where the Bears need help the most; the defensive and offensive lines.
It’s already been reported by some that the talk around the Super Bowl was that the Bears are going to be aggressive for a right tackle. I’d suggest they sign someone like Atlanta’s Kaleb McGary or San Francisco’s Mike McGlinchey. After that I’d turn to the defensive tackle position and do everything in my power to sign Daron Payne from Washington. If you land two of the three names I mentioned, then you swing back around and try for Ethan Pocic at center from Cleveland.
I think, if I were running the team, this is how I’d start setting up the team, not just Justin Fields, for success long term. You may not have the high-powered offense that everyone wants to see yet, but you’d have stability to ensure that the draft that is on the way could help you get there. Plus Fields needs protection for his style of play. It all starts up front.
The post Trust in the Trenches appeared first on Chicago Sports Nation.