After months of talk about salary cap space and the No. 1 pick, Bears general manager Ryan Poles finally showed his cards and made his moves.
The Bears traded the No. 1 pick to the Carolina Panthers for wide receiver DJ Moore, the No. 9 overall pick, No. 61, a 2024 first-round pick, and a 2025 second-round pick.
Poles then invested heavily in the linebacker position in free agency, signing Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards. The Bears also added guard Nate Davis, defensive end DeMarcus Walker, running back D'Onta Foreman, and tight end Robert Tonyan, among others.
Now all the attention shifts to the draft, where the Bears have to nail their evaluations to fill out a roster that still has several sinkholes at critical positions.
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Let's sift through the rubble from a hectic three weeks of offseason moves for Poles and the Bears:
Overreaction? Yes.
I understand the desire to be greedy. Poles said he thought he could have done something "historic" by trading with the Houston Texans at No. 2 and then the Carolina Panthers at No. 9.
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That's good in theory, and there's probably a universe where the Bears' general manager is able to pull off both trades.
But the Arizona Cardinals' presence at No. 3 and willingness to move down threatened to box the Bears out of a deal they really liked. Poles knew that Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer was also talking to Arizona. By waiting, Poles risked the Panthers and Cardinals agreeing on a deal and losing the trade partner that had the draft capital and premium player he wanted.
Could Poles have waited and perhaps found a similar deal with the Tennessee Titans, who sit at No. 11? It's possible. But with three top-60 picks and a 26-year-old star receiver on the table, the Bears were wise to pull the trigger and not let that deal slip away.
Overreaction? No.
I think it's fair to say two things: The Bears got better in free agency, and Poles didn't do enough to address the biggest holes on the roster.
The Bears entered the offseason with significant needs along both lines of scrimmage. Poles took a run at right tackle Mike McGlinchey but elected not to get in a bidding war with the Denver Broncos, who gave McGlincey a massive $87.5 million deal.
Poles didn't go after Orlando Brown Jr. due to scheme-fit issues.
The only offensive lineman the Bears added was Davis. Davis has only played right guard in his NFL career, and his arrival appears to signal that Teven Jenkins will be shifting to left guard in 2023.
As for the defensive line, the Bears only added edge rusher DeMarcus Walker and nose tackle Andrew Billings. Both are solid veterans but not needle-movers.
As such, the Bears enter the 2023 NFL Draft with needs at offensive tackle, edge rusher, and defensive tackle. In my opinion, they still have enough needs to take a "best player available" approach as long as they use it on the trenches.
I do think it's risky to enter the draft with a hole at right tackle, defensive tackle, and edge rusher, The Bears are almost certainly going to have to use three of their top four picks on the trenches, and those players have to be able to contribute/start on Day 1.
It's not a great spot to be in, but it's the road Poles chose by not overpaying for McGlinchey or defensive tackles Javon Hargrave or Dre'Mont Jones.
Overreaction? No.
This is where I also landed after Poles' opening flurry of moves.
I thought the Bears had to address at least one side of the line of scrimmage in free agency. Whether that was a big-money deal for McGlinchey or Brown, a top defensive tackle, or a couple of mid-level additions on the edge, the Bears had to check one of those boxes.
They didn't.
In a vacuum, Poles' disciplined approach is great and will likely serve the Bears well in the long run. But with the way you can front-load contracts, the Bears could have given Brown the same contract the Bengals did and been able to get out of it after two years if the scheme fit was an issue.
The addition of DJ Moore is huge. The Bears needed to add an elite playmaker to help quarterback Justin Fields, and they got a 26-year-old who thrives in the middle of the field where Fields is at his best.
But the Bears pretty much neglected their most significant area of need and now need to hit some home runs early in the draft to make up for it.
Overreaction? Yes.
I love Jaxon Smith-Njigba. In my first mock draft after the trade for Moore, I still had the Bears selecting him at No. 9.
That was when I thought they planned to address the trenches in free agency. Since they neglected to do that, Poles has pigeon-holed himself into going offensive or defensive line in the first few rounds.
Trading down is a legitimate possibility. The Bears are certainly open for business. But I don't think they can avoid addressing the trenches in Round 1.
It is a deep edge class, but the Bears need players who can come in and make an impact on Day 1. Picking a couple of projects on Day 3 won't suffice.
The cornerback class is impressive, and the Bears should be able to find a potential starter in the second, third, or fourth round. Keep an eye on Alabama's Eli Ricks, Utah's Clark Phillips, South Carolina's Darius Rush, and Kansas State's Julius Brents.
Overreaction? Yes.
I have a hard time seeing the Titans trading Simmons. I know he's in the final year of his contract, and new general manager Ran Carthon appears to be planning on a complete rebuild.
But a 25-year-old star defensive tackle is the type of player you anchor a rebuild around.
The Titans were in a similar position with A.J. Brown last offseason, so never say never. If Simmons does hit the trade market, it's a deal that would make sense for the Bears. They have the money to give him the extension he wants and the draft capital to appease the Titans.
Chances are low, but things change quickly in the NFL.
Overreaction? Yes.
I've been critical of Braxton Jones, but that's because left tackle is arguably the second-most important position on the field. He was solid for a fifth-round rookie from a small school and got better as the season went along.
But he needs to get better against the bull rush. This offseason will be all about him adding strength and getting better at anchoring.
I still think he's better suited as a right or swing tackle. But he's far from the biggest issue on the offensive line.
For one, the Bears currently have no right tackle. Big issue. They also appear ready to move Jenkins to left guard just months after moving him inside from right tackle. Jenkins performed well at right guard, but he could use some stability early in his NFL career. He also needs to prove he can stay healthy for an entire season.
Poles has also talked about potentially moving Cody Whitehair to center, which feels like a force.
Jones needs to get better. That's true. But the Bears have a lot bigger issues on the offensive line than him at the moment.
No overreaction here but a good question.
The Bears still have around $40 million in salary cap space and must spend $45 million to hit the cash floor by next March.
Lawson is the easy one should the Jets elect to cut him. Head coach Robert Saleh said at the NFL Scouting Combine that he planned for Lawson to be in New York because "pass rushers don't grow on trees." That's something the Bears know all too well.
If not Lawson, perhaps the Vikings and Za'Darius Smith will finally agree to part ways. Smith requested his release, but the Vikings have said they have no plans to cut him. It's something to monitor, though.
Washington Commanders center Chase Roullier could be a solid addition on the other side of the ball (shoutout to PFF's Brad Spielberger for this). The Commanders signed interior offensive lineman Nick Gates this offseason. Gates can play all three positions, allowing Washington to cut Roullier. Roullier is a good zone run-blocker, but he has battled injuries over the past two seasons.
As noted above, the Bears' situation at center is murky, and Roullier could help clear things up on the interior.