Chicago Bears: How free agency affects the NFL Draft
By Usayd Koshul
With the Chicago Bears turning the page to the NFL Draft, the question must be asked: How does free agency affect the NFL Draft?
There’s no doubting the fact that the Chicago Bears didn’t have the free agency period that most fans were expecting. At the season-ending press conference, General Manager Ryan Pace promised to be “aggressive” and to make any moves necessary that would lead the Bears to the Super Bowl.
Essentially, Pace’s words in January had Bears fans thinking that the team was going to find a way to win free agency for the second straight year and bring in another big name, one that would get the Bears to the Super Bowl.
Despite being in on many big name free agents like Le’Veon Bell, the Bears decided to spend small and bring in Mike Davis, Buster Skrine, Cordarrelle Patterson, Ted Larsen, Marvin Hall, and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. The motive behind such an approach? Add underrated talent to a roster that has most of its core in place.
One of the hidden advantages of free agency is the fact that it allows a team to fill needs before the NFL Draft. During the draft, teams can then focus on filling in needs that they were unable to in free agency.
The same goes for the Bears. At the beginning of the offseason, it was safe to say that the Bears NFL Draft plans hinged on what happened with Bryce Callahan and Adrian Amos. With Amos and Callahan now gone, the Bears replaced them with Buster Skrine and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. Now, the Bears can turn their attention to filling in other needs.
With the NFL’s talent acquisition period still in full swing, the NFL Draft represents one final chance for the Bears to add talent to the roster. With free agency having finished, it’s time to examine how the Bears draft plans have been affected.