The 2023 NFL Draft is in the books, and the Chicago Bears are much more equipped going into this season than they were going into the 2022 campaign.
General manager Ryan Poles took a big step forward in improving the roster, addressing several needs all over the place, especially building in the trenches. Poles’ draft haul included three defensive tackles and a starting offensive tackle in Darnell Wright to help further protect Justin Fields.
Overall, though, it was a well-balanced draft with some tremendous value throughout. Poles made a couple of trades, continuing to build draft capital for 2024 while finding talent for this year.
When looking at where the Bears go from here, and how the new rookie class will impact the team going forward, there are some ripple effects that will likely take place. Let’s dig in to some of the bigger impacts from this class, starting in the secondary.
Ripple effects from the Chicago Bears’ 2023 NFL Draft class: Kindle Vildor goes back to the bench
When the Bears drafted Miami cornerback Tyrique Stevenson in Round 2, their secondary became complete. Last year, Kindle Vildor took a step forward and played much better than anyone had anticipated. However, he’s better suited to be a reserve.
Now that Stevenson is in the fold, that’s exactly what they Bears can do; move Vildor back to a reserve role.
Stevenson has great size at six feet tall and is a physical cornerback who plays with an assertiveness about him. He and Johnson will be a strong duo on the outside, which will then allow Kyler Gordon to stick in the slot where he was comfortable last year.
In addition to Vildor being a reserve, the Bears will also have rookies Terrell Smith and Kendall Williamson competing for position on the depth chart. The Bears ended up with three corners taken in this draft, proving Poles was serious about improving depth there.
Ripple effects from the Chicago Bears’ 2023 NFL Draft class: Darnell Mooney or Chase Claypool will play their last season in Chicago
Going into the draft, the Bears didn’t necessarily have to draft a wide receiver. However, it wouldn’t have been a bad idea to add another weapon, and that’s exactly what Poles did when he drafted Tyler Scott in the fourth round.
The Cincinnati wide receiver has track star speed, acceleration and burst. He’s going to be a valuable weapon within this offense and is dangerous with the ball in his hands. Some outlets had him graded as high as a second-round talent, but the Bears found him late in Round 4.
With Scott now in Chicago, that officially. means that Chicago will end up moving on from either Darnell Mooney or Chase Claypool in 2024, as both of them will be free agents. They have DJ Moore under contract for a while, and now with Scott likely becoming a significant part of the offense over the next year or so, it gives the Bears some flexibility.
Chicago likely wasn’t going to pay both Mooney and Claypool, but now it’s a certainty. Scott can do a lot of things the Bears have liked in Mooney, but is a more capable runner after the catch. Poles is doing a great job planning ahead while also adding weapons for Fields right now.
Ripple effects from the Chicago Bears’ 2023 NFL Draft class: Justin Fields will run the ball far less
When the Bears drafted Texas running back Roschon Johnson in the fourth round, they sent a very clear message to the rest of the league.
This Bears team was going to continue to run the football early and often, and they were going to do it in an aggressive manner. Johnson is six feet tall, weighing 219 pounds and possessing an aggressive running style.
He’s a back that served as second fiddle to no. 9 overall pick Bijan Robinson, but had Johnson not had Robinson ahead of him, he very well could have been a top-5 back in this class. Now in Chicago, Johnson is going to help a 3-headed monster continue to pound the rock. Between Johnson, D’Onta Foreman and Khalil Herbert, the Bears have plenty of rushing power.
Hopefully, that means Fields will be running less. But it’s not only about the back field, as Fields now has more weapons than he did a year ago. With more weapons, better protection and a ton of talent at running back, that’ll take pressure off the young quarterback not having to take off and run as much, which will in turn prove to keep him upright and healthy.
Ripple effects from the Chicago Bears’ 2023 NFL Draft class: Bears will have to sign a veteran pass rusher
One of the areas the Bears did not address is on the edge, where they didn’t draft a pass rusher. Their top three pass rushers are Trevis Gipson, Dominique Robinson and free agent signing DeMarcus Walker.
That leaves the door open for the Bears to go out and sign a free agent defensive end now, and there are still a lot of them available. One of the bigger names still looking for a team is Yannick Ngakoue, who is only 28 years old.
Ngakoue has never finished a season with less than 8.0 sacks, but somehow has made his way to several teams over the course of his career already. Should the Bears sign a player like him, their defense would look fairly complete. They addressed the interior defensive line by drafting three, as we’ve established already. Now, it’s up to Poles to go out and find another pass rusher.
One more name to keep an eye on in terms of free agents: 27-year-old Poona Ford who has been an integral part of the Seattle defense for a couple of years now. He would be another excellent signing, giving the Bears adequate depth off the edge.
Ripple effects from the Chicago Bears’ 2023 NFL Draft class: The defense should see heated competition in training camp
Staying on the defensive side, let’s talk a little competition. Within the front seven, Chicago should see plenty of healthy competition there. One of the spots that will be fun to watch is the starting position likely taken by either Jack Sanborn or rookie Noah Sewell.
Both linebackers have similar, throwback styles and play with a lot of physicality. They are definitely Matt Eberflus types, and watching them compete in the summer months should be a blast.
Up front, the Bears are going to have a lot of guys competing for jobs. Between rookies Gervon Dexter, Zacch Pickens and Travis Bell, the Bears went after defensive line in a big way. Veterans Justin Jones and Andrew Billings will be fighting for spots as well, with the latter being a free agent signing from this offseason.
Regardless of who ends up getting the starting nods across that defensive front, the Bears have much better depth than they did a year ago. Hopefully, that leads to a team that can finally stop the run at a better rate than we’ve been used to seeing the last couple of years.
Ripple effects from the Chicago Bears’ 2023 NFL Draft class: Justin Fields is finally set up for a successful season
We’ve already established the fact that, hopefully, Fields will be running less this coming season. But, the latter side of that point then means he’ll be passing more, and that could be fun.
The Bears’ offseason included finding two more key starters to protect Fields in veteran Nate Davis and rookie Darnell Wright. Just those two linemen are going to make a big difference in giving Fields time and allowing him to stand in the pocket more comfortably.
In addition to more protection, Fields now has a legitimate WR1 in DJ Moore, but the Bears didn’t stop there. In the draft, they snagged both Johnson and Scott as two exciting weapons to be used within the offense. Both Johnson and Scott should start to make an impact right away as rookies, in a perfect world.
Fields is so far ahead of where he was a year ago in terms of being set up for success, and I believe we will see a jump in his game just like we did with Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa and even going back to Josh Allen’s leap.