Almost every outlet would list edge rusher as the Chicago Bears' biggest need after their offseason. That is why it was a notable surprise to see Aaron Schatz of ESPN list slot receiver as the team's biggest remaining roster hole.
Chicago Bears roster hole is the slot wide receiver
To be fair, the Bears are a bit thin in the slot. They not only lost D.J. Moore, but Olamide Zaccheaus is an underrated loss as well. They added Khalif Raymond, but that feels more like a Zaccheaus replacement than a player who can step in for Moore.
The Bears also drafted Zavion Thomas, but most viewed him as a gadget player and return man entering the NFL rather than a traditional wide receiver. Chicago drafted him high enough that it is clear they see upside in his receiving ability, but it is still hard to project him as the player who directly replaces Moore's production.
The Bears are going to use Luther Burden a lot more, and they expect another step forward from Rome Odunze. Burden finished his rookie season on a strong note and appears set for a much larger role this year. Odunze also has room to grow after showing flashes during his first two seasons.
However, the biggest missing piece in this discussion may be Colston Loveland.
The way the Bears have built their tight end room, Loveland can almost be viewed as another wide receiver. Cole Kmet is expected to handle a lot of the inline work, and the Bears drafted Sam Roush just as high as they drafted Zavion Thomas. That suggests they believe Roush will have a role as well.
Because of that, it is easy to see a scenario where Kmet and Roush function as the primary tight ends while Loveland spends plenty of time detached from the formation and working out of the slot.
If you list Kmet and Roush as the tight ends and then view Loveland as a slot option alongside Burden and Odunze, it becomes much harder to argue that slot receiver is a major weakness.
That is why most Bears fans and media members have not spent much time worrying about the position.
The bigger issue is still edge rusher.
The Bears cannot really hide that weakness the same way they can at slot receiver. They have options to replace slot production through different personnel packages and by moving players around the formation. At edge rusher, they need someone to consistently win one-on-one matchups and pressure the quarterback.
More importantly, they did not address edge rusher the same way they addressed the slot. The Bears added veterans and draft picks who can contribute to the passing game. They did not make those same investments on the edge.
That is why slot receiver may technically have questions, but edge rusher still feels like the bigger concern entering the season.
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