87. CHICAGO (12-5)
LAST SEASON: Bears made huge jump in first season under coach Matt Nagy, winning NFC North at 12-4 after four straight last-place finishes. Season ended with playoff loss to Philadelphia when former kicker Cody Parkey hit upright, crossbar on missed field goal in closing seconds. Bears had four All-Pros last season - edge rusher Khalil Mack, cornerback Kyle Fuller, safety Eddie Jackson and punt returner Tarik Cohen - and one of NFL’s best defenses.
FREE AGENCY: Bears signed former Green Bay S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to one-year contract with Adrian Amos leaving for Packers. Chicago also signed CB Buster Skrine, RB Mike Davis, WR/KR Cordarrelle Patterson, WR Mike Hall, K Redford Jones, K Chris Blewitt, K Elliott Fry and re-signed P Pat O’Donnell. Bears’ most notable moves were trading RB Jordan Howard, who didn’t fit Nagy’s system, to Philadelphia, and releasing embattled Parkey after one season.
THEY NEED: RB, DB, K, OLB.
THEY DON’T NEED: QB, OL, WR, DL.
POSSIBLE FIRST PICK: RB Damien Harris, Alabama; RB Miles Sanders, Penn State; S Amani Hooker, Iowa.
OUTLOOK: Chicago created biggest draft need by trading Howard to Philadelphia in March. He didn’t work well in scheme favoring pass-catching RBs. Though Bears signed Clinton-Dix and Skrine with Amos and Bryce Callahan leaving as free agents, they could use help at DB. Chicago might draft edge rusher early on with LB Leonard Floyd entering final year of rookie deal. Bears also have big issue at kicker, where Jones, Blewitt, Fry have no experience.
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