Bears GM Ryan Poles leaves gaps at premium positions that need to be addressed in 2025

It’s hard to succeed in the NFL without securing elite talent at the top positions, and the Bears’ difficulty filling those spots with game-changers will certainly become the focus of general manager Ryan Poles’ ongoing presidential review Kevin Warren standing.

The inability to nail down those spots — quarterback, defensive end, offensive tackle, wide receiver and cornerback — was one of the main reasons the job was open in the first place, as predecessor Ryan Pace left the Bears with few long-term players at those positions to make a difference.

Poles should have completed his rebuild this season and looked to add pieces to put the Bears in contention in 2025. Instead, they are 4-11 on a nine-game losing streak heading into Thursday’s home finale against the Seahawks, and Warren recently gave the Poles an ultimatum about next season.

It starts, of course, with finding the right coach after the Poles made the mistake of choosing Matt Eberflus and sticking with him for too long before firing him last month. But his squad was far from perfect.

As Poles thinks about how to utilize three draft picks in the first two rounds, currently Nos. 9, 40 and 41, and a projected $82 million in salary cap space, he needs quality players at the premium positions. The Bears have other needs to address, but these spots must be a priority if the Poles want to turn things around.

Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams has shown promise, and there is optimism in Halas Hall that with coaching and offensive line improvements, as well as Williams’ individual improvement, he can prove to be the long-term answer. That still needs to be clarified, but he will have time to make his case.

The Bears’ pass rush has been a problem throughout Poles’ tenure. They rank 19th with 34 sacks, the highest they have achieved in his three seasons after finishing last in 2022 and second-to-last in 2023.

The lack of a second threat at defensive end Montez Sweat has negated the massive investment the Poles made in Sweat, first trading a second-round pick for him to the Commanders and then trading him at $98 The team’s highest-paid player in four years has made a million-dollar contract extension.

Second-year defensive tackle Gervon Dexter leads the Bears with five sacks, followed by Sweat with 4½ and journeyman DeMarcus Walker with 3½. The team can get out of the final season of Walker’s contract for less than $1 million.

There is an overwhelming argument for the Pole to use his first-round pick on a pass rusher or offensive tackle. One he can handle in the draft, but the other will require the kind of big spending he largely avoided in free agency to protect future flexibility.

Without a change of course there will probably be no future.

Darnell Wright, the No. 10 overall pick last year, can stay at right tackle if the Bears find someone strong on the left side, or he could move to left tackle if the Bears add a right tackle. Either way, current left tackle Braxton Jones isn’t the answer and rookie Kiran Amegadjie still has a long way to go.

At wide receiver, the Bears appear to have a rising star in rookie Rome Odunze, but DJ Moore has exacerbated a poor season with sulky body language. As much as Williams raves about Keenan Allen, he’s about to turn 33 and is fifth among wide receivers in cap hits and 42nd in yardage.

Cornerback may be the strongest and deepest unit, but even that is a concern. The Poles selected Tyrique Stevenson in the second round last year, and for several reasons, it might be best for the team to move on from him this offseason.

The Bears are simply missing too many key positions, and it will be difficult for the Poles to balance resources with needs and fix the problem quickly. But it’s a challenge he has to overcome himself.