Key Acquisitions: QB. Mike Glennon, WR. Markus Wheaton, DE. Jaye HowardCB. Prince Amukamara, S. Quintin Demps,
Key Losses: QB. Jay Cutler, WR. Alson Jeffery
1(2) Mitchell Trubisky QB North Carolina
2(13) Adam Shaheen TE Ashland
4(5) Eddie Jackson S Alabama
4(13) Tarik Cohen RB North Carolina A&T
5(3) Jordan Morgan OG Kutztown
2017 Outlook
Coaching Staff
- HC: John Fox
- OC: Dowell Loggains
- DC: Vic Fangio
- ST: Jeff Rodgers
Offense
QB. Mike Glennon, Mitch Trubisky
RB. Jordan Howard, Jeremy Langford
WR. Kevin White, Markus Wheaton
WR. Cameron Meredith, Rueben Randle
WR. Kendall Wright
TE. Zach Miller, Dion Sims
LT. Leno Charles, Bradley Sowell
LG. Kyle Long, Cyril Richardson
C. Cody Whitehair, Hroniss Grasu
RG. Josh Sitton, Tom Compton
RT. Bobby Massie, William Poehls
Defense
DE. Akiem Hicks, Kapron Lewis-Moore
NT. Eddie Goldman, CJ Wilson
DE. Jaye Howard, Mitch Unrein
OLB. Pernell McPhee, Lamarr Houston
MLB. Jerrell Freeman, Nick Kwiatkoski
MLB. Danny Trevathan, Christian Jones
OLB. Willie Young, Leonard Floyd
CB. Prince Amukamara, Cherrick McMannis
SS. Quintin Demps, Harold, Jones-Quartey
FS. Adrian Amos, Chris Prosinski
CB. Kyle Fuller, Marcus Hall
NB. Bryce Callahan
Specialists
K. Connor Barth
P. Pat O’Donnell
Offensively the Bears are all about potential. The passing game has a lot of question marks that could go either way. The biggest questions are how well can Glennon play and more importantly how long can he hold off 2nd overall pick Mitch Trubisky from taking over the job? Glennon has not really played much meaningful football since Jamies Winston arrived in Tampa and it is possible that he has worked on his game and gotten better since the last time he was under center full time. He will have to play at least at an average level or the Chicago faithful are going to be chanting for the rookie to take over. Regardless of who is at QB they should at least have a quality run game to fall back on. Howard returns for his second season and looks to build on a highly successful rookie campaign and firmly establish himself as an elite back in the NFL. Even more questions come to mind when thinking of the receiver corps. Alson Jeffery has left for Philly so who will step up and be the team’s number one guy? One would like to think the team’s 2015 first round pick Kevin White would be the lead option to fill the void. However, Can Kevin White even stay healthy? He missed his entire rookie season and only played four games last year. He was their first round pick in 2015 and has a lot of talent and potential but he has to be more durable. Cameron Meredith has probably maxed out his ability and at best is a 2nd option on a bad team, third on a good one. They picked up Kendall Wright in free agency and he is solid but definitely not number one material either. Zach Miller returns as the team’s starting tight end and he is a pretty good player at his position. He blocks and is an effective receiver. However, he dealt with injuries last year as well and was only able to start eight games. If White and Miller can stay healthy and both play well then that will help guys like Wright and Meredith play roles more suited for their ability and the Bears can get the most of this receiving group. The offensive line as a whole can be a bit hit or miss, especially in the pass game but they were a pretty good group run blocking in 2016. Their best lineman are all in the interior. Josh Sitton is still playing at a pro bowl caliber level and Long at the other guard is a quality starter at his position. Whitehair was a terrific pick and really thrived in his rookie year at center. They are weakest at the tackle positions. Bobby Massie returns at RT and at his best he is just an average starter. Charles Leno Jr. has potential and got significantly better in his third season. However, he still is a far cry from a long term solution at LT. Overall the run game figures to be very productive again but the their passing attack will most likely be below average at best unless one of the QBs shock us and White has a breakout year.
The Bears should be better defensively if McPhee and Fuller are ready to go. They are loaded in the front seven and should be one of the better pass rush teams in the league. In the interior Akiem Hicks is the top guy. He lived up to his free agent billing in his first season in Chicago with seven sacks and should be in for another productive season. Opposite him will be Jaye Howard who comes over from the Chiefs after an injury riddled season. If he plays at the level he did in 2015 the Bears could really have something inside. Eddie Goldman is one of the better nose tackles in the game and will man the middle in the Bears base sets. On the edge the Bears are loaded. They have three starter quality guys in McPhee, Floyd and Young and most likely will rotate them all in and out for a fresh steady pass rush. The question for the up front group is can they be better vs the run. At linebacker the Bears have one of the better duos in the game in Jurrell Freeman and Danny TreVathan. Freeman had the best season of his career last year and was the top graded linebacker of 2016 by pro football focus. The Bears secondary was better than given credit for last season and should be better in 2017. Kyle Fuller should be healthy and they picked up Prince Amukamara to play the other corner spot. Fuller was on his way to perhaps being a really good corner after a solid 2nd year in 2015 and though Amukamara has never lived up to his pre draft hype he is a solid starting cornerback. Bryce Callahan figures to be the nickel guy. He was the team’s best corner a year ago and has performed admirably for a undrafted free agent in his first two seasons. Safety was the strength of the Bear secondary in 2016. Quintin Demps was very good last year and Adrian Amos was a decent player for a 5th round pick in his second year. Overall the Bears have a solid group on defense and should be at least a middle of the pack unit with the potential to be even more at their best.
One Comment