The Importance of Building a Young Team
When Ryan Poles, Matt Eberflus, Luke Getsy and the rest of the new Chicago Bears regime were brought in, it was evident that there was a boatload of work to be done. One of the biggest focuses heading into 2022 was building a team around Justin Fields. While some fans had questions about Ryan Poles' first draft, his plan seems to be putting the Bears in a much better spot in the foreseeable future.
In 2021, the Bears were the league's oldest team, averaging out at 27.0 years old with Houston being next at 26.8 years old. While it is crucial for every team to have veterans throughout the roster to help teach, improve and provide extra motivation to the young guys, having the league's oldest team is no recipe for success. It started early with Ryan Poles, where he released older veterans like Danny Trevathan, Akiem Hicks, Nick Foles, and so on. Not only did Poles release veterans, but he also traded Khalil Mack getting some value in return.
With a second-year quarterback, it can be easy to be frustrated for some when watching Poles draft defensive players early in the draft, however, the roster had a lot of holes. Ryan Poles drafted 3 offensive linemen that can potentially earn a starting spot throughout the season, paired with young Teven Jenkins and Larry Borom who were drafted last season, making the offensive line look like less of a problem than it has been in previous seasons. Pair the offensive line draft picks with the draft pick of Velus Jones and the signing of Byron Pringle to go alongside of Darnell Mooney, and Fields has some fast receivers to be able to target down the field. On the opposite side of the ball, new corner Kyler Gordon will be a fantastic pair with our young star Jaylon Johnson. Jaquan Brisker who was also drafted in the second round will pair up with Eddie Jackson, making the secondary both young and extremely talented. Don't forget about Roquan Smith in the middle of the field and Robert Quinn's ability to get to any Quarterback he wants.
The Draft Motto for each and every team has always been Grab The Best Player Available and that is what Poles is hoping he did. While it is important to get Justin Fields more weapons on the offensive side, focusing all resources on the offense and giving the new defensive head coach Matt Eberflus not a ton to work with would not be a recipe for success either. With new schemes and a new playbook for the offense to learn, the best way to allow that to happen is to make sure that the defense is able to perform at a high enough level to where not all of the pressure relies on the young offense. The Bears are most likely going to be a work in progress in 2022, but they definitely can have a fairly high ceiling. While it is fair to have high expectations, low expectations, or anything in-between, it is important to keep in mind that flipping the roster from old to young and developing the new players should be the primary focus to be able to create sustained success for future seasons.
It is important to note that going into the 2022-2023 offseason, the Chicago Bears will have roughly over $165 million in cap space allowing for a big splash next season in free agency.
Article Written by Alex Abrams
