The Chicago Bears Realistcally Have Two Paths This Offseason — And Both Carry Risks
The Chicago Bears are entering one of their more challenging offseasons of the Ryan Poles era. Their 2025 run was a rousing success, thanks in large part to an excellent draft class led by Colston Loveland, Luther Burden, and Kyle Monangai. Joe Thuney, Drew Dalman, and Jonah Jackson must be included as well. The Bears have reached a point where they know they can be competitive in the NFC. Now comes the hard part. How do they maintain that roster quality and improve upon it without the benefits of a top 10 draft pick or extensive salary cap to spend?
In situations like this, teams are often confronted with one of two options. Two paths that have both found success at getting a team over the top, but also come with different pitfalls. The Bears have both open to them. Which is the likeliest for them to choose? It may entirely depend on the preferences of the men in charge, along with how close they think this team is to a title.
The Chicago Bears have two paths to consider in their push for a title.
#1 – The D&D method (Draft and Develop)
This is the far more classic and sensible approach. The team retains its 1st-round picks and uses them on the best young talent it can find. It gives the organization a strong set of cheap contracts to work with and also allows the team to retain high-end talent for a longer period of time. This is the method you often see legacy organizations like Green Bay and Pittsburgh stick to. Baltimore does much the same. They keep their picks and trust their scouting departments to find the best players possible through strong evaluation. It also depends on how much you trust the coaching staff to teach the players you bring in.
#2 – The F*** Them Picks method
This method is the far more aggressive type. A team used their 1st round picks more as currency to find proven talent while using the draft to supplement roster depth. The Los Angeles Rams have been the ones to make this approach famous. Between 2018 and 2021, they traded five 1st round picks for wide receiver Brandin Cooks, cornerback Jalen Ramsey, and quarterback Matthew Stafford. This helped them reach two Super Bowls and win a Lombardi trophy. Meanwhile, they conducted several more minor trades and stockpiled compensatory picks to continue giving them more chances to find hidden gems and maintain young depth.
Going by the men in charge, it’s a safe assumption the Chicago Bears will lean more towards the draft and develop path. Poles came from Kansas City, where they’ve been mostly focused on drafting and rarely made aggressive trades for players. The same is true with Ian Cunningham, who got his start in Baltimore. People championing an all-in move will likely be disappointed.