How The Chicago Bears Are Playing Chicken With Their Biggest Organizational Flaw
For the longest time, everybody agreed that developing a good quarterback was by far the Chicago Bears‘ biggest weakness. After decades, it looks like they finally corrected that issue. After drafting Caleb Williams #1 overall in 2024, they hired Ben Johnson as head coach to oversee his development. The quarterback responded with one of the best seasons in franchise history, winning the division. With that issue cleaned up, it begs the question. What blind spot must they confront next?
That is unequivocally the pass rusher issue. Brett Kollmann of the Bootleg Podcast, one of the best film evaluators and a longtime Bears fan, stated on 104.3 The Score that the team has had a serious problem developing pass rushers for over 20 years.
In truth, it’s been longer than that. Since 1990, only two players drafted by the Bears have managed to crack 40 sacks in a career. The last one to crack 50 was Richard Dent way back in 1987. No one else has gotten close since then.
| Year | Player | Position | Draft Round (Pick) | Sacks with Bears |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Alonzo Spellman | DE | 1st (22) | 32.0 |
| 1993 | Carl Simpson | DT/DE | 2nd (35) | 8.0 |
| 1994 | Jim Flanigan | DT/DE | 3rd (74) | 40.5 |
| 1996 | John Thierry | DE | 1st (11) | 12.5 |
| 1999 | Rosevelt Colvin | LB | 4th (111) | 26.0 |
| 2002 | Alex Brown | DE | 4th (104) | 43.5 |
| 2003 | Michael Haynes | DE | 1st (14) | 4.0 |
| 2004 | Tommie Harris | DT | 1st (14) | 28.5 |
| 2006 | Mark Anderson | DE | 5th (159) | 21.5 |
| 2007 | Dan Bazuin | DE | 2nd (62) | 0.0 |
| 2009 | Jarron Gilbert | DE/DT | 3rd (68) | 0.0 |
| 2010 | Corey Wootton | DE | 4th (109) | 11.0 |
| 2012 | Shea McClellin | DE/LB | 1st (19) | 7.5 |
| 2013 | Cornelius Washington | DE | 6th (188) | 3.0 |
| 2014 | Ego Ferguson | DT | 2nd (51) | 2.0 |
| 2014 | Will Sutton | DT | 3rd (82) | 0.0 |
| 2016 | Leonard Floyd | LB/EDGE | 1st (9) | 18.5 |
| 2018 | Kylie Fitts | DE/EDGE | 6th (181) | 0.0 |
| 2020 | Trevis Gipson | LB/EDGE | 5th (155) | 10.0 |
| 2022 | Dominique Robinson | DE/EDGE | 5th (174) | 2.0 |
| 2023 | Gervon Dexter Sr. | DT | 2nd (53) | 13.5 (Active) |
| 2023 | Zacch Pickens | DT | 3rd (64) | 1.5 |
| 2024 | Austin Booker | DE/EDGE | 5th (144) | 2.0 (Active) |
The Chicago Bears have been haunted by two issues.
One is talent evaluation. It’s not like the team hasn’t tried to add pass-rush help. They’ve invested six 1st round picks on the defensive line in the past 35 years. The problem is they often do a poor job of pinpointing the player who would transition to the NFL best. Spellman was selected 22nd in 1992. Robert Porcher, who had 95 career sacks, went 26th. Michael Haynes went 14th in 2003, while Calvin Pace (60 sacks) went 18th. Last, and probably worse of all, they took Shea McClellin 19th in 2012, watching Chandler Jones (112 sacks) go 21st. If your team struggles to even identify what good pass rushers are, that’s a gigantic problem.
Unfortunately, it’s compounded by the fact that the Bears also suck at developing talent once they find it. Leonard Floyd is a perfect example. He managed 18.5 sacks in four seasons with the Bears. In two years after leaving for the Rams, he had 19.5 sacks. Mark Anderson was another example. He had 12 sacks as a rookie, but only 9.5 in the three following seasons. He gets traded to Houston, has four sacks in 11 games, and then adds ten more with the Patriots in 2011. In both cases, the players immediately flourished after leaving Chicago. That speaks to a coaching problem.
This is why the team has leaned heavily on veteran acquisitions.
It has been a recurring theme for the past 25 years. It started with trading for Adewale Ogunleye from Miami in 2004. Then you had the signing of Julius Peppers in 2010, the massive trade for Khalil Mack in 2018, and, of course, the most recent trade for Montez Sweat in 2023. Each of those moves yielded positive results, but only in the short term. All four players have made the playoffs a combined four times in a Bears uniform. That is the downside of such an approach. A big-name veteran will give you an immediate jolt, but it won’t be able to sustain it.
That is why drafting is far more important. It isn’t a coincidence that the Chicago Bears’ most successful era was in the 1980s. They had two Hall of Fame pass rushers they’d drafted in Dent and Dan Hampton. A big reason for that success was that they had a good talent evaluator at the top in GM Jim Finks and the superb Dale Haupt coaching the defensive line under Buddy Ryan. Based on how the Bears are structured right now, there are serious questions about their ability to fix this issue.
Poles is playing chicken.
He had a chance to get some help in free agency by adding a proven free agent. The Bears passed. Now all of the best options are gone. The track market isn’t likely to be any help. That means Poles is banking on finding a solution to the pass-rush problem in the draft, something that has not happened for this organization in years. If that weren’t enough, they are putting their faith in Jeremy Garrett, the team’s defensive line coach. He doesn’t exactly have an established track record for developing drafted players.
| Year(s) | Organization | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2025–Present | Chicago Bears (NFL) | Defensive Line Coach |
| 2024 | Jacksonville Jaguars (NFL) | Defensive Line Coach |
| 2023 | Auburn University (NCAA) | Defensive Line Coach |
| 2022 | Liberty University (NCAA) | Defensive Line Coach |
| 2020–2021 | Cleveland Browns (NFL) | Assistant Defensive Line Coach |
It’s hard to imagine where the Chicago Bears’ brass is getting such confidence. Perhaps the 2026 draft class being strong at edge rusher is helping. The odds of landing a good one are higher. Still, after what happened with Dayo Odeyingbo and Shemar Turner last year, it’s hard to feel confident about this. Neither was playing well even before they got hurt. Yet here they are, acting as if they can solve the problem in an area of the offseason that has been unkind to them for a long time.