A badly needed victory over the Washington Commanders changed the tenor of things at Halas Hall and, for a week anyway, did nothing to alter the projected draft order for April.
The Chicago Bears own the first-round pick belonging to the Carolina Panthers, the NFL’s only winless team, meaning right now they would have the No. 1 pick. As one of six 1-4 teams entering this weekend, the Bears would have the No. 2 pick in the draft based on those standings due to the strength-of-schedule tiebreaker. The tiebreaker can fluctuate significantly with so many games remaining.
The idea of the Bears entering draft season with the top two picks has been bandied about for a few weeks, especially before the dominating 40-20 victory at FedEx Field when quarterback Justin Fields threw for 282 yards and four touchdowns. No team has gone 1-2 in the draft since the Indianapolis Colts held the top picks in 1992 and netted defensive tackle Steve Emtman and linebacker Quentin Coryatt. The mind races dreaming of possibilities for the Bears that are much grander than the duo the Colts received.
As tantalizing as it is to think of what general manager Ryan Poles could do with the first picks, valuable lottery tickets like that would not come close to fixing everything wrong with the roster if the Bears finish with a few victories and are picking No. 2 with their selection.
The Bears will be rooting against the Panthers every week (they are big Miami Dolphins fans Sunday) and Carolina is almost certain to deliver a very high selection, maybe even the top pick. But if the Bears want to emerge as a contender next year — in Poles’ third season — they have to start playing with a competitive edge this season. Otherwise, everything done in assembling the roster would need to be questioned.
It’s a critical juncture for coach Matt Eberflus, who has maintained a steady demeanor throughout struggles but surely had to breathe a major sigh of relief behind the scenes. A 14-game losing streak had to take a toll on him and his staff.
A win over a Commanders team that can’t stop anyone defensively is great but will become a footnote in a long line of struggles if it cannot be a launching point. The schedule sets up nicely, as good as it can for a team that has lost 18 of its last 22 games, beginning with Sunday’s matchup against the Minnesota Vikings (1-4) at Soldier Field. The Vikings will be without their best player, wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who is on injured reserve with a hamstring issue. The Las Vegas Raiders follow at Soldier Field on Oct. 22 before road games at the Los Angeles Chargers and New Orleans Saints.
Really, the entire remaining schedule is favorable for a young team trying to gain traction. Only three opponents in the final 12 games currently have a winning record. The Bears have to play the Detroit Lions (4-1) twice and have the Saints (3-2) and Atlanta Falcons (3-2) on the schedule — and both NFC South teams could hover around .500 but not be a lot better.
Not surprisingly, Eberflus didn’t have a lot of deep reflection coming off the victory. He’s steadfast in looking ahead.
“It’s really about the fruits of your labor,” Eberflus said. “Sticking in there made us stronger. That adversity makes us stronger. And plus, really just hanging in there together and believing in the process. The process for us was working one day at a time, one thing at a time and really focusing on the individual, then the position group and also on the unit. We’re going to continue to do that. We have a lot of improvement to do during the course of this season.”
The Bears remain in a pretty big hole but have a level of confidence throughout the locker room that they can work their way out of it.
“The pain that we have been feeling?” middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds said, “We still feel it. Continue to work and stack games and carry that momentum as we can. That’s just one game we won. Obviously we want to be a lot better than we are. We’ve still got the same hunger.”
Said cornerback Jaylon Johnson: “I wouldn’t even say a weight has been lifted. I think it’s just the beginning. It would suck to get that one win and come out here and not let it continue and roll over. If we don’t start a win streak, that would be more of a letdown than anything. We’re just going to attack each week. I know we have a great opportunity to go 1-0 this week.”
What is unknown is if the Bears can learn how to win. It sounds vague, and it’s difficult to measure it for young teams. It comes down to making plays at pivotal moments in the game. Good teams find ways to do it week in and week out.
Help should be returning in the secondary. Cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon and free safety Eddie Jackson are likely to return after missing significant time. The Bears have used rookies or second-year players for 44.6% of the snaps on defense through five games, and injuries have pushed that figure to 74.3% in the secondary. That explains, in part, why the Bears have allowed 12 passing touchdowns, the second-most in the league.
The path to becoming a challenger in 2024 will be aided if the Bears were to land the No. 1 pick from the Panthers. You can’t overstate how significant it will be for this roster to start producing wins so there’s evidence a core is in place that is ready to break through.
Scouting report
Jordan Addison, Vikings wide receiver
Information for this report was obtained from NFL scouts.
Jordan Addison, 5-foot-11, 175 pounds, is in his first season after the Vikings selected him at No. 23 out of USC. Addison led the NCAA with 17 touchdown receptions as a sophomore at Pitt in 2021 and transferred to USC last season, with ser he caught 59 passes for 875 yards and eight touchdowns for Caleb Williams.
Addison is off a good start with 19 receptions, 249 yards and three touchdowns, and quarterback Kirk Cousins has praised him. Addison is going to have to step forward with Justin Jefferson sidelined with a hamstring injury. The Vikings have had six 100-yard receivers against the Bears in the last six meetings, four by Jefferson and one each by K.J. Osborn and Ihmir Smith-Marsette.
“He’s flashed a lot,” the scout said. “He hasn’t put it all together yet but he’s got pretty refined route-running skills. He’s a rapid accelerator coming out of his breaks. He’s not a true vertical stretch player (4.49 second 40-yard dash at scouting combine) — he’s more of an intermediate level player who can get loose over the top of defenses. I think he’ll make his money developing into a volume target and someone who can uncover at the first and second level.
“There’s still an adjustment period for him. Playing through contact at all three levels, he’s not there yet. Defeating press and getting off the line of scrimmage, he’s not there yet. Now he’s in a role where he’s not protected by Justin Jefferson. I’m interested to see how he responds as Jefferson will not be pulling defenders away from him. Addison isn’t going to get as many true one-on-ones. What’s his production going to look like now?”
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