Bears general manager Ryan Poles continued to retool the team’s roster in his second season, which included the additions of some impact veterans at positions of need.
Chicago got better at multiple positions, including linebacker, wide receiver and offensive line.
Pro Football Focus ranked the top players at every position ahead of the 2023 NFL season. There were quite a few Bears who made the cut, including multiple nods at three different positions. There were three position groups where Chicago didn’t have any players named.
Here’s a look:
Quarterback
Justin Fields landed at No. 18 among the top 32 quarterbacks heading into 2023, per PFF.
Fields won himself a starting job last season with almost no help around him. New general manager Ryan Poles stripped the roster of talent around him, and Fields was still able to emerge as one of the most dynamic players in the league. His passing is still very much a work in progress, but last season his primary targets were tight end Cole Kmet and speedster Darnell Mooney. This is a huge year for Fields to show what he can do with more help.
Running back
Khalil Herbert landed at No. 26 among the top 32 running backs heading into 2023, per PFF.
Herbert hasn’t been the starter in Chicago, but man, he’s been fun to watch. He has such great vision behind the line of scrimmage, and that shows up in his 5.7 yards per carry this past season with an impressive 3.7 yards after contact. He’s also a make-you-miss type of player with a missed tackles forced average of 0.19 (remember, 0.20 is really good).
Wide receiver
DJ Moore landed at No. 16 among the top 32 wide receivers heading into 2023, per PFF.
The Chicago Bears securing Moore’s services as part of their trade out of the No. 1 overall pick in the draft was a real coup. He isn’t coming off a great year of production, but prior to last season Moore had three straight years of 1,100-plus receiving yards and is still averaging 1.94 yards per route run for his career despite some ugly quarterback situations. Moore can be the elite target Justin Fields has not yet had in the NFL.
Tight end
Cole Kmet and Robert Tonyan didn’t land among the top 15 tight ends on PFF‘s list.
Offensive tackle
Braxton Jones landed at No. 26 among the top 32 offensive tackles heading into 2023, per PFF.
A fifth-round draft pick out of Southern Utah in the 2022 NFL Draft, Jones came on strong in the second half of the season. He allowed 40 total pressures as a rookie but only 12 in the final eight games of the season.
Offensive guard
Nate Davis landed at No. 21 among the top 32 offensive guards heading into 2023, per PFF.
Pass blocking has been an issue for Davis in the NFL so far, but he’s coming off a season where he posted a career-high 66.8 PFF grade in that facet, allowing 14 total pressures on 385 pass-blocking snaps.
Teven Jenkins also came in at No. 24.
Injuries have limited Jenkins in his first two seasons, with his 576 snaps last year ranking 61st among guards. However, he was impressive when on the field, posting an 80.7 PFF grade, which ranked him third at the position.
Center
Cody Whitehair landed at No. 11 among the top 32 centers heading into 2023, per PFF.
Whitehair has had quite a strange career with the Bears, shuffling about the interior offensive line. After earning 71.0-plus PFF grades primarily as a center in his first three seasons in the league, he was kicked out to guard for the first half of the 2019 season before spending the second half of the year back at center. The second half of 2020 through the end of the 2022 season were spent at guard, so it’s been over two seasons since we’ve seen him as a starting center, where he performed better throughout his career.
Edge rusher
The Bears didn’t have any players land among the top 32 edge rushers in the NFL on PFF‘s list.
Interior defensive line
The Bears didn’t have any players land among the top 32 interior defenders in the NFL on PFF‘s list.
Linebacker
Tremaine Edmunds landed at No. 9 among the top 32 linebackers heading into 2023, per PFF.
Greenlaw and Edmunds are two of the more athletically gifted linebackers in the league. They could always get sideline to sideline, but their athletic ability didn’t translate to good coverage play before 2022, a season in which both took massive leaps in that category. Greenlaw went from a 62.9 coverage grade in 2021 to an 82.7 coverage grade in 2022. Edmunds went from a 34.6 coverage grade in 2021 to a 90.7 coverage grade in 2022 with just 7.8 yards per reception allowed and 10 passes defended.
T.J. Edwards wasn’t far behind at No. 10.
Edwards has some athletic limitations that have hampered his productivity in the past. But in 2022, his anticipation and recognition allowed him to be a reliable playmaker in all facets. His pass-rush, run-defense and coverage grades were all above 78.0.
Cornerback
The Bears didn’t have any players land among the top 32 cornerbacks in the NFL on PFF‘s list.
Safety
Eddie Jackson landed at No. 18 among the top 32 safeties heading into 2023, per PFF.
Jackson was playing his best football since 2018 before tearing his Achilles in Week 12 against the Jets. His 76.2 overall grade was a top-15 mark, and he allowed only eight catches for 97 yards into his coverage in the 12 games he did play. Jackson is still a playmaker, as evidenced by his four interceptions in those 12 games, and a full recovery would be a massive boon to a defense that needs to be better in 2023.
Jaquan Brisker also made the cut at No. 27.
Brisker showed flashes of elite playmaking ability during his rookie season. His one-handed interception of Mac Jones was arguably the play of the year for Chicago’s defense. His 67.0 overall grade is in the same neighborhood as guys like Poyer, Holland and Hufanga above. Brisker accomplished all of this despite playing behind arguably the worst front seven in football. The Bears expended a ton of resources to improve their defense this offseason. A Year 2 breakout from Brisker would greatly improve their playoff chances and move him toward the top 20 of these rankings.
