Poles built a playoff contender, but losing key veterans means the 2026 draft is crucial for sustaining success and bolstering the defense.
The Chicago Bears finally got over the hump in 2025, reaching the postseason for the first time since 2020.
General Manager Ryan Poles had been building towards that moment for quite some time, slowly turning the Bears into a playoff team over multiple years.
He carefully assembled a locker room full of veteran talent, including Kevin Byard, Case Keenum, Grady Jarrett, and others, to help the younger guys come along. It all came together last season, and Chicago reached the Divisional Round.
The Bears' cap space constraints made it hard for the team to keep many of its top players. Byard, Jaquan Brisker and Nahshon Wright were three of the biggest losses in free agency.
The team also released linebacker Tremaine Edmunds to free up cap space to pursue free agents. D.J. Moore was another cap casualty, as the Bears sent him to the Buffalo Bills.
Edmunds gave the team $15 million, and Moore freed up another $16.5 million in cap space.
As fun as the 2025 season was for Bears fans of all ages, the defense was not up to par. The only thing that it was consistently good at was forcing turnovers, leading the league with 33.
Outside of that, the Bears allowed the 11th-most passing yards (239.2), sixth-most rushing yards (134.5) and 10th-most points per game (24.4).
The Bears did address some of their needs in free agency, with the biggest additions being safety Coby Bryant and linebacker Devin Bush. However, for this team to sustain success, Poles is going to have to nail the 2026 NFL Draft, especially on defense.
Marshall Harris went on 104.3 The Score to discuss just how important April will be for the franchise's future.
"You said probably the most?" Harris said. "No. This is the most important draft that Ryan Poles has had. Point blank and period. When he was drafting all the other times, he was trying to build towards a winner. He has a winner now, on paper. They won the division last year. Now you gotta supplant that. A lot of teams get to the mountaintop for a moment and then fall back down. His job now is to sustain it, and the players he takes defensively in this draft will determine whether or not they can keep this going."
There is still a big need for another quality edge rusher to complement Montez Sweat, and a reliable defensive tackle now that Andrew Billings has left the team in free agency.
The offense will be fine for years to come thanks to all the talent that Poles has compiled. Caleb Williams, Colston Loveland, Rome Odunze, Luther Burden and Kyle Monangai are going to keep things going on that side of the ball. Plus, they are all still on their rookie deals.
On the offensive line, there will be some changes, as Garrett Bradbury will try to replace Drew Dalman's production. Left tackle will still be an enigma, but at least the Bears brought some familiar faces in Theo Benedet and Braxton Jones in the meantime.
The kind of play the Bears' defense put on last season just isn't sustainable if this franchise wants to keep making the playoffs year after year. You can't keep finishing in the top 15 across multiple defensive categories and expect long-term success.
After losing many players on the defensive side of the ball in free agency, rebuilding through the draft will make April a very important month for the future of this franchise.
Poles has got to get this right for the sake of the Bears' long-term success.