Which Chicago Bears offseason takeaways should you be paying attention to?

The Chicago Bears will kick off their 2023 training camp on July 25, which means it’ll be more than a month until we get any on-field, actual football reports.

Until then, we have the OTA and minicamp sessions to review and understand what we learned over the last few months.

Some of these takeaways are truer than others. In other words, there’s a chance a good practice rep (or a bad one) is being overblown. There’s a possibility a player’s injury status is causing an overreaction. Perhaps it’s a roster spot that’s deemed a weakness now that’s causing a worry that will be relieved in the next few weeks.

Let’s look at some of the key takeaways from the Chicago Bears offseason workouts and determine which ones are based in reality and which ones are an overreaction.

Chase Claypool will be a problem for the Bears.

Overreaction. It’s still June, and Claypool is dealing with a soft tissue injury. He’s been working privately with Justin Fields and the other receivers outside of practice, and he still has all of training camp to prepare for the 2023 season. If he’s still not practicing by August, or he still looks lost in the preseason, then we’ll start to worry.

The Justin Fields/DJ Moore connection is legit.

Reality. Every day of Bears practice, there’s been at least one highlight reel throw from Fields to Moore. It’s astonishing how quickly those two have developed chemistry on the field, surprising even Fields himself. DJ Moore accumulated the fifth-most receiving yards in NFL history before turning 26, he’s a Top 15 WR in the league, and this QB/WR duo looks ready to challenge the Bears’ record books.

Justin Fields is on track to a Year 3 leap.

Reality. Giving a quarterback two years to develop and adding a top-tier wide receiver seems to be the recipe for success in recent years, and Fields seems like he will be the latest entry in that trend. Working with the same offense as the year before for the first time as a pro, by all accounts, Fields looks and is playing with a lot more confidence on the field, and the offense as a whole looks lightyears ahead of where it was one year ago, even without Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool.

Yes, it feels pretty safe to say that Fields will take that Year 3 leap. The only question is, how high can he go?

Gervon Dexter will be a menace in the backfield.

Overreaction. On Wednesday, it was reported that Dexter had his best day of practice, blowing straight through the offensive line on three consecutive snaps at one point. I’m a big believer in Dexter, he was one of my favorite draft picks this year, but for now, we don’t want to put too much weight or expectation on him.

Last year, rookie Dominique Robinson came out in Week 1 with a 1.5 sack performance and looked like a dark horse Defensive Rookie of the Year. Those 1.5 sacks ended up being his season total. So let’s not rush to crown a new bulldozer on the defensive line until we see it consistently in regular season games.

Tremaine Edmunds is the Chicago Bears’ new QB of the defense.

Reality. Edmunds was the big fish in the linebacker free agency market, and Ryan Poles wasted no time reeling him in. He is just 25 years old, but he’s already played in five NFL seasons and has never finished a season with fewer than 100 tackles. He’s on the cusp of becoming one of if not the very best linebackers in the league, and by all accounts, he’s already taken on the leadership role of this defense.

He reminds me a lot of Brian Urlacher, and that was one of his player comps when he was drafted. Edmunds is fast and plays with a high motor, he’s always around the ball and making plays, and he captains the defense on the field. Don’t be surprised if that comp to Urlacher ends up being a reality in Chicago.