Bears near bottom 10 teams in ESPN’s NFL Future Power Rankings

Chicago Bears fans are optimistic about the future. They should be. Justin Fields is an ascending superstar at quarterback, and the early returns on GM Ryan Poles and Coach Matt Eberflus have been positive.

The future is bright with the quarterback, general manager, and head coach seemingly in place.

The positive vibes extend beyond the Bears’ big three. The offensive line has a chance to be one of the NFC’s better young units. The wide receiver room now features DJ Moore, a player barely in his prime. The defense has one of the NFL’s top inside linebackers in Tremaine Edmunds and a secondary overflowing with draft pedigree.

The Chicago Bears have enjoyed a productive offseason in free agency and the 2023 NFL Draft. The talking points from inside the locker room have been positive. The arrow is pointing way up.

That is, unless you’re ESPN, which published its 2023 NFL Future Power Rankings this week. The Bears’ ranking doesn’t match the offseason’s upward trajectory.

Chicago checks in at No. 21.

ESPN’s Louis Riddick outlined the reasons for concern.

“General manager Ryan Poles went to work trying to protect and provide help for Fields, but what about the defensive side?” Riddick wrote. “Do the Bears have enough impact players to effectively rush the passer and create turnovers? They were last in sacks (20) and middle-of-the-pack in turnovers created (23) last season. Keep an eye on rookie defensive tackles Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens. These two will be major determining factors when it comes to the success or failure of this defense.”

Those are fair points, of course. But are those worries strong enough to rank the Chicago Bears seven spots behind the Green Bay Packers? Jordan Love is as unproven as any starting quarterback in the NFL this year. The Bears should be ahead of Green Bay for that reason alone.

ESPN ranks Chicago behind the Carolina Panthers, too, despite rookie Bryce Young at quarterback and a roster that fails to impress.

Here’s how the Bears ranked in each category that ESPN used to create their Future Power Rankings.

Chicago Bears fans are used to this type of preseason treatment. And the team hasn’t done anything on the field over the last couple of seasons to earn the trust of NFL analysts. It’s time for the Bears to change that pattern, and they’ll have to win games this fall to do it.