Which position will be the Bears’ biggest offseason need? Here’s what ESPN thinks

We’re a long way from the NFL offseason, but for Chicago Bears fans who have no (well, virtually no) hope for a playoff run in 2023, the offseason represents a fresh start.

Free agency and the 2024 NFL draft will significantly upgrade this roster. The Bears have bundles of cash to spend in free agency and should have two top-10 draft picks in the first round.

Yeah, it’ll be a fun few months.

But which position will be GM Ryan Poles’ primary focus? According to ESPN, the Bears will focus on upgrading their wide receivers.

“General manager Ryan Poles has a lot of important decisions to make, starting with quarterback,” ESPN’s Jordan Reid wrote. “A lot of what happens next hinges on Justin Fields” performance after he returns from a thumb injury. If he doesn’t show progress, that changes everything. But outside of the still undetermined quarterback situation, wide receiver is probably the team’s top need.

“Darnell Mooney is on an expiring contract, so Chicago has to add targets alongside DJ Moore and Cole Kmet. With two picks projected to be high in the draft, Marvin Harrison Jr. (Ohio State) would be a home-run addition for Fields.”

The Bears began the 2023 season with wide receiver as a looming question, even with DJ Moore under contract through 2025. The other starting receivers, Mooney and, at one time, Chase Claypool, both entered the season on expiring deals. Neither was a sure thing to be re-signed. Claypool has since been traded to the Miami Dolphins, and Mooney hasn’t produced enough to feel good about him being a lock to return.

Still, if I had to bet on how Poles will attack wide receiver this offseason, I think it’s safe to assume he’ll do his best to bring Mooney back. He’s a big fan of the player and the person, and even if Mooney is nothing more than a WR3 in the NFL, good offenses need guys like him.

Darnell Mooney gets the first down. Tyson Bagent is fired up. The Bears secure the win.#CARvsCHI on Prime Video
Also available on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/GCrDC733Fm

— NFL (@NFL) November 10, 2023

Mooney has 22 catches for 321 yards and one touchdown entering Week 11.

The Chicago Bears can make a bigger splash at wide receiver in the first round of the 2024 draft. They’re on track to be in a position to select Marvin Harrison Jr., who’d instantly become their most lethal weapon on offense.

Even if they (and the Carolina Panthers) win too many games to land Harrison, a handful of other first-round receivers will appeal to Poles, like Florida State’s Keon Coleman, who’s trending as a top-10 prospect right now, too.

If wide receiver is, in fact, the Chicago Bears’ biggest offseason need, they should have little trouble addressing it.

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