The Chicago Bears have spent the better part of the last few seasons playing catch-up. Cap space, roster holes, and the financial flexibility to address both defined that phase of the build, and General Manager Ryan Poles used it accordingly, stabilizing the roster and constructing a functional environment to develop quarterback Caleb Williams.

That phase is over. Or at least, it should be.

What this offseason has made clear is that the approach has shifted. Poles is no longer building from the ground up. He’s managing a roster with a core in place, and the goal now is to sustain it. In the NFL, that distinction almost always comes down to one thing: how well you draft.

The Bears took a meaningful step in that direction last April. Colston Loveland, Luther Burden III, Ozzy Trapilo, and Kyle Monangai all contributed as rookies, and the class has the look of one that will produce multiple long-term contributors.

Before the Bears Are on the Clock: A Final Pre-Draft Notebook

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