Chicago Bears: ESPN Bullish On Team’s Chances In 2023

While many NFL analysts still don’t have confidence in the Chicago Bears, ESPN feels bullish about their chances.

The Chicago Bears had a miserable 2022 season. They finished 3-14 and lost their last 10 games in the process. However, it seems that the struggles were part of the plan.

General manager Ryan Poles had a big job to do when he took over the team. He inherited a team that was one of the oldest in the NFL. Because of that, the Bears were in salary cap hell. They did not have much cap space which meant there was no flexibility in acquiring players.

The Bears also were stuck in the draft. Poles only had five draft picks, none in the first round. He noted that his preferred way to build a roster is through the draft so having five picks made that difficult.

Poles got to working and cut or traded away veteran talent. He shed big contracts. In return, he ended up signing a lot of less talented players to one-year deals. The fans were wondering if Poles was the right guy for the job.

With his trades, Poles added to the draft. Then he pulled some wheeling and dealing during the draft. He turned five draft picks into 11. With his free agent signings and the draft picks, the Bears became one of the youngest teams in the league.

Suddenly, the Bears were in a position to really take a sledgehammer to the roster and start the rebuild in earnest in 2023. Poles went into the offseason with nearly $100 million in salary cap space, by far the most in the league. Additionally, he armed himself with 10 draft picks, including the top overall pick. Four of those picks came in the first three rounds.

Not only that, but Poles also acquired a lot of top future draft picks. He now has additional assets to use in upcoming drafts, including two first-round picks and two fourth-rounders in 2024, and two second-rounders in 2025. In total, the Bears now have 11 picks inside the first four rounds in the next two drafts. Compare that to the three drafts before Poles got there when they had just six combined.

The future is looking up

With all of the moves Poles made, it seems that the future is finally looking up for the Chicago Bears. Poles spent the money he had wisely and not only did a good job of filling holes through the draft but also picked up more picks to fill the remaining holes in the future.

Despite this, there are not many expert analysts having hope for Chicago. Some are still predicting them to be at or near the bottom once again.

One place that is bullish on the Bears, however, is ESPN. After the schedule release last week, the website gave their over/under on wins for every team.

While the overall win prediction for the Bears is 7.5 in 2023, ESPN felt it was prudent to bet the over. This is what Tyler Fulghum, one of the site’s betting analysts, had to say about Chicago.

I am very bullish on the Bears in 2023 and beyond. It starts with QB Justin Fields, who I think is a certified star in the making. GM Ryan Poles has done a very good job fortifying the talent around him on offense, so I think he takes a big leap this season in his development. The defense is still a work in progress… Bottom line: I am betting big on Fields and the Bears taking a significant leap.

There are always some surprise teams that do better than most experts believe. It is nice to see that at least one site believes that the Chicago Bears could be one of them in 2023.