After upgrading at several positions this offseason, the Chicago Bears are a popular sleeper pick to potentially make an under-the-radar run to the postseason in 2024.
Here are the franchise’s five most valuable people in 2024:
5. Defensive end Montez Sweat
The lack of a credible pass rush has been one of the Bears’ biggest issues over the last few years, but trading for Sweat at last season’s trade deadline was a nice way to remedy that.
In the nine games post-trade, Sweat had 37 pressures, 23 hurries, six QB hits and six sacks, per Pro Football Focus, and despite only playing for the Bears for half a season, he still led the team in sacks and ranked second in pressures and hurries.
If Chicago can get a little more production from DeMarcus Walker or rookie Austin Booker begins to breakout, it could take some of the attention away from Sweat on the opposite side and free him up to wreak havoc in the backfield. It’s tough to see Chicago being competitive this season if Sweat isn’t getting to the quarterback.
4. Wide receiver Keenan Allen
The whole reason the Bears traded for Allen was to pair him with D.J. Moore to give rookie quarterback Caleb Williams a legitimate one-two punch at receiver (drafting Rome Odunze No. 9 overall was just an added bonus.)
Allen is 32, but he’s coming off arguably the best season of his career, and he’s nothing if not consistent (when healthy.) He’s logged 100 or more receptions and 1,000 or more yards in five of the last seven seasons, and he gives Williams a reliable target if Moore is taken out of the play by good coverage. If Williams has a C.J. Stroud-like rookie year, it’ll be because Allen plays a big role in the pass game.
3. Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron
Head coach Matt Eberflus stayed but former offensive coordinator Luke Getsy was fired in the offseason because his offense simply didn’t work with Chicago’s personnel, and when investing as much as the Bears are in a young QB like Williams, it was clear an upgrade at OC was needed.
Enter Waldron, who was the passing game coordinator for two of Jared Goff’s best seasons with the Rams and the offensive coordinator for Geno Smith’s career-reviving 2022 season. Waldron has a proven track record of getting the most out of his QBs, which is exactly the kind of person the Bears wanted to entrust Williams’ development to.
2. Head coach Matt Eberflus
Chicago upgraded its roster and its assistant coaching staff, but the team kept the head coach who’s gone 10-24 in two seasons at the helm. Part of it is management wanting to give Eberflus the benefit of the doubt — he inherited a young top-15 quarterback he had no say in drafting and one of the more talent-deprived rosters in the NFL back in 2022 — and the other part is he’s been given all the tools, now he has to prove he’s just had some bad luck or else he’s out of a job.
The Bears 2024 roster has the potential to be the most talented the team has had since perhaps its Super Bowl run in 2007, and a surprise playoff run could help keep Eberflus’ job safe. But make no mistake, if expectations aren’t met and the team is drafting in the top 10 again next year, the Bears will likely be looking for a new head coach.
1. Quarterback Caleb Williams
It feels like everything next season rests on Williams’ shoulders. Chicago traded Justin Fields for what many considered a below-market deal just to make room for Williams, and it invested heavy in his supporting cast by bringing in Allen, Odunze, running back D’Andre Swift and tight end Gerald Everett, plus revamping the defense.
If Williams plays anywhere close to the level he did two years ago at USC when he won the Heisman Trophy, then Bears fans can breathe a sigh of relief.
However, if he struggles, like he did last season, and shows cracks in his foundation like not being able to handle criticism or the sting of losing, then there could be serious issues in Chicago.
