Chicago Bears Updated 2017 NFL Draft Needs: Post-Free Agency

#5:  Defensive Line

Akiem Hicks was an outstanding addition by the Bears last season. Eddie Goldman continues to flash immense promise. Unfortunately the problems are many at this position. Goldman struggles to stay on the field. Behind him and Hicks? A lot of question marks. Mitch Unrein is entering his 30s. Will Sutton and Ego Ferguson are two underwhelming holdouts from the Emery era. Jonathan Bullard has promise but needs to take a big step forward.

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#4:  Tight End

The arrival of Dion Sims doesn’t solve the overall problem for the Bears at tight end, but it does ease the pain. He’s a solid blocker who showed signs of emerging as a pass catcher as well. Together with Zach Miller, Daniel Brown and Ben Braunecker that’s a nice mix of veteran experience and youthful upside. Nonetheless it’s also a group with a ton to prove. None of them can be classified as a true playmaker.

#3:  Offensive Tackle

When examining the entire roster, the position that jumps out the most in terms of lingering concern is offensive tackle. Charles Leno and Bobby Massie were okay most of last season, mixed with moments of awful from time to time. Behind them? Not much at all. Tom Compton is an experienced backup. That’s fine but given how important that position is and how easy it is to get hurt playing it, the Bears have to think they’re playing with fire by not bringing in help.

#2:  Safety

This is no disrespect to the Quintin Demps addition. He’s something they’ve lacked which is a rangy playmaker on the back end who can get interceptions. However, he’s also 32-years old. A temporary fix at best. Beyond him the safety position is the same its been for over a decade:  undermanned. Adrian Amos, Deon Bush and Harold Jones-Quartey have all taken turns failing in their bids to become above-average starters. This defense won’t excel until they find somebody who doesn’t.