On the record...
Trade the pick. Not a QB away and I'm not all in on Caleb anyway.
Need at at least 3 starters on offense and easily make the case for 4.
Same story on defense. Legitimately need 7-8 players before this roster is ready to compete.
Also, need death, because the Bears were so lucky with injuries this season.
Are you serious? 7-8 players on defense away? WTF dude. Have you not paid attention to how many resources they have already put in that defense in the last 2 years?
I posted this previously, but here it is again:
- 2nd round picks on Gordan, Brisker, Dexter, Stevenson, Sweat (2nd round pick plus the contract for Sweat)
- 3rd round pick on Pickens
- FA money to Edmunds, Edwards, Walker, Jones, Billings
The Bears need to add a pass rusher to the defense and it is ready to compete in the playoffs.
They need depth everywhere, but I would argue that is true of every team in the NFL. You always need or want more depth.
Really, if you pay much attention to what kind of teams make the playoffs then in my opinion it becomes rather obvious:
The teams with elite QB's are pretty much always in the playoff hunt. It really does make a difference when you have that guy that can make the plays when you need them. I have no idea if Williams is going to be one of those guys, but he seems to have the tools that he could become one. For various reasons, so far it doesn't look like Fields is one of them.
Beyond that, teams that have a good run of staying healthy, especially to key starters, can make a run at the playoffs or in the playoffs. I think I read a while back that about half the teams change in the playoffs from year to year. And a lot of it often comes down to which team was able to stay healthy in a given year.
I would argue that the last couple of Bears teams that made the playoffs fall into that category. They were good teams that stayed healthy, their depth wasn't really tested, and they were able to make the playoffs. And then they can't get back into the playoffs due to injuries along with not having an elite QB when they have had those good teams.
Obviously, QB is a key starter and if your elite QB gets hurt, you're probably fucked. I think the Colts had that famous quote regarding Manning on that for why they didn't give reps to the back-up. It was along the lines of "If 18 gets hurt, we're fucked. And we don't practice fucked".