4 takeaways from the Chicago Bears’ 2023 NFL Draft class

The dust has settled on the 2023 NFL draft, and the early returns for the Chicago Bears’ 10-player class have been positive. Most post-draft grades have Ryan Poles’ second draft as the Bears general manager ranked among the five best in the league.

It’s a fair assessment of this crop of rookies. It’s all speculative, of course, but at this time of year, that’s all we have. Speculation.

The Chicago Bears did a great job filling critical needs with quality players. Not every prospect Poles selected was an uber-productive college player, but they’ll enter the league with traits — good athletes with plus size — and pedigree. Many of this year’s Bears rookies are former five-star recruits.

Here are four major takeaways from the Chicago Bears’ 2023 NFL draft.

Traits over production

I have to admit: I love how Poles built his draft board.

College production can be very misleading. Offensive skill players can have inflated stats because of a whacky system that doesn’t translate to the pro game. Defensive players can juice their production by dominating players who’ll never sniff an NFL field. Box score scouting is never enough, and the Bears aren’t doing it.

Immutable traits are different.

An NFC North scout once described a fringe NFL prospect to me with two simple phrases: “He’s plenty big enough, plenty fast enough.” And as straightforward as that may sound, the NFL game is a big and fast man’s game.

The Bears added size — mass and length — and speed with this year’s cluster of picks.

First-round offensive tackle Darnell Wright is a mountain. Second-round defensive lineman Gervon Dexter Sr. is one too. Zacch Pickens, the 3-tech added in Round 3, is a dancing bear (no pun intended). Wide receiver Tyler Scott has Olympic-level speed. Even the defensive backs are plus-sized.

The Chicago Bears are rebuilding their roster with guys who are plenty big enough and plenty fast enough. Now, it’s up to the coaches to put them in a position to produce on the NFL level.

An eye toward 2024

The best teams always have a plan for the future. The Chicago Bears certainly had one in the 2023 NFL draft.

Running back Roschon Johnson was selected in the fourth round and is considered a fantastic value. Contrary to popular opinion, I don’t think he’ll have a big role in 2023. But in 2024? After D’Onta Foreman more than likely departs? Johnson will slide into the power-back role with a chance to prove he deserves bell-cow treatment as Khalil Herbert enters unrestricted free agency in 2025.

Wide receiver Tyler Scott, who plays an awful lot like Seattle Seahawks star Tyler Lockett, is almost certain to have a huge role on offense in 2024. It’s highly unlikely that both Chase Claypool and Darnell Mooney will return (they’re each on expiring contracts) after next season. It’ll be tough to re-sign two young wideouts, assuming they’re productive in 2023.

Enter Scott, whose home-run ability will earn him reps in a rotation as a rookie and the potential for a top-3 spot on the depth chart in 2024.

Mental toughness matters

The Chicago Bears got tougher during the 2023 NFL Draft, and not just on the field.

Players like Wright, Dexter, and Johnson have character traits that aren’t discernable on film. They don’t show up in a pass rush, run block, or catch out of the backfield. They’re the traits that create leaders in the locker room: mental and emotional toughness.

Johnson was a career backup in college, yet he’s been praised by former teammates and coaches as one of Texas’ most important leaders. Wright proved to Bears coaches that he had no quit during his pre-draft workout. Travis Bell worked full-time to support his family while playing college football.

Some Bears fans have asked why Chicago didn’t select Jalen Carter in the first round. The answer is in the rest of the draft class. They’re all high-character guys who have the want and desire to be great. Hopefully, Carter does too. He has the natural talent to become one of the NFL’s best defenders. But Poles clearly didn’t see what he wanted from the former Georgia star during the draft process. And he stuck to his convictions in Round 1.

The Bears rookies are built differently. And they’ll be a big reason why the Chicago Bears will build a winning culture inside Halas Hall.

Strength in numbers

The Chicago Bears’ 2023 draft class is 10 players deep. That’s 10 swings at a home run. Or even a double.

Schooled NFL draft analysts will tell you that a good draft class hits on about half of the players selected. If 50% of a rookie class emerges as quality starters or key members of a rotation, that’s a win. Naturally, the more players a team drafts in a given year, the better their odds of landing more key contributors.

The Bears’ 2022 rookie class is a good example. Poles added 11 rookies last year, at least four will have significant roles in 2023. Kyler Gordon, Jaquan Brisker, and Braxton Jones are key cogs in the rebuild, and Dominique Robinson could emerge as this year’s top pass rusher. If we add undrafted free agent Jack Sanborn, that’s five quality rookies added by Poles a year ago. Huge.

If four or five of this year’s rookie class end their first season with the same positive outlook? The Bears will be on the upswing. The volume of picks Poles has made over his first two drafts is a positive factor in how quickly Chicago will get back to winning. There’s no doubt he’ll be a general manager who continues to prioritize trading down for more picks over trading up for one big name.