A Preview to the 2024 Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears have not had this much anticipation surrounding them heading into a season in a very long time. In fact, depending on who you talk to, some might say this is the most highly anticipated season of Bears’ football since the infamous 1985 Bears. However, if you are from Chicago, you are probably tired of hearing about the ‘85 Bears because, as great as they were, life since then has been quite miserable. This group of players and coaches are supposed to be the ones responsible for taking the ‘85 Bears out of the spotlight in 2024 and making them a distant memory that fans can reminisce about from time to time. Fortunately, it is all there on the table to make that happen.
A young, ultra-talented quarterback with all the tools, a talented group of wide receivers and tight ends, a young and fired-up defense, a manageable schedule, and finally, high expectations. High expectations are usually viewed as a good thing to have this time of year since that means people expect you to amount to something great; however, high expectations can backfire in a hurry on a young team like this if things begin to go south. With that said, the optimism around the bears is at an all-time high, and for good reason. Let’s break down all there is to know about the 2024 Chicago Bears.
If you want to fully understand how the Bears got to where they are at this current moment, we need to quickly turn back the clock to a game between the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts during the last week of the 2022 regular season. The Texans trailed the Colts by a score of 31-24 with 50 seconds remaining, and it was 4th and 20 for the Texans from the Colts’ 30-yard-line. However, Davis Mills was able to throw up a prayer that was miraculously caught in the endzone by Jordan Akins for the touchdown. Then, former Bears coach Lovie Smith decided that the Texans should go for the two-point conversion and the win. Mills was able to connect with Akins again to give the Texans the 32-31 victory. What makes this relevant for the Bears? Well, this win by Houston meant that the Bears would finish with the worst record in the NFL, meaning they would have the first overall pick. From there, everyone knows the story; the Bears traded the pick to the Panthers for a haul, including a handful of picks (one of which became the pick they used to select Caleb Williams), and star wide receiver DJ Moore was also included in the deal. So, although Lovie Smith has not been the coach for this Bears’ rebuild, Bears fans owe him a massive thank you for the 2024 roster.
The Weapons:
Caleb Williams: The spotlight for the entirety of the upcoming season is going to shine bright on rookie Caleb Williams, who is entering into one of the best situations a number one overall pick has ever come into the league with. The former Oklahoma and USC product lit up college football from his first game as a freshman at Oklahoma, where he led the Sooners in a comeback victory over rival Texas. Williams went on to win the Heisman Trophy at USC in his sophomore season. Williams has the playmaking ability and arm talent that has never been seen before from a Bears’ quarterback. However, like any rookie, there will be growing pains this year as he learns a new offense and adjusts to the speed of the NFL. Luckily for him, the next few names listed below should help him with some of those rookie growing pains.
DJ Moore: Moore proved to be a stable top wide receiver option in his first year with the Bears last season. Moore caught 96 passes last year for a career-best 1,364 yards and eight touchdowns. While the individual numbers may take a hit this season with all the new mouths to feed on offense, Moore has solidified himself as a leader and captain of this team that the young guys can look to as a model of success.
Kennan Allen: Allen will fit perfectly into this offense as a lethal red zone and jump ball threat for Caleb Williams to look to. The six-time pro bowler always seems to know how to find the soft spot in a defense, which can prove critical for the development of a young quarterback.
Rome Odunze: Odunze was one of the best receivers in college football last year, which is why it is no surprise that the Bears chose to spend their second top-10 pick in April’s draft on him to solidify the third wide receiver spot. Odunze has proved to be extremely mature for his age both on the field and off the field. The way he is able to read a defense and then attack its weakness is well beyond the ability of a normal NFL rookie. Also, his off-the-field preparation is second to none. He is coming from a vertical passing-based offense at Washington, and the Bears will be asking him to fill a similar role this season, whether that is in the slot or on the outside; Oduzne’s ability to play both will be a massive advantage for the Bears’ offense.
Cole Kmet: Kmet got his big payday before last season, as the Bears locked him up for the next four years, and he proved to be worth every penny. He put up career-bests in receptions and yards in 2023. Kmet has firmly solidified himself as a top-10 tight end in the NFL with his sure hands and reliable blocking. The Chicago native will serve as a reliable safety blanket for Williams both in the passing and running games.
D’Andre Swift: Swift signed a three-year, $24 million contract with Chicago in the offseason to take over the starting running back duties. While Swift is an above-average runner, his main separator from other backs in the league is his catching ability out of the backfield. While in Detroit, he hauled in over 50 passes in all three seasons, and then last year in Philadelphia, his receiving numbers took a hit because of their run-heavy offense, but he was able to rush for over 1,000 yards. Swift’s versatility out of the backfield gives the opposing defense another unwanted headache to gameplan for every week.
The Defense:
After the Bears traded for Montez Sweat halfway through the season last year, the defense took the next step into becoming one of the best young defenses in the NFL. They are strong on all three levels. The secondary is full of talent, headlined by pro bowler Jaylon Johnson. Along with him are two recently drafted players, Kyler Gordon and Tyrique Stevenson, both of whom have improved dramatically since being drafted by the Bears. The safety position is led by the hard-hitting Jaquan Brisker and newly acquired veteran Kevin Byard. The secondary has already given themselves the “No Fly Zone” label, and while it is still August, it would be foolish to doubt them, given the resumes of the players in the secondary. The linebacker corps is where the leaders of the defense operate. Veterans Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards are the engines that make the operation go for this defense. Edmunds was the signal caller for the defense last year, and he will presumably take those duties again this year for head coach Matt Eberflus. Finally, the defensive line, which, as previously mentioned, got a massive upgrade with the addition of Montez Sweat last October, is rapidly improving from year to year. Surrounding Sweat is a variety of young and raw players with lots of potential. The most notable are a couple of recent draft picks: Gervon Dexter and Austin Booker. Dexter serves as a middle-of-the-line run stuffer, while Booker is a guy the Bears hope can be explosive off the edge on the other side of Sweat. Of course, veterans DeMarcus Walker and Andrew Billings will see a lot of action on Sundays as well, pointing to the depth that the Bears will have at the defensive line, which could be critical down the stretch of the season.
The Schedule:
The Bears finished in fourth place in the NFC North last season, meaning they will play a last-place schedule in 2024. This means they will play the last-place teams from all the other NFC divisions from last year: Commanders, Cardinals, and Panthers. Their AFC division is the AFC South, which can be debated as the worst division in the AFC. Besides the Texans, the rest of the AFC South is very manageable. However, the NFC North is arguably the best division in football this year, which makes the first ten weeks of this season even more critical for the Bears. They will play all four AFC South teams, and they will play all the other last-place NFC teams within the first ten weeks of the season before they play a division game. In order for the Bears to be in a good playoff position, they will want to be at least a game above the .500 mark heading into that first division matchup against the Packers on November 17. After that game against Green Bay, it will be tough sledding the rest of the way as they finish with the Lions twice, the Vikings twice, the 49ers, the Seahawks, and the Packers again. So, while you do not want to put early pressure on a rookie quarterback, the Bears will have to put an emphasis on taking advantage of their lighter schedule at the beginning of the season.
To conclude, there has not been this much hype in the windy city about their football team in a long time. There are still plenty of questions to be answered, plenty of expectations to meet, and plenty of outcomes to be decided, but that is what makes this fun for the Bears and their fans. The 2024 Chicago Bears are set up for a roller coaster of emotions, but it is going to be entertaining one way or another. So, I would get your popcorn ready and sit back and enjoy the show.
