Windy City Gridiron
WCG’s lead draft analyst analyzes his “superlatives” for the Bears’ choices in the 2025 offseason.
Superlatives are a fun way to shake up your typical lists or rankings and present them in a new format. Fun fact: I was voted the Best Male Dancer in the Benet Academy graduating class in 2019, but I’m sure nobody cares about that, because I’m ugly and stupid.
On Sunday, I created some superlatives of my own and applied them to specific moves the Chicago Bears have made in the 2025 NFL offseason.
I tweeted this before a BABYMETAL concert, though I’m sure nobody cares about that fact, either.
The Bears were incredibly active between free agency, the 2025 NFL Draft, and the hiring of a new head coach and corresponding coordinators. A lot changed between the start of January and now, meaning there’s a lot of change to consider when making these superlatives.
Here are my explanations behind each of my choices.
I considered the trade for Joe Thuney here, seeing as though the Bears got a first-team All-Pro offensive guard for just a fourth-round pick. However, I can’t help but come back to the slam-dunk head coaching hire they made.
I’ve been on record saying I think Ben Johnson was the best first-year head coaching candidate since Kyle Shanahan in 2017. That stayed firm before the Bears hired him, and I’ll remain on that bandwagon to this day. He dominated as the Lions’ offensive coordinator, resurrecting Jared Goff’s career and leading the offense to incredible heights.
The Lions were top-five in the league in yards per game, points per game, and PFSN’s Offense+ metric all three seasons that Johnson was their offensive play caller. For a Bears team who know firsthand the difference coaching can make in a game, bringing him in should be a breath of fresh air. I truly believe Ryan Poles hit a home run here.
There was a clear vision with the Bears signing Dayo Odeyingbo: betting on a traitsy player and anticipating that his best football is ahead of him. I just don’t think I agree with that approach.
There’s a lot to like with Odeyingbo, as he’s a massive edge rusher with elite length and good size-adjusted athleticism. He’s produced before, as he had eight sacks in 2023, and he’s still only 25 years old.
That said, I don’t think he’s enough of a finished product to warrant the $16 million a year they’re paying him. His average salary is 20th among all edge rushers. However, among edge rushers last year, he was 55th in PFF pass-rushing grade (150 snaps or more), 93rd in sacks and 44th in pressures.
The Bears are paying $12 million more a year to a player who wasn’t much better last year than DeMarcus Walker, whom they cut this offseason. Odeyingbo is younger and has more upside. But if he didn’t put it all together in his four years of playing...
