PHOENIX — Bears coach Ben Johnson tried to argue Monday that his roster was deep enough that the team could afford to draft the best available player next month.
“We can go any direction we need to and stay true to that,” he said, “and feel pretty good about it.”
Deep down, he must know better. So must general manager Ryan Poles. Because this year’s draft cries out for the Bears to draft a defensive player in Round 1. And maybe two more in Round 2.
It’s essential to the team’s future on and off the field. They haven’t picked a first-round defender since Roquan Smith in 2018 and are set to pay $166 million, the fourth-most in the NFL, to their 2026 defense alone. That’s unsustainable. The Bears need an influx of young defensive talent on the field who collect a reasonable paycheck off of it.
“We talk about that a lot,” Poles said Monday at the NFL’s annual meeting.
Poles just told the world what he, Johnson and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen thought of the team’s defense. He traded linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and let starting safeties Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker and cornerback Nahshon Wright leave via free agency. No NFL team gave any of their defensive backs more than a one-year deal.
The Bears swapped them out for players who they think better fit Allen’s defensive mindset — but need to add more in the draft.
“If you go back to teams that D.A. has had, specifically the defenses in New Orleans, there’s an aggressiveness, there’s a violence and there’s a speed that they play with,” Poles said. “So we’re trying to match that.
“That’s part of our evaluation process with the rookie class — prioritizing the guys that fit perfectly or that kind of borderline fit and need some development. And then we really try to push aside the guys that don’t fit.”
The hard part about drafting someone who fits Allen’s prototype is that the Bears are picking so late in Round 1. Poles looks to two late-round stalwarts for inspiration — the Steelers and Ravens. Since 2000, there have been 109 seasons in which a defensive player drafted between 20th and 32nd overall made the Pro Bowl. The Ravens are responsible for 11 — nine for safety Ed Reed and two for linebacker Patrick Queen. The Steelers claim 14 — eight for edge rusher T.J. Watt and six for -defensive tackle Cam Heyward.
Bears defensive end Montez Sweat is another. So is Cam Jordan, Allen’s former standout edge rusher with the Saints. But they were the exception, not the rule.
“For the D-line, it gets more difficult as you get further along in the draft,” Poles said. “You’re definitely going to have to develop [them].”
That has been a problem for the Bears for a generation. Acquiring them has gone better — Khalil Mack and Julius Peppers were stars — but proved only to be a patch. Maxx Crosby seems to be staying with the Raiders after the asking price of two first-round picks was too rich for Poles’ liking.
There’s nothing wrong with taking a high-floor player at No. 25 rather than someone with “this mythical high ceiling that maybe you never reach,” Poles said. Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr. and Texas A&M’s Cashius Howell, two of the most productive edge rushers in college football, have short arms that could hurt their draft status.
“Just a good football player that plays with the right mentality — a high motor, can overcome their shortcomings, whether they have short arms or it’s a height thing or size thing,” Poles said. “That’s what we’re going to be taking into consideration.”
He’s aware the attention could flip fast if the team slides, but ‘‘there’s a lot of positive feedback right now,’’ he said.
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