Bears return to Halas Hall for training ahead of Thursday's NFL draft
The reigning NFC North champs arrived back at the Lake Forest facility on Monday morning with their division title and the franchise's first playoff victory in 15 years in the rear-view mirror.
With the bar raised, QB Caleb Williams is ready for head coach Ben Johnson to push him even harder to elevate his good from better to best.
"One of the first things we talked about when we first met, I guess two days after the game, was it's going to be more," Williams said. "It's going to be more difficult. I'm going to push you more, and my answer is yes, sir, let's do it."
Williams said he and Johnson each have a goal that aligns with each other.
Tight end Cole Kmet added to Johnson's coaching, saying that he and the coaching staff are going to do a great job of pushing the team in the upcoming season.
"Not that we shouldn't have some level of confidence in ourselves, but, you know, it's going to be important to kinda rip it back down and understand that we're all 0-0 here in the NFL. There's going to be, like I said, there's a lot of parody, and it's very hard to get back to where we were last year and even further," Kmet said.
As for the NFL Draft, the Bears currently hold seven draft picks, starting with the 25th overall in the first round, their lowest selection in well over a decade.
Chicago Sun-Times beat writer Patrick Finley spoke about which position of need General Manager Ryan Poles will address off the top when the Bears go on the clock Thursday night in Pittsburgh.
"I think they gotta start at edge rusher, that is a position that's a premium spot," Finley said. "We've heard Poles over the years talk about the emphasis you need to put on solving premium positions. The Bears didn't do that in free agency."
Finley said the team could still use a defensive end, and there will for sure be one in the draft. He said even experts in the draft advise the Bears to stay with their 25th spot and take the best edge rusher. Beyond that, he said, the team could also look at a defensive tackle, a corner back, or possibly a left tackle, but thinks the team should stay with an edge rusher.
Poles and Assistant General Manager Jeff King are expected to speak on the NFL draft on Tuesday after the annual Brian Piccolo Award Ceremony.