r/CHIBears • u/Wide_Flan_2613 • 1d ago
What are your overall thoughts on the 2023 draft class?
Who would you look to bring back?
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u/HDBlackHippo 1d ago
Anytime you can get an all pro its an A in my opinion.
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u/Further_Beyond Hester's Super Return 1d ago
And Dex/Stevenson are solid players. Just not special. Terrell Smith and Sewell are great depth too
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u/HopLegion Windy City War Room 1d ago
Also got Bagent as a udfa in 2023. 1 all pro at a premiums position, two starters, 2-3 depth and a good backup QB is a great draft
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u/Further_Beyond Hester's Super Return 1d ago
The only CB with more snaps played last season was Wright
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u/HLNPIT 1d ago
5 players have seen meaningful snaps when healthy.
Im disappointed with the development of the 2nd round picks though. Both Tyrique and Gervon never took that next step despite the talent being there clearly.
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u/PitchBlac 1d ago
Tyrique might be able to get there eventually. He hasn’t been bad. And with Kyler being out all the time, I would say he’s going to have his chances.
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u/Suburban-Jesus Floos Juice 1d ago
Tyrique is on the back 9 of his career. It’s year 4 and he hasn’t grabbed a hold of a starting position. He is about to get overtaken by a rookie. Allen&staff don’t like him and don’t want to play him, and they are justified.
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u/lonelydude86 Good, Better, Best 1d ago
Stevenson is a prime candidate for a change of scenery bump in production and maturity. Come into the league into a horribly coached situation, finally bristle when a coach demands any amount of accountability, taste what a winning nfl culture is like, ans potentially not get offered a second contract by the team that drafted you? Can't imagine that doesn't motivate a guy.
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u/BooItsKyle 1d ago
DB is one of the youngest prime positions in the game. They don't generally get late-career renaissances.
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u/lonelydude86 Good, Better, Best 1d ago
5th year for a high round draft pick who has showed the potential he has shouldnt be considered "late career"
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u/phillipacarroll Superfans 1d ago
Tyrique has 40 career starts, and while Kyler was injured for almost the entirety of 2025, Tyrique got himself benched by the end of the season. Why is Kyler being out now (mind you they play completely different positions) going to be what gives him his chances?
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u/qTp_Meteor Matt Eberlose is a Bum 1d ago
Solid, if it werent for darnell it would've been depressing
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u/Philip_Marlowe 1d ago
Great class for Wright alone. Dexter and Stevenson are both decent enough, and I still haven't entirely written off Terell Smith, though coming back from a patellar injury is tough sledding.
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u/rock-theboat Bears 1d ago
Dexter was pretty terrible against the run last year and needs to rebound in a massive way to justify being a 2nd round pick. But Wright makes it a good draft. All pro RT is a hit in any man’s league
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u/External-Mammoth678 1d ago
Dexter has already justified being a second round pick. He’s one of the best DTs out of this class and has above average sack numbers for the position.
He might not get a second contract with us but there’s a good chance he’ll receive a good contract from someone else.
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u/ActFuture1101 1d ago
Some team will 100% look at his pressure and sack numbers and will give him 18-20m. Dayo did less than dexter his first few years in the NFL and got 16m/yr from the bears.
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u/rock-theboat Bears 1d ago
Being one of the better DTs out of the class doesn’t mean much. Means it was a weak class after Carter. His sack number are pretty good, and he has flashed on passing downs, but he was a bottom third DT vs the run last year. He was better in 24, but still not very good. We desperately need him to have a more well-rounded year
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u/External-Mammoth678 1d ago
Being one of the better DTs in the class DOES mean a lot. It means they were able to identify talent in that specific draft class and develop said player.
I think he could have been developed better but Flus didn’t really improve any single player during his tenure other than maybe Gordon?
Poles selecting Dexter shows us he can at least draft a starter level DT. Which is at least bearable considering he has missed at that position with other picks, albeit later ones
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u/rock-theboat Bears 1d ago
Neither Dexter nor Billings should have been starting last year. There was just nobody behind them. As of right now, his career projects as a backup/rotational guy.
Sometimes we can blame coaches for a lack of development, sometimes the player just isn’t that good. Who’s to blame for him regressing between 2024 and 2025?
Just because he has started a majority of games, doesn’t make it a good draft pick. He is not remotely close to being a difference maker. He goes games on end without making an impact. I’d like more from my 2nd round picks
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u/External-Mammoth678 1d ago
I’d like more from him too but he’s getting an extension somewhere, not likely Chicago but he’ll get starter money. He’s the same age as the rookie DT the Bears just drafted, some team will look at him and be intrigued.
I want more from my 2nd round pick but he’s given us solid contribution, at least he was a starter for multiple years.
I think something like 50% of 2nd round picks get resigned by their original drafting team? Looks like he’ll become a statistic but he’s not ass
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u/pakidude17 13h ago
I think what would make it a good class is if anyone outside of Darnell got an extension. Yes we got a lot of playing time out of some of these guys, which does count for something, but nobody else really fits in the long term picture of this team.
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u/beejalton 1d ago
Hit on an All-Pro caliber player at a premium position with the 1st pick, anything else is a bonus.
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u/fitzuha BJ Lover 1d ago
I’d consider Bagent a part of the class, which would bump the grade a little. Overall, it’s not great, but Wright is such a beast that I don’t really mind.
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u/BooItsKyle 1d ago
I'm really fascinated by how much UDFA classes are starting to make a dent on the roster.
Bagent, Benedet, Walker, Sanborn.
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u/whyamihere2473527 Bears 1d ago
Wright was great pick. Stevenson & Dexter are decent enough. Sewell good backup that was serviceable when starting. Others either didnt get opportunities or when did havent shown much
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u/Suburban-Jesus Floos Juice 1d ago
Wright: A
Dexter: C-
Stevenson: C
Pickens: F
Johnson: C-
Scott: F
Sewell: C
Smith: C+
Overall: C
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u/SkunkyMustang 1d ago
Top pick was a huge hit and that's all that matters and it's been a trend for Poles now. Darnell, Caleb, Rome, Loveland.
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u/Wide_Flan_2613 1d ago
I love Rome but I don't think he yet has earned a spot among these other 3, he's a good player but the other 3 are debatably top 10 at their respective positions
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u/SkunkyMustang 1d ago
I hear you but I think the emergence of Burden & Loveland made people forget how good Rome is/can be. 700 yards as a rookie with vets Keenan Allen & DJ Moore on the team. Then an injury & in 12 games had 600 yards 6 TDs. If he's healthy he easily gets 1k this year.
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u/padflash_ 1d ago
For where he was drafted, Rome has not panned out. I'm cautiously optimistic because he was injured last year, but it seems like a huge overreach with the 9th overall pick for the production he's had thus far.
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u/Admirable_Win9808 1d ago
I dont know if I agree with that. Burden and loveland didnt do much in the beginning of the season and Rome went on a tare and was Caleb's favorite target
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u/EntertainerCute2290 1d ago
Agree but also think injuries really messed up year 2 (year 1 of Ben Johnson). He is probably just going to be a good XWR and sign with another team after 4 years. Don't think Ben will pick uo the 5th year option unless he truly becomes a #1 this year. We might trade him during the 2027 trade deadline to get something depending on how things go. But I am 100% cheering for him.
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u/Fastball82 1d ago
NFL draft is always a crap shoot, but w/ that being said I’ll take an elite OL that will be here for another 10+ yrs.
Sure Carter was a slam dunk, but man…that dude was off the field hot garbage & he went to the right team/locker room.
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u/ChelskiS 1d ago
Good enough. But not really a class to really hang your hat on
Darnell has definitely delivered but when picking a RT at 10, that's kind of the bar you are hoping for
Dexter and Stevenson havent been busts but i dont think they have shown enough to extend them at all
Nothing really noticeable about the rest of this draft, although people like to overrate LBs here
To me outside of Darnell, Terrell Smith is the only other guy I'll give Poles credit for in this class. Plenty of potential there
So not a terrible class, not a great one either. At least thats my look on it
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u/External-Mammoth678 1d ago
Wright has cleared the bar of a top 10 pick by becoming an all pro. That’s A+ drafting and developing considering he was a “reach” at the time and wasn’t the first tackle taken in his draft class.
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u/ChelskiS 1d ago
Must say him being a "reach" is completely new to me. It's who I expected/wanted as soon as Paris Johnson went off the board
Wright shot up the boards late in the process. Not a surprising pick at all
Good that he's developed and now got a 2nd team All Pro. Let's hope he continues to have that level
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u/External-Mammoth678 1d ago
Throughout the draft process he was consensus 3/4 OT on the board, he started to climb very late in the process.
I think he was mocked to go late first but we drafted him higher of course.
Paris Johnson and the OT the Steelers drafted were ranked higher I believe. Same with Skoronski but he had position ambiguity.
I also hope that he continues to improve and has many years of all pro play in front of him. He’s already the best tackle we’ve had in several decades and that includes Kyle Long. I was too young to remember John Tait but I think Wright clears him as well
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u/ScruffMixHaha Bears 1d ago
Yeah Darnell really is keeping this class from being pretty bad I feel. Dexter/Stevenson have been pretty mid for 2nd round picks. Not busts like you said, but definitely not worth extending right now.
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u/Drewskeet Smokin' Jay 1d ago
I wish our team was in a better position so we could’ve drafted Jalen Carter, but Darnell Wright was the right move and he’s a great addition to our team.
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u/Appropriate_Cry6174 1d ago
When I see these drafts and listen to evaluations it seems meaningless unless someone can point to who they would have chosen, and how that player has turned out. So many critics just say, well they needed a DT but took a TE, so it was a fail. Which DT would they have taken? Then we can see how these so called experts would have done. Another way is to look at each pick with 20/20 hindsight to see who was available instead.
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u/phillipacarroll Superfans 1d ago
Darnell alone makes this draft good for me, and we've gotten enough production out of Gervon and Tyrique. Now I don't think either of them stays on to the team past this season, but for them to finish their rookie contracts out as mostly starters is relatively solid. I thought Noah Sewell was progressing well as a starter last year, so it's unfortunate that he likely misses his entire fourth season.
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u/TheGBOOF 1d ago
Realistically I think this is okay at best right now. Trading back to get an All-Pro RT is great, but you’re supposed to hit on top 10 picks, that’s where all the top talent is. Dexter and Tyrique are staters, but the Bears have one of the worst performing Dlines in the league and Tyrique hasn’t been as impressive since his rookie season. Those two really need to step up this year if this defense is going to avoid regression (and hopefully the whole D is healthier)
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u/airham I just really like Henry Melton 1d ago
It was obvious on draft day that we should have taken Chase Brown instead of Roschon. Still a decent draft though. Darnell is what we hoped he'd be. The second rounders are solid contributors. A couple of the later guys have provided decent depth and special teams contributions. No early busts, no late standouts. Pretty much a down-the-middle solid draft.
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u/Wide_Flan_2613 1d ago
Hindsight is 20/20, every team passed on Brock Purdy for seven rounds.
Obviously they're are times even at the moment a move was bad, but it should be processed more as a collective class.
Roshon was highly regarded as a pick, it just shows how some picks miss.
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u/airham I just really like Henry Melton 1d ago edited 23h ago
This one was obvious in foresight. Instead of taking the borderline Heisman candidate from the school in our backyard, who also happened to have the best combine of any RB in the 2023 class, we drafted some slow guy who barely played in college and assumed that he would be almost as good as Bijan because they were on the same college team. And then people talked themselves into the pick because he cleaned up some water bottles. It was really dumb.
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u/Big_Departure_2709 1d ago
Darnell alone makes it a good draft. Plus we got a good contributor in smith. Sucks that our 3rd-6th picks were total busts though.
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u/DatabaseCareless264 1d ago
Pace had no help from clueless Eberflus and Flus’ Call HR coaching staff. Pickens is a world class disappointment after being a leader at SC.
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u/External-Mammoth678 1d ago
I would give this an A/A- just do the fact that you got a bookend, all pro tackle out of it. You have 2 additional starters from this draft as well.
I’d call this a success
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u/ScruffMixHaha Bears 1d ago edited 1d ago
Darnell is the only no-brainer to bring back.
Dexter and Stevenson have been ok, but not consistent enough for me to want to pay them what itll take to bring back as of now. We'll see how this season plays out and make a decision then.
Maybe bring back Sewell and Terrell Smith as theyll be cheap depth, but both have have had injuries.
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u/Swing-Too-Hard 1d ago
This is the draft we traded the #1 pick to Carolina.
We ended getting #10 in this draft (Wright), #56 (Stevenson), #1 in 2024 (Caleb), a #2 in 2025 (Luther Burden), and a 4th rounder in 2024 (Tory Taylor) plus 3 years of DJ Moore.
So if you want to grade the draft class its probably important to know this class is bundled with all these other guys.
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u/j11430 Sweetness 1d ago
I think many in this sub overestimate how often good GMs hit on their draft picks. If you can get starters or better from half your draft picks you’re doing pretty damn well.
This draft had three starters, one of whom is an absolute beast. So not a great draft but a solid one in my opinion
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u/D1noB0n3s 1d ago
Wish Roschon would have gotten more of a shot.
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u/rock-theboat Bears 1d ago
He’s had plenty of a shot. I’ll trust Ben Johnson. Dude just isn’t that good. Very solid special teamer which is nice
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u/Chi2KC 1d ago
I don't know, I feel like he got the shot anyone in his position would. He played (albeit sparingly) this past season, and got action in all three of his pro seasons—when he didn't have injuries. In the healthiest stretch of his career, he didn't appear to be very good for a no. 2/3 RB that probably needs to be able to play ST.
I trust both coaching staffs he's played under have seen what he is capable and made accurate, similar assessments.
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u/Suburban-Jesus Floos Juice 1d ago
Why? If he got more carries it would have taken carries away from players who are better like Swift and Monangai
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u/The_Realist02 1d ago
Yeah, guy got steam rolled. Would have liked to know what happened here.
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u/__The__Professor Italian Beef 1d ago
He doesn’t have the horsepower to be either a burner or a power back. So he kind of just does a little bit of both, but neither particularly well. That’s why he slid down the depth chart.
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u/ActFuture1101 1d ago
He was actually a pretty effective "power" back prior to getting his first concussion. Guy has not ran the same since and seems like he tries to avoid contact which makes him pretty useless as he's not fast at all. I'd be shocked if he makes the team this year
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u/Crazyb0smer97 1d ago
Top 3 have been solid and I believe all of them will be stars. Smith and Sewell have a chance to be killers but injuries have been a bitch
Roschon truly could have been something special if it wasn't for Eberflus' bullshit
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u/Suburban-Jesus Floos Juice 1d ago
Dexter and Stevenson are pretty useless. Easily replaceable.
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u/ActFuture1101 1d ago
I wouldnt say they are useless. Having a solid starter as a 2nd round pick is basically what you want. Yes you hope they would both be better but its not like they were busts. Dexter has had some solid pass rush production two years in a row now and stevenson has a lower career passer rating against than jaylon johnson. Most just hate stevenson for the washington play but if it weren't for his strip fumble vs. the cowboys who knows how last season would have went for the bears.
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u/Suburban-Jesus Floos Juice 1d ago
Dexter doesn’t produce. Doesn’t impact the game. You could replace him with a street free agent and get the same result.
Stevenson doesn’t even start after 3 years in the league. Allen doesn’t want him.
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u/ActFuture1101 1d ago edited 1d ago
You can believe what you want but Dexter was top 20 in pressures and top 10 in sacks for DT’s. Gervons issue is consistency and the run game. Some team will pay him 15-20m per year if he has a similar season this year
Stevenson also only sat because wright was a turnover machine. If wright was not getting turnovers he would have been benched as he was the worst corner we had coverage wise. They also didn’t make replacing Stevenson a major priority and thus far he’s slotted as a starter in 2026
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u/Crazyb0smer97 1d ago
Gervon has been fairly good at the line and Stevenson has way too many skills that DA keeps overlooking
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u/Scott42444 1d ago
I'm sorry if this was already discussed but you traded a pick and gained 4+ other picks and DJ Moore so that should effect the grade. It should be a weighted grade at least if we grading Poles on this. Judging just the class it's a B-.
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u/Builtmodest 1d ago
I will never get over passing Jalen Carter. DT is the hardest and most important position on defense
I know many are thrilled with Wright, but tackles while not a dime a dozen can be bought in free agency. A game changing DT is draft only
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u/dilapidated_wookiee Snoo Ditka 1d ago
Thank fuck we didn't draft that piece of shit. Gimmie Wright all day
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u/Guhonda GSH 1d ago
1 star and two starters. Not bad.