ESPN Lists These 5 Players As Chicago Bears Roster "Core"

The Chicago Bears are undergoing a clear rebuild. GM Ryan Poles tore the roster down last off-season, removing every older player with an expensive contract and players he didn't think fit the long-term vision. As a result, only 11 players from the Ryan Pace era remain. Nobody knows what to expect from this reconfigured depth chart in 2023. While improvement is expected, many believe the Bears are still another year away from true playoff contention. Much of it depends on how their core of top players perform.

That leads to an interesting question. Who exactly are those core players? Since the Bears' roster is in transition, it's not easy to answer. ESPN analyst Seth Walder took his crack at it, listing five players he believes fit the profile and where they rank as a group in the NFL. The Bears sit at 25th. Where it gets interesting is who he sees as members. A couple of them aren't big surprises. However, there is at least one that might get a second glance based on current knowledge.

"Roster core: QB Justin Fields, WR DJ Moore, LB Tremaine Edmunds, S Eddie Jackson, OT Braxton Jones

Average core age: 25.6

The Bears improved this offseason, but their non-QB core still doesn't stack up against that of most NFL teams. In Fields, Chicago has a midlevel QB, though there is certainly a world where Fields ascends beyond that. But we haven't seen it yet, as he ranked 17th in QBR last season and took sacks at an egregious 12.5% rate."

The Chicago Bears have plenty of proving to do.

Guys like Fields, Moore, and Jackson being core players isn't a big surprise. Fields is the quarterback. Moore is their best receiver and one of the best in the NFL. Jackson is coming off another Pro Bowl nod. The shocker has to be Braxton Jones. There is no denying the former 5th round pick turned heads as a rookie last season, starting every snap at left tackle. Yet for him to be named a core player is a massive nod of approval from Walder since he passed over guys like Darnell Mooney, Khalil Herbert, Jaquan Brisker, and Jaylon Johnson.

One must take it as a good sign. If Walder is right, Jones has a chance to become a vital piece to the Chicago Bears' plans of constructing a championship contender. Everybody knows how important left tackles are. Athleticism isn't a problem for him. Last year showed it was more about power and bend. Offensive line coach Chris Morgan said he appears to have solved both issues this off-season. If that is true, the Bears' core might get a lot more respect after this season.