The way-too-early look at the top names of the '23 draft

[Lake Shore Drive]

Ok, as the guy who often touts that the glass is always half full, I'm not sure any of us on this board think we have a realistic shot at the playoffs. I mean we can hope, but seriously.....
So it's not really all that early to at least see who ranks in the top 50 potential draft picks. As a team with many needs and with the likelihood of a top 10, if not top 5 draft slot, there are some intriguing names and positions that could very well fit in with our first 2, maybe 3 picks, depending of course on how Poles acts. Here is one local writer's take on the top 50:

2023 NFL Draft: Infante’s top-50 big board 2.0

Windy City Gridiron’s lead draft analyst shares his current top 50 players in the 2023 NFL Draft.

www.windycitygridiron.com

This seems to be pretty much in line based on other top 50 boards that I've seen. Despite the obvious that as a whole our offense is weaker than our defense, I'm nonetheless inclined at this point to hope Poles uses his first pick on the DL. A run stopping DT or perhaps a lightning quick EDGE/DE would fit the bill nicely. But that's a long way off, who knows what's going to transpire the rest of this season and how Poles handles free agency with all that cap space in the offseason.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Despite the obvious that as a whole our offense is weaker than our defense, I'm nonetheless inclined at this point to hope Poles uses his first pick on the DL. A run stopping DT or perhaps a lightning quick EDGE/DE would fit the bill nicely. But that's a long way off, who knows what's going to transpire the rest of this season and how Poles handles free agency with all that cap space in the offseason.

I only brought this back up due to the article I've linked in which the writer believes Poles will be targeting the DL when he goes shopping this Spring:

We Can Already Predict Where Chicago Bears Will Spend In 2023

When it comes to team need and strength of the free agent class in 2023, it isn't hard to predict where the Chicago Bears will focus.

www.sportsmockery.com

I only know this much. We've just traded two of our best, if not outright best defensive players in this organization. So it stands to reason that Poles will be on the hunt for defensive help, starting with the DL. Doesn't mean he won't be going after OL or WR help as well, but I'm thinking he needs to rebuild this D asap, especially the front seven.