The Bears will be one of the most improved teams in the NFL

It’s not all doom and gloom from the national pundits and many are predicting that Chicago’s stock is on the rise.

Chicago Bears fans are near unanimous in thinking that the 2023 version of their favorite team will be much improved over last year’s squad. But if we’re being fair, the arrow has to be pointing up when you finish as the worst team in the league. Improving from their three-win 2022 will be aided by a much easier schedule, the third-fewest travel miles, and the best rest differential in the NFL.

During the offseason, the Bears bolstered their trenches, linebacking corps, secondary, running backs, quarterback room, receiving unit, and tight ends group — basically everything. But if we’re being fair, the ‘22 team had so many holes on the roster that free agency and the draft were bound to boost the talent level across the board. There are still a few areas the Bears could use help, but overall the franchise is in a much better place in year two of the rebuild.

It’s one thing for us fans to think the Bears are primed for improvement, but many national publications have them pegged for a better record too.

Sports Illustrated has the Bears as one of the ten most improved teams based on their offseason transactions. “The Bears’ lengthy list of offseason additions will likely lift them from the bottom of the NFL power rankings to a promising team during Year 2 of GM Ryan Poles’s rebuild project in Chicago,” writes SI’s Gilberto Manzano.

“The Chicago Bears bottomed out last year, but they look poised to pull themselves out of the league’s basement in 2023, writes Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay. He adds, “The future looks bright in the Windy City largely thanks to the promising development of quarterback Justin Fields.”

Here’s what NFL.com’s Marc Sessler wrote in listing the Bears as one of the most improved teams.

Pulling D.J. Moore away from the Panthers — the headliner in a massive pre-draft swap — was a masterful lever pull by general manager Ryan Poles. Justin Fields now has his alpha dog to whip passes to atop the sturdy cast of Chase Claypool, Darnell Mooney and Cole Kmet. Fourth-rounder Roschon Johnson is an intriguing addition to a backfield featuring Khalil Herbert and hammer-dropping D’Onta Foreman.

The draft bought size and might on both sides of the ball. Chicago added a massive human up front in first-round offensive tackle Darnell Wright. Poles then found a pair of front-door-shaped interior D-linemen in Gervon Dexter Sr. and Zacch Pickens. The roster is still dangerously thin at pass rusher. That’s a weird situation two years in when you’re head coach is defensive-minded Matt Eberflus. The rebuilding effort, though, is well underway.