Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams was sacked 68 times last season, the most in franchise history. That led to Bears GM Ryan Poles acquiring interior offensive linemen Jonah Jackson, Joe Thuney and Drew Dalman this offseason.

That meant with their first-round pick in the NFL Draft – No. 10 overall – the Bears were able to cast a wider net and did not have to go with an offensive lineman.

ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. liked the route Ryan Poles and Co. took with University of Michigan tight end Colston Loveland.

Here’s what Kiper wrote about the pick on ESPN.com:

“Those (offseason) moves meant the Bears had options at No. 10 overall and didn’t need to force more offense. The Bears took tight end Colston Loveland, who has seam-stretching ability and had nine TD catches over the past two seasons. New coach Ben Johnson comes from Detroit, where he had Sam LaPorta heavily involved in the pass game. Now, he will have Loveland and Cole Kmet at the position.”

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On the offensive side of the ball, the Bears selected wide receiver Luther Burden III from Missouri and offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo out of Boston College in the second round. In the sixth and seventh rounds, the Bears drafted a pair of Big Ten products in Michigan State guard Luke Newman and Rutgers running back Kyle Monangai.

Kiper Jr. was a fan of the Bears’ selections on offense but it was the defensive side where he had concerns: 

“But where are the pass rushers? The Bears’ edge defenders had a pass rush win rate of 10.2%, which was the third worst in the NFL last season. Shemar Turner is versatile, but he’s primarily an interior defensive lineman.”

The Bears selected defensive tackle Shemar Turner from Texas A&M in the second round. Turner had six sacks with the Aggies in 2023 and will join a rotation of Grady Jarrett and Gervon Dextor Sr. as interior defensive linemen.

In addition to Turner, the Bears also selected Maryland linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II and UTSA cornerback Zah Frazier.

The lack of pass rushers was enough to knock down the Bears a bit, as Kiper gave them a B+ grade overall.