As the Chicago Bears attempt to fix quickly a defense that performed poorly in 2013, the franchise could be applying a longer-term view to one of the positions for which its renowned.
Linebacker.
As explained by Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Bears may need to target a middle linebacker in 2014 with a plan to use him in 2015. For now, D.J. Williams (pictured) remains the man in the middle, with Lance Briggs still holding down the weak side and Shea McClellin getting a crack at taking over the strong side. By next year, Briggs and Williams could be gone.
Drafted last year to be a middle linebacker, Bostic is headed to the outside this year. He’ll likely get a chance to develop into a potential replacement for Briggs. That leaves a hole behind Williams in the middle.
Finley pegs round three as the point at which the Bears could start looking for a future middle linebacker. Plenty of factors come into play, including whether many potential middle linebackers remain after the first two rounds.