For years, the Bears were stuck watching the Packers sit on top of the NFC North and, at times, the whole rivalry felt one-sided enough that Aaron Rodgers could talk about owning Chicago and there wasn’t much the Bears could do about it.
That kind of imbalance doesn’t last forever.
Chicago has spent the last stretch rebuilding the roster under general manager Ryan Poles, and the result is showing up in the kind of talent that can change a franchise’s outlook. Green Bay, meanwhile, has gone the other direction. That’s a big reason Aaron Schatz’s annual ranking of teams by under-25 talent has the Packers all the way down at No. 29, while the Bears sit in third.
The contrast is hard to miss. The Packers are not without talent, and it would be wrong to pretend they lack a good head coach.
But outside of Micah Parsons and Xavier McKinney, they don’t have any players ranked among the top five or even top 10 at their positions. On top of that, Brian Gutekunst’s draft record has come up short more often than not, and even last year Matthew Golden didn’t look like a first-round-caliber wide receiver.
Chicago’s young core looks far more promising. Caleb Williams, Colston Loveland, Luther Burden III, Rome Odunze and Ozzy Trapilo all have the look of pieces the Bears can build around for a long time. On defense, Dillon Thieneman could be another difference-maker.
That matters because the Packers don’t have much room for error, especially in a division as tough as the NFC North. They also won’t have their best player for at least the first month of the season. With Jordan Love, Matt LaFleur and Gutekunst all under pressure, the situation starts to feel a lot more fragile if the next couple of years don’t go right.
There’s even a sense that Green Bay is edging toward “blow it up” territory if the current path doesn’t change. Who is supposed to carry them if things go sideways?
Do they have enough young talent to stay in the contender mix for years to come? Right now, it doesn’t look like it.
The Bears still have some tough stretches ahead, but the direction is clear. And for their fans, there’s something especially satisfying about seeing a longtime rival slide while Chicago keeps climbing.
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Bears Camp Already Has A Defensive Problem Fans Feared
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Ryan Poles May Be Eyeing A Hidden Fix For Bears Depth
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The most intriguing name in the mix was Ben Te Kura, whose path to football is far from ordinary. A former rugby player, he is being evaluated as a possible long-term conversion project, the kind of developmental swing teams sometimes take when they think there might be untapped upside hiding in plain sight. [Read more 🡒]