Raise your hand if what the Bears actually did in free agency matched your offseason wish list? Be honest, not defensive.

That’s not to say the Bears didn’t do some nice things and bring in some productive players. They got younger and faster, but as Ben Johnson’s chant goes, they did not get better. At least yet. Coby Bryant is really solid, but even Kobe needed a Shaq to win. The Bears don’t have a Shaq on defense.

My question is, how can the Bears be maxed out cap-wise, and they barely addressed their biggest needs of defensive line and left tackle? Signing safeties and off-ball linebackers isn’t how defenses are built, especially as a team that ranks 31st in the league in sacks over the last four years. Not prioritizing premium positions is how the Bears got in this situation to begin with.

Yes, the Bears won 11 games last season, but asking for more isn’t being a hater. I actually loved everything about 2025 and am just asking the Bears to capitalize while Caleb Williams and the other young skill guys are still on their rookie deals. I believe in offensive core. I want this team to consistently beat the Packers. I want this team to return to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2006. I want to watch a championship parade for the first time in 41 years.

Some fans push back and ask if I wanted to overpay for Trey Hendrickson or Jaelan Phillips or risk trading for an injured Maxx Crosby. It’s fair. It’s also fair to ask the Bears to do SOMETHING.

Isn’t it fair to want more from this defense after five offseasons under Ryan Poles? This isn’t just about looking at a singular free agency period under a microscope; it’s a zoom-out view of the lack of consistent defense.

Asking for the Bears to do more doesn’t mean you’re anti-draft and develop. Make no mistake, winning in the draft is the No. 1 reason why teams win at a high level on the field. So I ask, what have you seen from Poles drafting defensive playmakers?

I count one hit on defense through the draft for Poles with Kyler Gordon, but even he isn’t a Pro Bowler. Jaquan Brisker was taken in the second round in 2022, and the team let him walk for a 1yr/$5.5 million deal. Gervon Dexter was selected in the second round in 2023 and could follow Brisker out the door next offseason. Tyrique Stevenson, another second-rounder, was benched towards the end of 2025. Zacch Pickens was taken one round after Dexter and Stevenson and was a bust.

Please don’t bring up “hindsight” because that’s the essence of judging drafts. We wait and see what worked and what didn’t. Not much has worked on defense.

Finishing off the roster with special players in free agency isn’t frivolous spending or mortgaging your future; it’s vital to most championship plans. When the Blackhawks broke out in 2008-2009, they added Marian Hossa. When the Cubs were rebuilt, Theo went out and signed Jon Lester. Paying Grady Jarrett and Dayo Odeyingbo makes it a little harder to “trust the process”. The Eagles, Rams and Chiefs have utilized this philosophy to win six of the last nine Super Bowls.

We were told in 2024 that the defense fell off a cliff after Andrew Billings went down. One year later, Billings was a non-factor, and they let him walk, too. Stop selling us a bill(ings) of goods on defense and find some true solutions.

Maybe Poles will have more success with a mulligan, like when he discarded Eberflus and landed a star in Ben Johnson, or how his first offensive line failed before investing in Joe Thuney and company.

The Bears are on the doorstep of their contention window, and I’d like to see them break through for the first time since my freshman year of high school. I’ve trusted the process for over four decades. We’ve all patiently waited. It’s time to add more monsters to the midway.

• Marc Silverman shares his opinions on the Bears weekly for Shaw Local. Tune in and listen to the “Waddle & Silvy” show weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m. on ESPN 1000.