Hub Arkush: Meet the new Bears ... where familiar faces are hard to find

Ryan Poles' and Matt Eberflus' first veteran minicamp is in the books.

It was the first time Eberflus and his staff got to see their troops practice, and hope to further inform decisions over the next few weeks in the draft and free agency.

It was also my first chance to visit with the players who are hoped to be the few remaining cornerstones of the new regime.

Realistically among returning vets that's a very small club, perhaps including Justin Fields, David Montgomery, Khalil Herbert, Darnell Mooney, Cole Kmet, Cody Whitehair, Robert Quinn, Trevis Gipson, Roquan Smith, Jaylon Johnson and Eddie Jackson.

The operative word among all were "change."

Change is, or can be, good ... they hope.

Montgomery appeared the most clear-eyed of the bunch.

"I think change is always good," he said. "So, I think coach (Eberflus) coming in, being who he is, the way he carries himself and the demeanor that he carries himself by, I appreciate and like you said, change at times can be very refreshing.

"So, just seeing how he is and the kind of coach he is, and the energy and enthusiasm he brings already, I think is pretty dope to see."

But it isn't quite that simple, and when I asked Montgomery about the potential shock of looking around the locker room and seeing well over half his teammates and friends gone, he showed why he may prove to be every bit the leader Fields is also expected to be for this team going forward.

"It's definitely new, just seeing a couple of my guys not being here, it kind of puts you on edge a little bit," Montgomery said. "Like, 'Oh, is it a question that I'll be here? Just being realistic about things.'

"But you can't really look at it like that. You kind of just gotta wake up every day with that mentality just to grow and just try to be the best you can be for everybody else as well."

Smith said "it's all a business" when asked how he found out Khalil Mack had been traded and his reaction.

"I can't remember how I found out about it, but hey, it sucks seeing one of your guys go, one of the leaders," Smith said. "But hey, life goes on. I learned a lot from him. I appreciate him. I still keep in contact with him. I'm happy for him."

Smith added he's excited about the bigger picture.

"I think that's a heck of an opportunity to have," he said. "Obviously resetting things and starting over fresh, new faces, new regime, so I think it's a great opportunity to be the face of the new regime and doing whatever it takes to make this the best regime in Bears history, that's my plan."

As one of only five players left from the magic of 2018, many will argue that Jackson was the guy most in need of a fresh start.

"Man, you just gotta like I said, control the controllable, not trying to look into that," Jackson sad. "Just coming out here and trying to go to work everyday. Try to lead by the front, lead by the things you do.

"There's a lot of young guys in the room and they are looking up to guys like me, Roquan and a couple of older guys, so we have to lead by the front and lead by example."

So how might Poles and Eberflus have been informed by their first look at the group that remains?

Needs at wide receiver, safety and the SAM linebacker remain as glaring as ever.

You always want to get better at cornerback, but with Johnson locking down one side there is at least decent competition for the other two spots as well.

But after watching Larry Borom at left tackle and Teven Jenkins on the right, with literally nothing to be encouraged by behind them, and Sam Mustipher and Dakota Dozier swapping first-team reps at right guard, it makes sense for the Bears to place a really heavy emphasis on the offensive line on Day 2 of the draft.