Johnson’s got the offense, but do Bears have defensive personnel guru?

Ben Johnson has brought a variety of talents to the Bears — play-calling, Packer trolling, motivational speech-giving.

But his greatest skill might be matching talent to his system. It's no coincidence the Bears had their best offseason in decades once Johnson arrived. They added four contributors in the draft and rebuilt the offensive line through trades and free agency.

Johnson brought another old friend to Halas Hall when the Bears agreed to terms with former Lions receiver Kalif Raymond on Tuesday. Raymond led the NFL in punt return yardage in 2024, and is the type of slippery slot receiver that can be a helpful weapon. Maybe he'll be Olamide Zaccheaus and Devin Duvernay wrapped into one.

The question remains, do the Bears have a defensive personnel savant? Obviously, Johnson's specialty is offense.

Whether it's general manager Ryan Poles, defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, Johnson or anyone else making the recommendations, a strong defensive offseason is needed to push the Bears toward the Super Bowl.

As of Tuesday evening, the Bears are replacing five defensive starters, plus several reserves. That's not set in stone yet, since three of those starters — safeties Kevin Byard, Jaquan Brisker and nose guard Andrew Billings — were still unsigned and available. Cornerback Nahshon Wright, a Pro Bowl selection, reportedly agreed to a one-year deal with the Jets.

There were two defensive additions Tuesday, both figure to be depth pieces. Former Falcons lineman Kentavius Street is listed as a defensive end, but has played inside and has history with Allen in New Orleans. Then there's 5-foot-9 corner Cameron Smith, who spent both his pro and college career in Buffalo until today.

Looking back at Monday's haul, the Bears made a pretty safe call with former Seattle safety Coby Bryant. He's an aggressive run-stopper like Brisker, had 4 interceptions last season, started for a Super Bowl winner. Still a chance Byard will be his partner next season, but that's just one of several questions for this defense.

Linebacker Devin Bush is more of a gamble. He was terrific last season with Cleveland, had a nice rookie year with the Steelers in 2019 and some disappointing times in between.

Both Bush and Bryant are reportedly getting back-loaded deals, which keeps the cap number low for '25 but makes it tough if the Bears want to move on from either player before their three years are up.

The Bears also landed former Colts defensive tackle Neville Gallimore. He was rated below Billings on the PFF free-agent rankings, so we'll see how that turns out.

Several questions remain on the board: How will the Bears improve their pass rush, which ranked 22nd in sacks? How will they improve the run defense, which ranked 27th? Are Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson sufficient as the starting corners? And who will the other safety be?

There's reason to be skeptical of the Bears' ability to get this right. They tried to make a free-agent splash last year and came up with Dayo Odeyingbo, the second-most expensive free agent of the Poles era, behind Tremaine Edmunds.

Odeyingbo had 1 sack in eight games last season before suffering a torn Achilles. Injury aside, there was nothing on the film to suggest the former Colts defensive lineman would be an impact player with the Bears. Now he's the fourth-highest paid player on the current roster and there's no telling if or when he might play in the fall.

Had the Bears passed on that transaction, they could have more serious thoughts about trying to sign Bengals free-agent edge Trey Hendrickson. Or even trade for Raiders edge Maxx Crosby, whose deal with Baltimore was rescinded Tuesday. The Bears could probably rework some contracts to free up the cap space needed, but that would handicap the future, which is not ideal.

To repeat the obvious, the Bears need a strong defensive draft to keep their momentum pointing up. Maybe Johnson has some defensive-minded friends he trusts to lend advice.