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Why Bears will be looking to draft defensive linemen

Before the 2015 season was half over the Chicago Bears had waived troubled starting nose tackle Jeremiah Ratliff and placed part-time starter Ego Ferguson and backup end Cornelius Washington on injured reserve.

They played short-handed on the D-line for the remainder of the season.

The Bears will need to add more talent and depth if Vic Fangio' defense is to show improvement from last season, when it tied for 22nd in rushing yards allowed and was 26th in average gain per run allowed.

Defensive line

Starters: Jarvis Jenkins, Eddie Goldman, Will Sutton.

Backups: Mitch Unrein, Bruce Gaston, D'Anthony Smith.

Injured reserve: Ego Ferguson, Cornelius Washington.

Unrestricted free agents: Jenkins, Unrein.

Second-round pick Goldman was the most productive member of general manager Ryan Pace's first draft class.

He started 12 games and led the Bears' linemen with 39 tackles and 19 quarterback pressures. Goldman was fourth among all rookies with 4½ sacks, and he was more effective vs. the run.

Journeyman Jenkins easily outperformed his one-year, make-good deal of $825,000 and should be prioritized when the Bears start re-signing their own unrestricted players.

Jenkins' forte has been as a run-stopper, but he also added a career-best 4 sacks while starting 15 games.

Will Sutton, who was drafted in the third round in 2014 to play in a 4-3 defense, supposedly was miscast in Fangio's base 3-4. But he started seven games — five at end, two at nose tackle — and was second among Bears D-linemen with 37 tackles.

Ferguson, who was taken one round earlier than Sutton in 2014, was supposed to be a better fit in Fangio's scheme, but he played in just four games before landing on injured reserve (knee).

Unrein, a favorite of coach John Fox's from their years together in Denver, wasn't signed until the third week of the season. But the journeyman contributed as a backup and wound up starting four games when injuries to others took their toll.

Smith has never come close to living up to his 2012 third-round draft status and doesn't figure in the future. Gaston made some cameo appearance but only when injuries piled up.

Washington looks like Tarzan but too often plays like Jane and has yet to turn his pass-rush potential into production. But he has contributed on special teams.

Draft need: Major.

Feeling a draft: Defensive tackle could be the deepest position in the draft with starting-caliber talent available through at least the first three rounds.

Alabama's dynamic duo, A'Shawn Robinson and Jarran Reed, are at the top of the class. Mississippi's Robert Nkemdeche may be more talented than both 'Bama players, but he comes with character concerns.

Penn State's Austin Johnson can be an immovable force in the middle.

Among the ends, Ohio State's Joey Bosa could be the overall first pick, but Oregon's DeFrest Buckner is ranked higher on some draft boards. Clemson's Shaq Lawson and Kevin Dodd also are first-round talents.

• The Bears have hired Richard Hightower as their assistant special-teams coach.

Hightower has nine years of NFL coaching experience and spent the 2015 season in San Francisco as an assistant special-teams coach with the 49ers.

• Follow Bob's Bears reports on Twitter@BobLeGere.

Chicago Bears' offensive line could use reinforcements, upgrades

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