INDIANAPOLIS — Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson and general manager Ryan Poles echoed the same sentiment this week at the NFL scouting combine.

When they view the strengths of this year’s free-agent and draft classes, they match well with some of the top needs on the roster. That’s not always the case and time will tell if it proves to be true, but it sets up an intriguing lead-in to the start of free agency March 12 and the draft April 24-26.

How the Bears are able to assemble the puzzle pieces for a roster they believe underperformed during a 5-12 season in 2024 will be critical. Johnson labeled the Bears a “sleeping giant.” His former boss Dan Campbell used the same term in Detroit, and the Lions have been wide awake for a while.

Here are three thoughts on how the offseason could unfold, with news, nuggets and observations from a week canvassing the city.

1. The Trey Smith situation has come full circle.

After poking around about Smith during the middle of last season, the word I got was there was no way the Kansas City Chiefs right guard, who is out of contract, would make it to the marketplace. The Chiefs would do what it took to keep him in place as a premium interior protector for quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

That changed shortly after the regular season ended, and there was real buzz at the Senior Bowl that the Chiefs would not be able to retain Smith and he would reach free agency as one of the top available players.

It was easy to connect the dots from Smith to Halas Hall. The Bears figure to be rebuilding the interior of their offensive line, and Poles was in Kansas City when the Chiefs drafted Smith in the sixth round in 2021. The Chiefs would like to retain linebacker Nick Bolton and probably have extensions in mind for cornerback Trent McDuffie and defensive end George Karlaftis. It’s one of those good problems to have that perennial winners encounter, especially when the quarterback is earning huge money.

But then the Chiefs were trampled in Super Bowl LIX as they struggled mightily to protect Mahomes. The buzz all this week was that they’re changing course again and will do what it takes to keep Smith. GM Brett Veach expressed optimism a deal would get done, and word spread Thursday afternoon that the Chiefs have informed Smith they will use the franchise tag on him with a goal of reaching agreement on a multiyear deal.

So much for Smith being an anchor for a rebuilt offensive line at Halas Hall. I don’t view that as a setback for the Bears, though. Smith will get a huge contract, with chatter for weeks about a deal paying $22 million annually, which would be tops in the league for an interior offensive lineman. That’s a massive commitment that some teams aren’t comfortable making.

Smith is an elite guard who plays at a very high level. He didn’t have a good showing in the Super Bowl, but he’s not the issue for the Chiefs, who are stuck with right tackle Jawaan Taylor on a regrettable free-agent contract. They need to find a new left tackle, move veteran Joe Thuney back inside to left guard and reset the line in front of Mahomes. Losing Smith in free agency would have added to their issues.

Big numbers are being thrown around for free-agent offensive linemen. Dan Moore of the Pittsburgh Steelers might be the top left tackle available. One team said he’s likely to get a contract in the range of $16 million per season. Another team said the number could reach $18 million. Cam Robinson of the Minnesota Vikings and Ronnie Stanley of the Baltimore Ravens also will be available, although the Ravens reportedly might re-sign Stanley.

“Linemen get overpaid in free agency because everyone is searching for help,” one GM said. “And because everyone needs them, they get pushed up draft boards just like teams do with quarterbacks.”

The Bears will have to dig deep if they want to get more than short-term bridge options to solidify the offensive line. If it were only one or two holes, maybe they would be in a different position where they could splurge more freely on one player.

But I began the week wondering if a Cadillac plan for overhauling the line might not include Smith.

2. Draft goal: Be able to take the best player available, not draft for need.

Every team talks about choosing the best player available and remaining true to its draft board and values, and that’s more utopia than reality. Reality is teams more times than not are choosing the best player available among a small group of need positions.

How close the Bears can get to that goal will hinge on how they fulfill goals in free agency. The NFL set the salary cap for 2025 on Thursday at $279.2 million. That’s a hefty increase of nearly $24 million from 2024 and $81 million more than it was just five years ago. Yes, business is a-boomin’.

That means the Bears have just less than $79.5 million in cap space, according to overthecap.com, the fourth-highest figure in the league. They also own eight draft picks:

Round 1: No. 10

Round 2: No. 39 (from Panthers)

Round 2: No. 41

Round 3: No. 72

Round 5: TBD

Round 6: TBD (from Steelers)

Round 7: TBD (from Browns)

Round 7: TBD (from Bengals)

There will be a pretty big gap between the third- and fifth-round selections. The precise order won’t be known until next month when the league assigns compensatory picks, but the 10th pick in Round 5 a year ago was No. 145. That would be a 73-pick game between the third-rounder and the next one.

So what goals will the Bears be targeting as teams sign free agents and then try to complete the puzzle in the draft without being forced into choosing for need?

Offensive line. The Bears likely need a new left guard, center and right guard. You can’t dismiss the possibility of a replacement for Braxton Jones at left tackle, but I’ve thought for some time the focus and priority will be on the interior.

Defensive line. They need a starting end opposite Montez Sweat along with more depth.

Running back. D’Andre Swift has big-play ability and should be better deployed by Ben Johnson, but the offense needs a tone setter. Fortunately, it’s a deep draft at the position.

Tight end. Johnson coached tight ends in Miami and Detroit, and the Lions leaned heavily on the position. The Bears have Cole Kmet and need to fill in around him.

Wide receiver. This isn’t a major need with DJ Moore on a lucrative contract and Rome Odunze entering Year 2, but it is a need. I think the Bears could fill it with Tim Patrick on a modest contract. Patrick had 33 receptions for 394 yards for the Lions last season. He has good size at 6-foot-4, 212 pounds, and can be that physical slot receiver who does the dirty work and is an excellent run blocker. Patrick missed the entire 2022 and 2023 seasons for the Denver Broncos with a torn ACL and torn Achilles tendon, respectively, and the Lions got him on the cheap. He was healthy all season and is regarded for having excellent makeup.

If we’re doing an exercise to get the Bears from free agency to the draft in which they really can go with the best player available — and I’m not soliciting weekly questions for my mailbag about the possibility of Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty in the first round — what would it look like?

My list would start with a center and a guard (maybe two) in free agency. The Bears also have to get a defensive end they’re comfortable with playing a lot of snaps and maybe a tight end with experience. Acquiring a defensive end — free agency is more likely than a trade — wouldn’t preclude Poles from drafting an edge rusher at No. 10. You can’t have enough good defensive linemen, and the Bears are a long way from having that issue. The running back crop in the draft is so good, they can leave that be until then. There are draft options at tight end too.

If Poles emerges from the first week of free agency with two or three offensive linemen, an edge rusher and a role-playing tight end, options open up when you think about the 10th pick. But trying to overhaul the offensive line with only veterans when it’s a good draft for interior players could be an error. That can get expensive too. After the way last season went and how the Bears have invested on the offensive line, it would have to be something special to pull them away from taking an offensive lineman in the first round.

3. So how does this plan come together? Let’s start in the middle— literally.

The Bears could begin their free-agent plan with Atlanta Falcons center Drew Dalman. They need to get this position stabilized for quarterback Caleb Williams. Left tackle is often viewed as the premier position on the offensive line, but the center is the glue for the unit and the Bears have been swapping out their glue too often. They’ve had four Week 1 starters in the last five seasons: Coleman Shelton, Lucas Patrick, Sam Mustipher and Cody Whitehair.

Whitehair was a durable performer for the Bears, and 61 of his 118 career starts for them came at center. He was probably best at guard, so the team’s issues at the position predate Ryan Poles’ hiring.

It’s not a good draft for centers and it sounds like Dalman is the most coveted free agent. The Falcons would love to keep him but are one of five teams currently over the cap. They won’t have the flexibility to re-sign him.

Dalman, 26, missed eight games in 2024 with an ankle injury but has made 40 starts over the last three seasons, and the 2021 fourth-round pick from Stanford is considered smart and a leader. His father, Chris, was an offensive lineman for the San Francisco 49ers in the 1990s, so he grew up around the sport and understands how to be a professional.

How much Dalman would cost is interesting. The Chiefs’ Creed Humphrey is tops at the position at $18 million per season. Supply and demand makes you wonder if Dalman’s agent, Steve Caric — with whom the Bears have done ample business in recent years — can get Dalman more than the Lions’ Frank Ragnow ($13.5 million).

He ought to be able to exceed Lloyd Cushenberry, who’s making $12.5 million annually in the four-year, $50 million contract he signed with the Tennessee Titans in free agency last March. It’s not whether Dalman is the second- or third-best center in the league. It’s what the market will bear for a good center who makes it to unrestricted free agency.

If the Bears can start the process by adding Dalman, they could then turn their attention to guard. Trey Smith is not an option, but there are experienced options that ought to fit. The 49ers’ Aaron Banks, a second-round pick in 2021, wasn’t deemed a great fit for the team’s outside zone scheme when he was drafted but has proved more than capable. He was recruited to Notre Dame and coached as a freshman by former Bears offensive line coach Harry Hiestand.

Banks made 43 starts over the last three seasons for the 49ers at left guard, and the feeling I get is they want to keep him but he will be priced out for them.

“Big and strong and stout in relation to his size (6-5, 325) and moves pretty well,” said one scout who has watched Banks closely. “He’s a guy who has gotten incrementally better each season. Good player and I think the 49ers would love to keep him. It’s not like (former 49ers right tackle) Mike McGlinchey, who they knew would get overpaid and didn’t want to go there.”

The price tag on Banks could be in the neighborhood of $15 million per season. Before the Trey Smith franchise tag news came out, I asked a GM about the combined cost of Dalman and Banks in free agency. His guess was a $30 million annual average for the two contracts. An assistant GM for another team thought that was a little rich and pegged it closer to $26 million. That gives you a range.

Will Fries of the Indianapolis Colts, Brandon Scherff of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Mekhi Becton of the Philadelphia Eagles are other possibilities. The Bears would have to get medical information on Fries, who suffered what was described as a “serious” right tibia injury in October. Scherff, 33, strikes me as a bridge option because he has been around so long.

Other veterans could be short-term options too. Kevin Zeitler played last season for the Lions. The Waukesha, Wis., native told me after the Thanksgiving Day game at Ford Field that he has tried to get interest from the Bears in the past. He turns 35 on March 8, so you’re talking about another short-term fix, but maybe that’s a possibility if the Bears are thinking about a center (Dalman) in free agency and a guard in the first or second round of the draft. That would give them three new starters for the interior.

Alabama’s Tyler Booker is probably the top-rated guard in the class. Some are of the opinion No. 10 is too early to draft an interior offensive lineman, but if the Bears at least pondered the idea of paying Smith more than $20 million a season to play guard, that can’t be too early. Booker is powerful and was considered a rock in the Crimson Tide locker room. Evaluations of offensive linemen need to be driven intangibly, and that’s where a guy like Booker would be ideal.

Some project Missouri right tackle Armand Membou as a guard in the NFL. North Dakota State’s Grey Zabel, who stood out at the Senior Bowl, and Ohio State’s Donovan Jackson are other options for the first two rounds. Texas’ Kelvin Banks Jr. might ultimately be a left tackle, but teams have talked about his ability to slide inside.

I don’t think LSU’s Will Campbell will be in play for the Bears at No. 10. He will have short arms when they’re officially measured Sunday, but the response I got when talking to folks about Campbell’s future was “watch the tape.”

“He’s not Joe Alt and there isn’t a Joe Alt in this draft at left tackle,” one college scouting director said. “But Campbell is a really good player. Don’t get caught up in measurements.”

If the Bears can sign Dalman and a guard early in free agency, they would be on the way to reshaping the line and could leave open the option to fill a need (another guard) with one of the strengths of the draft. That’s the beginning of a Cadillac plan for Poles. It’s at least one option.