Touchdown Wire‘s Mark Schofield released his pre-training camp power rankings, where the Chicago Bears dropped one spot and landed at No. 18. Which, considering how most power rankings have gone for Chicago this offseason, could be worse. But then again, the Bears aren’t going to get respect until they earn it on the field.

Schofield discussed the Bears’ moves in the NFL Draft, praising the additions of second-round picks tight end Cole Kmet and cornerback Jaylon Johnson. Schofield believes that they can both be Week 1 starters for this team. He also noted the addition of fifth-round receiver Darnell Mooney, who generated a ton of buzz.

But the biggest question mark for everyone — be it those in Chicago or from a national landscape — is the Bears’ quarterback situation, where Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles will be competing for the starting job. And they’ll have only training camp reps to do so.

Look, in the end what matters for Chicago is not their 87th tight end or a cornerback they drafted in the second round, but who wins the showdown of showdowns: Trubisky v Foles: The Melee of Mediocrity. Joking aside, if they can just find a quarterback to execute Matt Nagy’s offense and make throws on time and in rhythm, they will be a much-improved team on that side of the ball.

The Bears were one of the teams impacted recently by decisions from players to opt-out of the 2020 season due to concerns over COVID-19. Defensive tackle Eddie Goldman, a mainstay up front for Chicago the past few years, decided to forgo playing in the year ahead. He is not a household name but is a factor up front for this defense, which should again be the strength of the organization. This will have an impact in 2020.

The only concern on defense is how the loss of nose tackle Eddie Goldman, who opted out of the 2020 season, will impact the defensive line. There are some guys on the roster in defensive tackle Bilal Nichols and defensive end Roy Robertson-Harris that certainly need to step up. And if nose tackle John Jenkins returns from the reserve/COVID-19 list, he’s the clear in-house favorite to take over for Goldman this season.