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The Bears have been fairly busy in free agency this offseason, starting with the decision to use the franchise tag on wide receiver Alshon Jeffery and continuing through the acquisitions of players like linebacker Danny Trevathan, defensive tackle Akiem Hicks, safety Omar Bolden, linebacker Jerrell Freeman and tackle Bobby Massie.

Those signings addressed some of the bigger holes on the Bears roster coming out of a 6-10 season in 2015 and General Manager Ryan Pace thinks mixing new faces with players returning from injuries that kept them out of the lineup last year will lead to a more competitive group this season.

“I expect us to compete next year,” Pace said, via the Chicago Tribune. “I look at how we competed last year and the close games we were in with what we had. Now we’re going to have players back healthy that we didn’t have last year. We’re to our second year in the system where guys will be playing more naturally, more comfortable and we’re going to have a whole new free-agent class and a whole new draft class.”

With the No. 11 pick, the Bears can add another player who can upgrade the overall talent on the roster and push the team closer to realizing Pace’s expectation in his second year running the personnel show in Chicago.