The Chicago Bears are arguably the most storied defensive franchise in the NFL. Year in and year out, the Bears have been known for playing hard nosed, smashmouth football. The Monsters of the Midway have been formed by legends of the past like Butkus, Singletary, Dent, Urlacher, Briggs, Tillman, etc. The list of legendary hard hitters who have played for the Bears goes on and on. However, in the last couple years, Chicago’s defense has lost its allure. With this being said, let’s look into a few reasons as to why the Bears will have one of the league’s best defenses again soon.
Eberflus
Head coach Matt Eberflus is a respected, intelligent defensive-minded head coach. In one year with Chicago, he never gained much attention from national media. This doesn’t mean he didn’t show signs of bright potential, though. In four years with the Indianapolis Colts, he continuously fielded solid, tenacious defenses. His scheme cemented himself as one of the league’s best DCs, as the Colts had 10 run defenses each year with him at the helm. Additionally, Indianapolis ranked within the top 10 in turnovers each year. These stats show that ‘Flus knows how to get guys to play for him. Once Poles gets some studs on the defensive side of the ball, ‘Flus is going to have the Bears winning the trenches and turnover battles again.
Young, electric DBs
Although there aren’t many position groups with bright spots on this roster, it is not the case for defensive backs. Chicago has four legitimate studs in the back end of the defense with Eddie Jackson, Jaquan Brisker, Kyler Gordon and Jaylon Johnson. Earlier in his career, Jackson was one of the most electrifying defensive players in the league. Expect this juice to come back though, as Jackson still has every bit of what it takes to be one of the most feared ballhawks in the league. He fought the injury bug a bit and didn’t shown up as much on the stat sheet as much for a couple seasons, but he had a bounce back season in 2022, forcing two fumbles while mentoring two rookies in Brisker and Gordon. Speaking of these two, they exploded onto the scene this past season. Fans were critical of Poles for spending his first two picks as GM on DBs, but they proved to be solid investments. Brisker broke out immediately, seemingly making a highlight play week in and week out. He notched three sacks, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in just 11 games of his rookie year. Brisker was arguably Chicago’s best defender this past season and seems to be a guy who will be around for a while. Gordon on the other hand, didn’t excel immediately but certainly proved to be a solid rookie by the end of the season. He finished the year with three interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. By the end of the season, Gordon looked like a completely different player. It was evident that he became more confident as the year went on. With the Bears returning a healthy Jaylon Johnson next season, expect the secondary to turn heads. Chicago has two solid cornerbacks with two solid ballhawks behind them on defense. If healthy, teams will have trouble passing against those four.
New Additions/Draft Capital
Most importantly, the Bears had a massive offseason. Ryan Poles and the Bears had a tremendous offseason, securing linebackers T.J. Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds in free agency. The Bears still have cap space in the NFL by a wide margin and holds the ninth overall pick. The Bears are loaded with picks after gaining a second round pick and 2024 first round pick from the Carolina Panther, and still have the possibility of welcoming home a young, generational pass rusher with the ninth overall pick. Either way, expect Poles to continue making some splashes the draft. He seems to be playing his cards right by not being overly open with his draft plans, but there are indications that he plans on trading back once again. While the Bears are unlikely to land Will Anderson Jr. from Alabama or Jalen Carter from Georgia, Poles trading for a pass rusher isn’t out of the question. Jeffery Simmons is reportedly on the trade block in Tennessee, and if the Bears can fill some of their major holes on the defensive line paired with their young, electric secondary, Chicago will have a scary defense once again.
