Last year, the Chicago Bears’ defense was atrocious. They ranked last in the NFL in points allowed and sacks. In today’s NFL, you can’t win games without putting the opposing team’s quarterback on his back. The Bears need multiple players on defense to step up. In my opinion, no player needs to improve their play more than Trevis Gipson.
Trevis Gipson is a six-foot-four, 263-pound edge rusher who is going into his fourth season in the NFL. Coming out of Tulsa, Gipson had a Relative Athletic Score of 8.79, according to Kent Lee Platte. Gipson has had an up-and-down time in the league since he was drafted in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. In 2020, his rookie season, Gipson played in seven games and only contributed five tackles. In 2021, Gipson had a breakout year. In 16 games, he amassed 39 tackles, seven tackles for loss, seven sacks, five forced fumbles, and a fumble recovered. I was high on Gipson going into last season, but unfortunately, he struggled. In 2022, Gipson played in all 17 games and started ten compared to the nine games he started in 2021. In those 17 games, he accumulated 31 tackles, four tackles for loss, and three sacks. Gipson’s second season is clearly his best season as a professional. Like many other young players on the Bears roster, Gipson is in the last year of his rookie contract. He has to produce for the Bears’ sake and his own.
I primarily attribute Gipson’s struggles last year to learning a new system. During the first two years of Gipson’s career, he played in a 3-4 defensive scheme under former defensive coordinators Chuck Pagano and Sean Desai. When the Bears ownership hired Matt Eberflus as the new head coach, the Bears switched to a 4-3 defensive scheme. As a result, Gipson struggled to immediately switch from a stand-up outside linebacker to a defensive end with his hand in the turf.
The Bears need more production from their defensive ends in order to win games this season. Outside of Gipson, the defensive ends on the Bears’ roster are Demarcus Walker, Rasheem Green, Dominique Robinson, Jalen Harris, and D’Anthony Jones. Only Gipson, Walker, and Green have more than one year of NFL experience, but Walker and Green were brought in recently as free agents. So, the Bears will have to lean on Gipson if they are to have any hope in a defense that only mustered a measly 20 sacks last season.
Trevis Gipson has the chance to impact the defense of the Chicago Bears in a meaningful way based on physical traits, performance in 2021, and his experience in the Chicago Bears organization. If he doesn’t rediscover his form, he might be looking for a new team in 2024.
