Pro Football Focus released their Top 50 Players of 2020 list, which included outside linebacker Khalil Mack as the lone Chicago Bear. But there were two other Bears that were just outside the top 50: Defensive tackle Akiem Hicks and safety Eddie Jackson.
While Hicks missed most of the 2019 season, his impact during those five games he played was enough to garner him a spot just outside the top 50. The Bears defense was a solid unit in 2019, but they certainly missed Hicks’ present in the middle of that defensive line.
The last fully healthy season we saw from Akiem Hicks was the best of his career, and he reached a truly elite level of play. However, like Smith and Kendricks, it was a huge outlier compared to his previous career baseline. Hicks was a player who graded consistently in the mid-70s in terms of overall PFF grade and suddenly jumped up to 91.7 in 2018. And while last season was cut short due to injury, he was on track to return to those mid-70 grades before it was. Hicks is capable of the kind of play that would land him on the list, but his most likely level puts him in the close-but-not-there category of players.
There’s no denying that Jackson had the worst of his three-year career in 2019, and even his worst was solid. The addition of free safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix forced Jackson to strong safety, where he wasn’t able to make the kind of game-changing plays and takeaways that he’d managed in his first two seasons.
Much like Byard, Eddie Jackson missed the list because of his 2019 performance (his 66.8 overall grade was above average but still not great). Unlike Byard, however, Jackson had just one year of outstanding play before that drop — which now represents only a third of his career output — with the other two years ranking as above-average to good. Jackson strung together a run of phenomenal play in 2018 and won PFF’s award for the best coverage player at any position, but if you were banking on which Eddie Jackson would show up in 2020, it’s tough to lay big money on that player versus the one that has been solid rather than spectacular.
The Bears expect big things from Hicks and Jackson heading into 2020. Hicks is coming off an elbow injury, but his presence on Chicago’s defensive line will be invaluable. Jackson will return to free safety in 2020, where he’ll get an opportunity to make those game-changing plays that should be enough to crack PFF’s top 50 in 2021.
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