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The Chicago Bears invested plenty of money in their linebacking corps this offseason and it’s led to high expectations for the upcoming season. One NFL analyst went as far to say it will be one of the best units in all of football.
Dalton Wasserman of Pro Football Focus (PFF) recently ranked every linebacker unit in the NFL and has the Bears at No. 2, trailing only the San Francisco 49ers who claimed the top spot for the second consecutive year in his rankings. The Baltimore Ravens, New Orleans Saints, and Cincinnati Bengals rounded out the rest of the top five.
Here’s what Wasserman had to say about why he chose the Bears as high as he did.
Chicago’s front seven underperformed in 2022, so the team used free agency to acquire two of the highest-graded players at the position. Tremaine Edmunds arrives from Buffalo after a long-awaited breakout that saw massive increases in his overall (81.9) and coverage (90.0) grades. The latter mark, along with his 10 pass breakups, led all qualified linebackers.
T.J. Edwards comes with less fanfare but was the unsung hero of the Eagles’ elite defense. He played nearly 1,200 snaps and graded above 78.0 against the run, in coverage and as a pass-rusher, which added up to the sixth-best overall grade (81.6) at the position.
Second-year man Jack Sanborn provides a good complement as a rugged, SAM-type linebacker in Matt Eberflus’ 4-3 defense. He showed flashes of talent last year, posting 80.0-plus grades in his last two games.
This group hasn’t played together yet, but the Bears are banking on talent and couldn’t have much more at their disposal.
As Wasserman points out, none of the projected starting linebackers have played together yet but individually, they bring a lot to the table. Edmunds, the prize of free agency for the Bears after signing a four-year, $72 million deal, is still very young at just 25 years old despite entering his sixth NFL season. He has the ideal physical traits for a middle linebacker and has produced in each season, totaling over 100 tackles every year he’s been in the league.
Edwards, meanwhile, signed a three-year $19.7 million deal in free agency and joins Edmunds as a potentially lethal duo. The 26-year old totaled 159 tackles, seventh-most in the NFL last season with 10 tackles for loss. He and Edmunds also each had seven pass breakups, tied for seventh among all linebackers according to data from Pro Football Reference.
They join Sanborn, the lone holdover from the 2022 season who wasn’t even on the radar as a starter last fall. He didn’t get playing time until the Bears dealt Roquan Smith and promptly put on a show as one of the bright spots on defense with his instinctual play. He had 59 tackles in six starts. The Bears also drafted linebacker Noah Sewell in the fifth round this year, who could work his way into the rotation as well.
With training camp yet to begin, this unit is still getting integrated and it could take some time for them to gel. But it’s clear those around the NFL have high hopes for the Bears linebacking corps when the regular season begins.