The decision on whether the Chicago Bears draft another edge rusher seems a foregone conclusion, especially after GM Ryan Poles addressed the topic at his free agency press conferences.
"You can't have enough pass rushes on your team," Poles said. "For this first group, be to be able to align in different alignments, to be relentless, get the quarterback off the spot."
Poles wouldn't commit to pursuing any more free agent edge rushers.
"Like I said, you can't have enough pass rushers," he added. "We're always looking to add and improve that group. But I feel good about where we are today."
Which leaves tomorrow, as in the draft.
The Bears do have the need at edge even after signing free agent starter Dayo Odeyingbo because of someting Poles said.
"You want to have waves of pass rushers," Poles said.
They have a first wave and the beginning of a second wave. There is actually the possibility they even have the second wave but it's entirely unproven.
While Odeyingbo takes the place of recently cut DeMarcus Walker, they haven't replaced Darrell Taylor, who is now with Houston. Nor have they replaced free agent Jake Martin.
Bears 2022 fifth-round pick Dominique Robinson has two sacks, 14 pressures, three tackles for loss and four quarterback hits in three years. Austin Booker was a rookie fifth-rounder last year who had 1 1/2 sacks, three tackles for loss, four quarterback hits and six pressures.
For the system fit, and also to find pass rushers more effective at getting home to make the sack, the Bears have to consider this position.
Here are the questions they face in making a decision on a player.
System Fit or Speed Guy?
The system fit came with Odeyingbo. He's 6-4, 286. The scheme of defensive coordinator Dennis Allen calls for one bigger, stout edge, a player who possibly could line up inside in pass-rushing situations and allow an extra edge to be on the field in the 260-pound range like Montez Sweat is. They would be all-in with the rush in those situations.
Getting one a little less dependent upon strength and more on speed in on third downs also lets them better track down screen passes.
Allen used this 280-pound, 260-pound combination as his rotation at end for six-plus seasons and had no one lighter than 260 among his top edges. He knows what makes his system go.
If you want to go by the pure Allen system, even sack savant Abdul Carter doesn't fit his approach at 248 pounds. It's hard to imagine the Bears would turn away a player of such skill for his size but it would be interesting to find out. They would probably never get the chance because he'd be long gone.
With the other players, though, edge rusher isn't a simple matter of lining up the fastest player and letting him race around the tackle to the quarterback. It's a matter of size, technique and the pass rush's goals. If it was just speed, the Bears would try using wide receivers there.
Some would say they actually did that with Robinson, who was a college wideout.
If you went by the letter of the law , Georgia's Jalon Walker, Marshall's Mike Green, Florida's James Pearce Jr. and Boston College's Donovan Ezeiruaku don't fit the system, either. In Green's case, he's close enough at 6-3 1/2, 251 that he could add weight to reach 261. Khalil Mack, for instance, added about 18 pounds after he was in the NFL and was at 269 last year.
Producer or Projection
The signing of Odeyingbo almost looks like a projection because he has had only one big sack season with eight.
Similarly, there are numerous projection types in the first round group of defensive ends.
Georgia's Mykel Williams, for example, is the right size but never has had more than five sacks, but did have an injury last season. Teammate Walker had only 12 1/2 sacks in three Georgia seasons, with a high of 6 1/2.
Then there is the ultimate workout warrior, Shemar Stewart, who would fit the Bears' prototype perfectly if only he played perfectly. He had 4 1/2 sacks and 12 tackles for loss in three seasons for Texas A&M. Yet, he's talked about as if he's a certain pick in the top half of Round 1 after he had a 40-inch vertical leap, 4.59-second 40 and 10-foot-11 broad jump.
Stewart was asked at the combine why he should be a team's pick.
"If you don't pick me, just know I'm bringing hell to your city," he said, to the delight of combine reporters.
The follow-up should have been if he could bring hell to someone's city, why didn't he do it in college?
Round 1 or 2
The good thing for the Bears as they approach the edge issue is they don't have to take one with the 10th pick overall.
They have two second-round picks and the supply of edge rushers this year is so deep there could be 12 or 13 taken in the first two rounds.
Again, they'd have to find system fits but a second-round pick is naturally going to be regarded with more potential for fitting into the rush rotation than a fifth-rounder like Robinson or Booker would.
Texas A&M's Nic Scourton, Arkansas' Landon Jackson, Ohio State's Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau, Mississippi's Princely Umanmielen and Oregon's Jordan Burch all rate as potential second-rounders.
Scourton, Jackson, Sawyer, Tuimoloau and Burch all are ideal fits for the Bears prototype at defensive end.
Considering how many ideal fits size-wise for the Bears' system there are in Round 2 as compared to the first round, the Bears would look better suited for pushing this selection off and pursuing some other spot at No. 10.
The backup offensive tackle could be found in Round 1 instead, or a guard for the future if Joe Thuney leaves after a year.
What they could also find is a tight end or running back.
