Bears Count Defensive Line Depth as a Strength Again
It could simply be due to the knack defensive line coach Jay Rodgers has for developing players or possibly GM Ryan Pace's ability to pick defensive linemen, but the Bears have had an extra layer of players at those positions they've lacked at some other spots.
Last year they found this out when Nick Williams came off the bench and out of nowhere to make six sacks before leaving for Detroit. Roy Robertson-Harris has been there all along as a producing reserve player.
Williams left but it hardly appears the Bears are hurting for defensive line depth. They brought back a familiar face, have one developing player and another they picked up who actually has far more experience than Williams had when he came to the Bears
It's a second group with valuable playing experience, almost like a second layer of protection.
John Jenkins
John Jenkins to cover one spot where they might have been short—nose tackle.
Defensive end Brent Urban and defensive end Abdullah Anderson were effective enough last year to bring back for an extra go-around.
Jenkins was with the Bears under John Fox for a season and played in eight games with eight tackles but left in free agency.
If a backup can lend one particular strength to a defense they are ahead of the game, and with Jenkins it's his size. At 327 pounds, playing nose tackle behind Eddie Goldman is a natural spot for him. In some other seasons, the Bears were scrambling for a size-compatible backup nose tackle. Now they're not.
Jenkins broke in as a third-round draft pick of the Saints while Pace was working in the Saints' personnel department. The one thing the Bears have to watch with Jenkins is his weight. He has been known to come in at almost 360, although he's apparently now in better shape.
Jenkins played in all 16 games with five starts in 2013. He hadn't played in every game since then until last year, but with the Miami Dolphins showed he's capable of long-term play by starting five games.
Brent Urban
Like Jenkins, Urban has a defining physical characteristic adding to his play. Instead of size, like with Jenkins, it's Urban's height. At 6-foot-7, he has been able to deflect seven passes in a career that includes 54 games and 19 starts.
Urban can be more active and showed it with 27 tackles in 2018 with the Ravens. He played in a scheme similar to the Bears' system there for five years before going to Tennessee, and wasn't a fit in the Titans' scheme.
Urban was able to get into nine games with the Bears, made 16 tackles and two more passes deflected. They'll use him in spot situations and on special teams again this year.
Abdullah Anderson
The Bears saw only a little from Anderson last year and he's a developmental player for Rodgers. He played in six games and spent 10 with the practice squad.
Anderson's potential first came to light in the preseason game with the Colts when he made three tackles, a sack, two tackles for loss and a quarterback hit.
A general policy Pace and the personnel department have is that if a player comes from a lesser program, they need to be someone who could dominate their level of play. Anderson definitely did this at Bucknell.
In 43 games, he had 33 1/2 tackles for loss, 15 1/2 sacks, 14 pass defenses and blocked four kicks.
Numbers like that against anyone stand out.
John Jenkins at a Glance
Georgia NT/DE
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 327
Key Number: Made 34 tackles last year in 16 appearances, the most games he's played since his rookie year of 2013.
2020 Projection: 13 tackles, 16 games.
*****
Brent Urban at a Glance
Virginia DE
Height: 6-foot-7
Weight: 300
Key Number: He's made 68 career tackles but was a starter only one season, in 2018 with the Ravens.
2020 Projection: 15 tackles, two passes defensed.
*****
Abdullah Anderson at a Glance
Bucknell DE
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 297
Key Number: Made first career sack last year against the Saints and finished with four tackles on the season.
2020 Projection: Practice squad.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
