Edge Market Still Possible for Bears
Much is made of the need for the Bears to draft a three technique, and it's true if they want this defensive scheme to work best they need a special player at the position.
Their draft positioning could prevent this from happening, though, unless they traded down out of No. 9 or moved way up from No. 51 in Round 2.
What is true is they have two options on the team already at three technique who can play well enough to get them through a year or even two until they locate their long-term three technique.
Justin Jones had 12 tackles for loss last year playing there but was really learning the position himself in a Tampa-2 style front for the first time.
And another option is newly acquired DeMarcus Walker,
Walker. His role has changed throughout his career between end and inside but it seems he hasn't been used to his true potential when put on the edge. For instance, last year deployed him at three technique on 53 snaps according to Pro Football Focus and he still managed to finish sixth in the league for pressures from three technique according to Sports Information Services.
So the Bears have a three technique who can make stops in the backfield on running plays and another who can rush the passer.
The most important need they have on defense is edge rusher because it's not apparent they have anyone who can do this.
If Walker gets focused more inside, then they still have only Dominque Robinson and Trevis Gipson as viable edge alternatives. Neither did much last year, especially Robinson. They need numbers as well as quality on the edge.
It's why they could look for edge over offensive tackle in Round 1 if they were to select by need, but this will depend on quality of the player available. They at least have a few experienced right tackles on the roster and Larry Borom has been no worse than average at the position. The same can't be said for their edge players.
Either way, edge rushers are often not immediately impactful. Last year, only Aidan Hutchinson, James Houston and George Karlaftis had more than four sacks from the rookie class. It's a position that usually needs a year or so of refinement except at the very top.
Because of their shortage both in numbers and quality at edge rusher, the Bears seem candidates to dip into the remaining pool of free agent edge players.
It's still a big pool. Fewer top edge rushers have moved to other teams and part of this is because it's such an expensive position that teams will look to fill it first in the draft.
Quite often, players go until late in free agency before signing and there is usually a troupe of top pass rushers from the edge who are mercenaries of sorts, signing on for one year at a time or possibly two years to provide pass rush support. Jadeveon Clowney has made a career off of this and signed last year in late May. Yannick Ngakoue has fallen into this category, as well. Both are available again.
The expense is not as much of an issue for the Bears as in some years because they still have the most cap space, but with their total available now down to what Overthecap.com reports as $33 million, it's difficult to see them going too crazy with money for a veteran hand-holder and sack specialist.
If Samson Ebukam fetched about $9 million a year on his deal, then you know some of these players are going to still command a big contract even at this later date to free agency.
Here's who the Bears still could look to on the edge as a one-year or short-term answer to complement younger players.
1. Frank Clark
He's been speculated as a top Bears free agent fit at the edge by just about everyone from CBS Sports to NFL.com to Pro Football Focus and ESPN. It makes sense because he is an all-around edge player and coach Matt Eberflus stresses run-stopping ability. He also is a player familiar to Ryan Poles from Kansas City, where he made three straight Pro Bowls. His experience or ability to be a mentor as one of the all-time leaders in postseason sacks could be invaluable for some of the younger edge players the Bears would have, like a draft pick and Robinson. The Bears lost this factor when they traded both Robert Quinn and Khalil Mack. He hasn't had more than six sacks since getting eight in his first year with the Chiefs, when he helped them win a Super Bowl, and has had double-digit sacks only in 2016 and 2018, so they would be paying for the full package and not just a pass rusher. He turns 30 in June.
2. Jadeveon Clowney
Clowney gets a bad rap for the way he has become a mercenary, with stops in Seattle, Tennessee and Cleveland over the last four years after leaving Houston. He is anything but your typical sack-happy end, though, and could fit the Bears. He actually does a good job of stopping the run. In fact, he might need to prove he can rush off the edge a little better because he's never had double-digit sacks and has had more than three in a season only once since 2018. Still, he's a guy with a nose for disruption with 13 forced fumbles and eight recoveries, and 43 career sacks.
3. Melvin Ingram III
For all-around play, the Bears could do much worse. He has had a Pro Football Focus run-stopping grade below 60 only once in the last seven years and was judged the 19th best edge rusher by PFF last year. He has bounced around between Pittsburgh, Miami and Kansas City since leaving the Chargers after 2020.
4. Yannick Ngakoue
For pure pass rusher the Bears could not due better. For an all-around player, they'd have to hold their nose a bit because he has no interest in stopping the run. He would need to be a rotational player in pass rush situations only with their scheme. But he can rush the passer from any scheme. He has eight or more sacks in all seven of his NFL seasons, including 9 1/2 for the Colts last year. However, he is the true mercenary as his next team would be his sixth since 2019.
5. Justin Houston
If you didn't mind the old man type for one year as a stop-gap measure, it would be hard to beat the Ravens free agent. He has had a PFF grade in the mid-70s or higher in 10 of the last 11 seasons. With 9 1/2 sacks last year he left little doubt he can still pressure passers. A longtime Chiefs player who made the Pro Bowl four straight years there, he obviously also knows Poles. He's still very consistent, with between 24 and 29 pressures each of the last five years.
6. Leonard Floyd
If they were going to go down this road, they should just call Robert Quinn up and bring him back because at least he was extremely popular with players in the locker room. Floyd isn't a fit in a 4-3 scheme as a defensive end. He's not stout enough against the run. If they brought him in, it would be as a pass rush specialist. His 29 sacks the last three years with L.A. were largely the result of being in the same pass rush with Aaron Donald.
7. Jason Pierre-Paul
Another of the veterans (34 years old) who can still play but there have to be concerns after he had only 2 1/2 and three sacks the last two years and only three pressures last year with the Ravens in 14 games.
8. Robert Quinn
An injury kept Quinn from showing if he still had anything in Philadelphia last year but the fact he didn't come to Halas Hall for voluntary offseason work last year when they had a new coaching staff and new defensive system probably communicated a lot to Eberflus and staff. It's not a good way to make an impression even if he departed on the best of terms.
9. Dawuane Smoot
Coming off a torn Achilles and may not play until later in the season. He's played in different styles of defense and never has been a big sack producer. However, he has improved greatly over the last three years and is 28. He had 80 pressures the last three seasons and has had 22 1/2 sacks the last four seasons.
10. Carlos Dunlap
Another aging (34) player who played situationally for the Chiefs and Seattle the last two years. He made 8 1/2 sacks for Seattle in 2021. He has 100 career sacks.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
