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Potential Edge Rusher Risk Bears and Ryan Poles Can Face in Round 1

Is the first round for production or potential, and how much of a project can the Bears and their GM really afford in an edge rusher at that stage of the draft?
Gene Chamberlain|
Auburn defensive lineman Keldric Faulk runs through on-field defensive line drills at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Auburn defensive lineman Keldric Faulk runs through on-field defensive line drills at the NFL Scouting Combine. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

An age-old draft question confronts the Bears with their first pick, if one of the players under consideration is defensive end Keldric Faulk from Auburn.  

That question is whether it is production or potential to weigh more heavily when making a late first-round selection. In Faulk's case there is a possible sub-question to consider and that is whether it's better to go with young players over the more mature NIL era types coming into the draft.

Faulk is projected by many mock drafts as the Bears' pick at No. 25. The reason are obvious. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen utilizes a scheme with bigger defensive ends, and at 6-foot-6, 285 pounds, Faulk is about the size Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan was during Allen's time there.  

There's a huge difference with Faulk, though. He hasn't been a big producer in college. While he hasn't been like Bengals first-round underperforming pick Shemar Stewart was with only 4 1/2 career college sacks, the production wasn't great.

Faulk had two sacks last season and Pro Football Focus said he had 30 pressures. By contrast, a player like Miami's Akheem Mesidor, who is projected to go between 16 and 24 somewhere on most mock drafts, had 12 1/2 sacks and 55 pressures last year. Faulk did have seven sacks in 2024, when PFF tracked him with 45 pressures. He is only 21 years old while Mesidor just turned 25.

"That's the part of my game where I've been trying to develop the last couple of years," Faulk told media members at the NFL Scouting Combine. "I feel like it's gotten better over the years and I feel like it can still get a whole lot better at the next level."

Proven pass rusher or potential?

Do they want to draft someone who is a possibility in Round 1, or someone with a more proven track record? In 2024, GM Ryan Poles selected Austin Booker after making sacks in only one college season. Booker was 21 when drafted, and last year seemed to blossom in the second half of his second season.

However, they took Booker in Round 5, after trading away a 2025 fourth-rounder to acquire the pick. In theory, it should be easier to take chances later in the draft than in Round 1.

Another perceived strength of Faulk's is something Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen covets, and that's versatility.

"That I can play all across the D-line, that's really what I did at Auburn," Faulk said at the combine. "I prepared myself, as well as (with) the help from the coaches to be able to play all four positions across the line. That's really what I think separates me."

Does it, though?


Per Pro Football Focus, Faulk lined up only 30 times in the A-gap and 172 in the B-gap, but 1,380 times at edge rusher. He essentially had limited exposure to moving up and down the line. It doesn't seem like it's been a regular habit of his.

PFF's Dalton Wasserman considers Faulk to be one of the high-risk players in Round 1.

"Faulk is blessed with a freakish build and potentially untapped athleticism," Wasserman wrote. "He’s also proven himself to be an excellent run defender, posting a near-elite 89.2 PFF run-defense grade over the past two seasons. That part of his game will never be in question, but there should be concerns about his ability to rush the passer at the next level."

The Bears obtained Dayo Odeyingbo with a reputation for stopping the run and versatility, and had virtually no production from his pass rush before a mid-season Achilles tendon tear—the injury making defensive end a Bears need in this draft. Last year they drafted second-rounder Shemar Turner, who had, and did, play both end and tackle, but found he was possibly better at end before tearing an ACL.  

Haven't we seen this before?

Wasserman's statistical analysis was very revealing.

"Over the past two seasons, Faulk tallied 75 pressures—37 of which were charted as either unblocked or clean-up pressures," he wrote. "That leaves his pass-rush win rate, 11.5%, in the range of 2025 first-rounders Mykel Williams and Shemar Stewart, both of whom carried pass-rush concerns heading into last year’s draft."

Stewart and William both made one sack as rookies. PFF graded Stewart 115th out of 115 edge players in the NFL last season.

Is the first round a place to risk a pick on a player whose strength may or may not be versatility, and who admits he needs to be better rushing the passer? This isn't to say Faulk won't work out. It might be he is everything he says he is.

Nevertheless, Poles will likely have some explaining to do if this is their announced Round 1 pick.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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