NFL Analysts Say Devin Bush is the Perfect Fit For Chicago Bears' Defense

The Bears' decision to sign Devin Bush was hands down their best move since the start of free agency. The fact that his three-year, $30 million deal ranked seventh in yearly value among linebackers putting pen to paper this offseason made it exponentially better. The move was a downright coup.

He's a hyper-athletic linebacker who fits the Bears' defense and Dennis Allen's scheme like a glove. Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson both emphasized the importance of injecting speed into the defensive side of the ball, and they held up their end of the bargain by adding Bush.

There's really no sugarcoating just how lousy Chicago's defense was last offseason. They were equally inefficient at stopping the run or the pass, and were on their heels far too often. They did a great job at forcing turnovers, but were otherwise in over their heads.

Bush will provide some much-needed assistance in both areas. In fact, the Next Gen Stats Analytics Team thinks he was just what Chicago needed. They included the 27-year-old in their list highlighting the best player-team pairings in this year's crop of free agents.

Dennis Allen’s defense is based out of Cover 2, which relies on highly athletic linebackers to account for significant space in the middle of the field. After releasing Tremaine Edmunds, the Bears were left with just two off-ball LBs on the roster who played 50+ snaps last season, and neither is a natural Cover 2 anchor. Enter Bush, who allowed 0.49 yards per coverage snap last season, the second-fewest of any linebacker who logged at least 250 coverage snaps. He also recorded three interceptions (returning two for touchdowns) while allowing just one touchdown. He and Edmunds were two of the 14 LBs who were trusted to play man-to-man over 20% of the time, suggesting Allen will continue to cater to Bush's strengths. Bush was a lynchpin of the Browns’ run defense in 2025, as well, recording 75 run tackles, more than any Bears defender not named Roquan Smith in a single season over the last decade.
Next Gen Stats Analytics Team, NFL.com

Notably, they reference just how much Chicago asked of Edmunds in man coverage. While he was pretty opportunistic last season, it would be a stretch to say that he held his own more often than not. He may have been the Bears' best 'backer in coverage before getting hurt (and allowing D'Marco Jackson to get on the field and easily kick him off said mantle), but that's not saying much. Their coverage deficiencies were a major reason why they were looking to get faster on the defensive side of the ball.

For the sake of comparisons, Edmunds' Pro Football Focus coverage grade of 52.1 ranked 50th out of 88 qualifying linebackers. Meanwhile, Bush's grade of 80.4 ranked fourth. When you consider the fact that their coverage ability is considered a strength of both of their games, you might be surprised to learn that Edmunds' contract will pay him $2 million more per year than Bush's.

It's tough to argue with their praise of Bush. The 27-year-old, who was the 10th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, has always had the talent. He just needed some time to put it all together.

I imagine Dennis Allen sees some similarities between Bush and Demario Davis, whom the Saints picked up in free agency after a breakout year with the Jets. Davis accomplished a bit more in his career before coming to New Orleans, but he was still flying well under the radar compared to what he would become (one of the league's premier off-the-ball linebackers) with the Saints.

The Bears were able to land Bush for relatively cheap since he hasn't yet shown that he can string together multiple seasons of elite play. The Bears coaching staff is clearly betting that he can do that in Chicago, and the analytics clearly point to that being a worthwhile gamble.