The Chicago Bears have made one thing clear under the guidance of GM Ryan Poles. Regarding player acquisition, they are placing far greater emphasis on superior athletes. In the 2023 draft, four of their selections made the annual Freaks List of 100 college players deemed athletic standouts. All ten players had a relative athletic score (RAS) of 8.3 or higher. It was deemed one of the league’s three most athletic draft classes. That philosophy held true in free agency with guys like Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards, and Nate Dave.
It appears nothing has changed. More adjustments were made to the roster this week, mainly at the linebacker position. Their latest arrival is veteran Davion Taylor, a former 3rd round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020. It’s not hard to see the appeal. The 6’0, 230 lbs kid from Colorado runs with 4.49 speed, boasts a 35-inch vertical jump, and a sub-7.0 in the three-cone drill. That means he has range and excellent change of direction skills. Matt Eberflus is a linebacker expert. It makes sense they’d give him a project like this. Taylor just turned 25.
The Chicago Bears have good reasons to like Taylor.
It starts with the athleticism, but he also has a reputation for great hustle and toughness. His problems stemmed from two areas. Taylor didn’t play football in high school. Then he only started two years in college. So he came into the NFL highly inexperienced. It was evident in his lack of instincts and awareness. Even so, it felt like he was turning a corner in 2021. Across a five-game span from October 14th to November 14th, he started five games and amassed 30 tackles with two forced fumbles. The next week against New Orleans, he injured his knee and was lost for the season.
As is so often the case in the NFL, that injury robbed him of any shot at keeping a job. By the time he returned last year, the Eagles had added Haason Reddick and Kyzir White at linebacker. He was relegated to backup duty and ended up on the practice squad. The Chicago Bears represent a fresh opportunity for him. It might be too late to make the main roster now, but he’s landed in a defense under a staff that is widely proven at developing linebackers. If he listens to them and can stay healthy, this might be a fun investment.
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Maybe this kid could backup the safety position and assassinate some receivers. That’s gotta be our thinnest position heading into Pre-season game #2.
Ryan Poles loves him some relative athletic score (RAS) — but it doesn’t measure: heart, awareness nor playmaking ability — just to name a few critical traits. Check these RAS with your estimated value of current and former Bears players: Chase Claypool ( 9.98) Brian Urlacher (9.92) Kyle Long (9.84) Tremaine Edmunds (9.74) Alex ‘Leatherwood (9.69) Darnell Wright (9.68) DJ Moore (9.65) Lucas Patrick (9.30) N’Keal Harry (9.04) Roquan Smith (8.58) Dante Pettis (7.97) Byron Pringle (7.28) Velus Jones Jr. (7.11) Dakota “Bull” Dozier (1.52) Sam Mustipher (0.85) Why did Poles let James Daniels (9.24) leave — and, later fill… Read more »
@David, I agree with the LB room overflowing. But as for Edmunds’ injury, it would be pretty hard to hide a serious injury for very long. As soon as week 1 rolls around and injury report disclosures become mandatory, if he’s unable to go any private panic becomes public panic pretty quickly. Let’s hope we hear or see some good news soon.
Davion Taylor needs coaching and reps. Lack of experience looks like it has been his biggest issue. One thing that’s interesting – Poles seems to be enjoying that first spot on the waiver wire. This is another interesting project he snagged.
I’m also concerned about Edmunds. Something just doesn’t feel right about your top free agent missing so much of practice and the team saying nothing about his injury. I hope it’s cleared up in time for the regular season.
That LB room is overflowing. That’s a good thing but makes me wonder if Edmunds knee is worse than we think.