People were somewhat shocked when the Chicago Bears invested a healthy chunk of their 2022 salary cap space at linebacker. While the franchise has a long history of success at that position, the NFL has changed a lot from those days. Off-the-ball linebackers seem to have lost relevance in the eyes of many. The truth isn’t that simple. In reality, the position has quietly undergone an evolution. Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards weren’t signed for the sole fact they can play the run and tackle.
Their hidden strength goes deeper than that. Both happened to be two of the best coverage linebackers in the NFL last season. It reflects in their numbers.
- Tremaine Edmunds – 49 catches allowed (67 targets) for 359 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, and 10 PBUs
- T.J. Edwards – 55 catches allowed (81 targets) for 305 yards and 8 PBUs
For an idea of what that means, the entire Bears linebacking corps from last season had a total of two pass breakups. Opposing quarterbacks completed close to 80% of their passes against them. One thing that can’t be understated about Edmunds and Edwards is they make it much more difficult to complete passes in their direction. That makes sustaining drives more difficult, leading to more opportunities and forced punts.
Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards provide versatility.
That is the buzzword these days. Defenses that have players who do more than one thing well tend to have more success. It’s why Matt Eberflus and Ryan Poles continue to emphasize having great athletes that display toughness. That means they have the range to survive in coverage while also not fearing the physical nature of tackling. It isn’t exclusive to linebackers. Every position must have that. Now after two off-seasons of work, the Bears seem to have their entire back seven made up of such players.
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Teams were able to avoid the Bears’ secondary last season because the middle of the field was open against their linebackers. That window has been closed with the arrivals of Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards. They will make life more difficult for opposing tight ends and running backs, allowing the secondary to focus on wide receivers. If the defense can get any sort of pass rush this season, it will be much improved from last year. This is why it’s never wise to criticize moves based purely on the positions they play.
Plus Tremaine Edmunds has all of the actual skills of Micah Parsons. Speed, strength, effort, etc. Maybe this may be the actual reason Poles didn’t sign a big $$$$ DE. In actualuality he already signed one, with off the ball LB coverage skills with 3-4LB QB hunting skills, speed, and size. JMO
Sad