The Chicago Bears came out swinging on the first day of free agency. In a span of mere hours, they reached agreements with three notable free agents. Center Drew Dalman got rave reviews from most experts. Fans seemed to love the addition of former Pro Bowl defensive tackle Grady Jarrett. However, one move seems to have split people. That was the signing of defensive end Dayo Odenyingbo. While adding a pass rusher was always a primary goal, many aren’t happy the Bears gave him $16 million per year after he managed just three sacks last season.
It led to inevitable questions about what the team could be thinking. Is Ryan Poles nuts? The short answer is no. In truth, this signing was not driven by the Bears GM or even head coach Ben Johnson. It was a direct request from Dennis Allen. Jeff Hughes of Da Bears Blog confirmed that the new defensive coordinator is a big fan of Odeyingbo’s game and feels he can be a strong contributor to this defense.
Dayo Odenyingbo is a classic Allen defensive end.
The Bears defensive coordinator has a long track record of preferring one thing at that position: power. If you look back at some of his best players, they all fit the profile from Khalil Mack in Oakland to Cameron Jordan, Marcus Davenport, and Trey Hendrickson in New Orleans. The benefits are obvious. Power defensive ends are able to both set the edge against the run and drive blockers back, narrowing the space a quarterback has to work with in the pocket. This leads to one of two outcomes. Either they bail out and try scrambling, or they step up where Jarrett, Gervon Dexter, and Andrew Billings should be waiting for them.
Nobody should expect Day Odeyingbo to be the primary guy on that defensive front. He is meant to be a complementary piece to Montez Sweat. He proved he could fill that role in Indianapolis and he’s still only 25 years old. Allen will know exactly how to use him. Bears fans must trust his judgment on this.
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