© Daniel Bartel-USA TODAY Sports
Sweat leads an improved pass rush
For far too long, the Chicago Bears pass rush has been pretty non-existent. Quarterbacks were allowed to sit in the pocket, eat a sandwich, and still have time to find an open receiver.
Poles wanted to change that. He understood that for the defense to be the elite unit it wants to be, the pass rush has to be there. The first move he made was to bring in Montez Sweat.
Poles saw that the potential free agent market for a pass rusher would be weak. He felt that Sweat would be the number one target. Instead of fighting for him in the offseason and getting into a bidding war, he decided to use a second-round pick to bring him to Chicago in the middle of last season.
Once Poles had Sweat in Chicago, he gave him a contract extension. He got his star pass rusher locked in for years.
Now Poles had to find someone on the opposite side to help Sweat. For the time being, he is going with a pass rusher by committee. He has DeMarcus Walker starting, but there is also Austin Booker, Darrell Taylor, Dominique Robinson, and Daniel Hardy to find some snaps.
Booker is the wild card. Despite his inexperience, he had an incredible training camp as well as excelling in the preseason games. He could be the other star playing alongside Sweat. It might be too much asking him to be the guy right out of the gate. However, playing in a rotation he could gain some experience and break out sooner.
The pass rusher by committee could work out well. The Chicago Bears could keep throwing waves of players at offensive lines and wear them down. Late in games that could be critical. Additionally, if Booker can break out, he could make some big plays.
This pass rush could surprise people. With Sweat last season, the pass rush improved a bit. Even without being great, the added pressure helped the Chicago Bears secondary be one of the toughest in the NFL. The Bears led the league in interceptions.
Prediction: The Chicago Bears pass rush increases their sack total from 30 in 2023 to 48 in 2024, a 60 percent increase. They finish in the top ten. Sweat leads the way with 13.5 sacks.
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