Bears Urged to Pursue Massive Edge Rusher After Breakout Year

The Chicago Bears are in desperate need of a pass rusher and an offensive tackle, and which way the team goes in the NFL Draft later this month is a coin flip.

General manager Ryan Poles has the 9th pick at his disposal after a blockbuster trade with the Carolina Panthers that moved the Bears out of the No. 1 spot. Draft experts Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay of ESPN project the team will go with an offensive lineman in the opening round, while at least one analyst in the local Chicago market recently predicted the Bears will select an up-and-coming pass rusher.

Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Chicago suggested on Thursday, April 13, that Poles will draft edge defender Tyree Wilson out of Texas Tech — assuming he is still on the board.

Wilson is everything head coach Matt Eberflus wants in an edge rusher. He’s long, strong, fast, and has an insanely high motor. Armed with an 8-foot wingspan, Wilson seldom allows tackles to get into pads and has impressive movement skills for a 275-pound end.

Wilson had a breakout 2022 season at Texas Tech, recording eight sacks and 50 pressures to vault up big boards. It feels like Wilson will be gone by the time the Bears go on the clock at No. 9, but it’s hard to see Eberflus and Poles passing on him if he falls into their lap.

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Bears Need Wilson to Make Immediate Impact in Rookie Year

The Bears were expected to aggressively pursue pass rushers in free agency this offseason, though to this point that has not happened, offering more credence to the notion that Chicago will look to the position early in the draft.

Poles signed defensive end DeMarcus Walker, formerly of the Tennessee Titans, to a three-year deal worth $21 million in March with $16 million fully guaranteed. Walker had a breakout season in 2022, amassing 17 quarterback pressures and seven sacks, per Pro Football Reference.

While Walker is no doubt a nice addition to a Bears defense that produced a league-worst 20 sacks last year, he’s not enough by himself to fix Chicago’s problem of being unable to put adequate heat on opposing quarterbacks.

More evidence to support the growing possibility that the franchise will draft Wilson at No. 9, should he remain available, is the fact that the Bears have met with the defensive end twice already.

As of last week, Chicago had held two meetings with just four prospects including Wilson — defensive tackle Jalen Carter of Georgia, offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr. of Ohio State and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba of Ohio State.

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Bears May Still Add Free Agent Yannick Ngakoue to Defense

Chicago could still add a pass rusher via free agency, even if the team drafts Wilson at No. 9 and/or selects another edge rusher at some point later in the draft.

One player to whom the Bears have been frequently tied is Yannick Ngakoue, most recently of the Indianapolis Colts. Ngakoue is a pure pass rusher with deficiencies in other areas of the game but put up 9.5 sacks in Indy last year. The one-time Pro Bowler has never produced fewer than eight sacks in any of his seven NFL seasons, per Pro Football Reference.

A strong possibility exists that Poles will look for an edge defender in later rounds, as Chicago picks a total of 10 times in this year’s draft, including twice in the second round (Nos. 53 and 61) and once in the third round (No. 64). Among the prospects the Bears could target in that range are Isaiah Foskey of Notre Dame and Derick Hall of Auburn, per Schrock.

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