NFL.com ranked the Chicago Bears roster going into 2019 as one of the five most talented in the NFL. Not a surprise given the wealth of All-Pros they have on defense alone. To say nothing of the underrated playmakers on offense from Tarik Cohen to Allen Robinson, Anthony Miller, and Mitch Trubisky. Of course, plenty of people will try harder than necessary to argue that last one.
Regardless, expectations for this team are high. They feel they’re good enough to go to the Super Bowl. That there aren’t a ton of opponents in the wide NFL they feel are superior to them. The question is do others feel this way. Yes, as it turns out. Pro Football Focus, in collaboration with ESPN, did their own roster rankings for the upcoming season.
The Bears claimed a comfortable spot at 5th overall.
“Biggest strength: Eddie Jackson was named PFF’s top coverage defender a season ago after he dismantled opposing game plans. He was by far the league’s highest-graded safety in 2018, and of the 44 targets in which he was the primary coverage defender during the regular season, he allowed only 24 receptions while intercepting six passes and breaking up eight more.
Biggest weakness: The Bears will likely go only as far as their quarterback will allow them and hope for a much better performance from Mitchell Trubisky in 2019. He finished with just the 31st-highest quarterback grade last season and led the league with 11 interceptions from a clean pocket. Clean pocket performance, of course, is one of the more stable metrics from year to year in the NFL.”
Chicago Bears roster is talented but also clicking
Being talented alone is great, but what stands out about the Bears roster is how stable it is. Going into 2019, there will likely be only three new starters on opening day from the 22 who finished last season. They are safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, cornerback Buster Skrine, and running back David Montgomery. Everybody else played significant time last season.
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That sort of stability has been rare for the Bears in recent years. Even during the latter days of the Urlacher-Briggs-Tillman era, it was tough to come by. A welcome sign of the work GM Ryan Pace has done with this team. Head coach Matt Nagy won’t have to worry about chemistry. Everybody knows everybody and the culture is stronger than ever.
