This year, the Chicago Bears held a high spot in the waiver wire priority list. It was something GM Ryan Poles knew he could take advantage of. So he and the scouting department got to work evaluating other teams’ rosters. They watched lots of tape, recognizing where certain teams were deep and which players might get cut. Then they put together a board of talent they would like if the opportunity came up during final cuts. Armon Watts was not on that board.
There was no reason to think he should be. The veteran defensive tackle had five sacks and 33 pressures last season. Teams don’t give up strong interior pass rushers like that. The preseason validated this thought process as he finished with a sack and a hit on the quarterback in 18 pass rush snaps. Then the Minnesota Vikings cut him. Poles admitted on the Hoge & Jahns podcast that he and the rest of the Bears scouting department were stunned.
They dug into Watts’ tape to see if they’d missed something. When they realized they hadn’t, excitement began to build. After consulting with Matt Eberflus and the coaching staff, everybody agreed they had to make a waiver claim. Barely 24 hours later, Watts was a Bear.
Armon Watts is what the Bears needed.
When discussing the biggest roster concerns towards the end of training camp, most people talked about the offensive line, wide receivers, linebackers, and cornerbacks—all valid issues. However, not enough people mentioned defensive tackle. Remember, the Bears lost Akiem Hicks, Bilal Nichols, and Eddie Goldman in one fell swoop. Their only notable addition since then was veteran Justin Jones. While he can be a solid contributor for them, there were legitimate concerns about the position’s depth.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
Poles solved that problem by claiming Armon Watts. He is exactly what they needed. The guy is 26 years old with starting experience in a similar type of defense. Attacking up the field and shooting gaps is his strength. In 651 total career pass rush snaps, he has seven sacks and 49 pressures. By comparison, Arik Armstead had 59 pressures and six sacks in 633 snaps last year. Not bad company to keep. Also, remember that his breakout 2021 season was done with star pass rusher Danielle Hunter missing ten games.
Everything points to the Bears haven’t snatched a good player.
