The Chicago Bears may not be the flashiest team in the NFL lately, but they’re certainly one of the most intriguing. It’s a roster that has a lot of star power. Most of it is on defense at the moment with Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, Eddie Goldman, Kyle Fuller, and Eddie Jackson. The offense though has some highly promising youngsters including Allen Robinson, Mitch Trubisky, Anthony Miller, Cody Whitehair, James Daniels, and rookie David Montgomery.
The defense has its share of up-and-comers too though. Roquan Smith, their 8th overall pick in 2018, is predicted to have a big year. Same goes for defensive end Bilal Nichols who was a pleasant surprise as a 5th round pick that rose to become a starter by the end of his rookie season. One person though has gone somewhat overlooked this year, at least by the wider fanbase.
He is Joel Iyiegbuniwe. The man known as “Iggy” was the Bears’ 4th round pick last year out of Western Kentucky. He was a bit of a surprise because the team had already drafted Smith a few rounds earlier. His odds of playing any significant snaps on defense were virtually non-existent with Danny Trevathan already in place. GM Ryan Pace though stood by the pick.
He felt the talent was too good to pass up.
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“Physical, fast, athletic, highly intelligent player. When you turn on the tape, it just jumps out, the way he plays, just a real physical, downhill style.”
This certainly showed up on special teams where Iyiegbuniwe ended up leading the Bears in tackles. His new position coach though seems to think much bigger accomplishments are ahead of him.
Chicago Bears may have big plans for Iyiegbuniwe
Mark DeLeone, who was hired as the Bears inside linebackers coach this offseason, has gained a strong sense of what he has at the position. What has really stood out to him the most, according to Arthur Arkush of Pro Football Weekly, is its depth. Beyond Smith and Trevathan, they have other guys with significant ability. What he had to say about Iyiegbuniwe stood out the most.
“I would say one of the strengths of the inside linebacker position is the depth. From Nick Kwiatkoski, who is a steady guy every single day; to Kevin Pierre-Louis, who’s been in the league and is a serious pro, [and] really athletic; to Joel Iyiegbuniwe, he’s getting better every single day and he’s going to be a really good pro; to Josh Woods, who’s a unique guy, converted from safety to linebacker, has a unique skill set; and then Jameer Thurman, an elite player in the CFL who’s making this transition to the NFL, I feel like, ask me again [for a sleeper] in four weeks. Because all five of those guys are doing really good things, and they’re just going to keep getting better.”
Certainly sounds like he believes Iggy will be a starter before too long.
It’s a matter of whether that will be in Chicago or not. This question may come to a head in the near future. Trevathan is currently in the last year of his contract. He will be a free agent in 2020 and turns 30 next March. The Bears have some difficult salary cap issues on the horizon. This could make it a challenge to keep Trevathan unless he’d be willing to take a discount.
If not, then the team could very well hand the job to Iyiebuniwe. He’ll have two years of experience by that point and a full year to absorb Chuck Pagano’s new defense. It would be the exact setup of a team drafting a young player to eventually replace a veteran they knew would leave down the road.
Iyiegbuniwe has been flashing constantly in practice. In addition to playing the run drills well, his downhill explosiveness really shows up in pass rush situations. For the aggressive Pagano, this is a valuable asset to have.
