When discussing the successes of Ryan Poles‘ first off-season with the Chicago Bears, it has to start with his rookie class. Jaquan Brisker and Braxton Jones are two draft picks that have established themselves as starters with significant upside. Kyler Gordon also has promise despite some inconsistencies. However, by far, the biggest surprise is the ascent of Jack Sanborn. Chicago signed the Wisconsin linebacker in undrafted free agency. It was shocking to many that somebody didn’t pick him after such a productive college career.
The standard explanation is teams were wary of his limited athletic ceiling. He ran a pedestrian 4.73 in the 40-yard dash. That made him a liability in the eyes of many when it came to making plays outside the tackle box. A few months later and he’s now the starting middle linebacker for the Bears with 53 tackles and two sacks on the season. He also would’ve had an interception if not for a bad penalty call. One person not surprised by this is Matt Bowen of ESPN. The former safety saw what made Sanborn so good in college on tape. His intelligence, instincts, quickness, and tackling prowess have made him an immediate contributor to this team.
While Bowen doesn’t think the linebacker may ever be a true star in the NFL, he sees all the traits necessary to have a long career, as he explained on 670 The Score.
Jack Sanborn doesn’t need to be the guy in this defense.
Middle linebackers aren’t required to be stars in a Tampa-2 system like this one. People only think that way because Brian Urlacher was such a phenom when he played in it. In reality, most of the great versions of this defense didn’t have great middle linebackers. Shelton Quarles in Tampa Bay. Jack Del Rio in Minnesota. Gary Brackett in Indianapolis. None of those players were great. However, they were smart and reliable. They did the dirty work while stars elsewhere on the defense took care of the splash plays.
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There is no doubt Jack Sanborn is quite capable of being like those guys. You may not hear his name often in pivotal moments, but when games end, he always seems to fill out the stat sheet. Guys like him always seem to end up carving out a 10-year career. They do it through tenacity and sheer hard work. Sanborn is a football player in every sense. The fact he’s a homegrown kid from the Chicago suburbs makes it an even better story. One can only hope far better days are ahead for him.
