Jordan Van Den Berg is easily the biggest story of the summer for the Chicago Bears. He was nothing more than a 6th round pick for the team coming out of the draft. Fans took that to mean he wasn’t worth much. After all, most picks in that range barely make a roster, let alone become strong contributors. The fact that Van Den Berg’s rise was a direct reason the team felt comfortable trading Gervon Dexter says a lot. However, it also overshadowed another great story on that defense: the unexpected rise of Jayden Loving.
The Bears signed the Wake Forest defensive tackle as an undrafted free agent after the draft. It was fascinating how similar he and Van Den Berg were in their college experiences. Both transferred to different programs, didn’t really ascend until their final seasons, and were undersized but incredibly athletic for their position. While Van Den Berg stole the headlines, Loving actually had the best preseason with a sack, 5 pressures, and 2 pass deflections. Was he somehow overlooked?
The Bears think so, and defensive line coach Jeremy Garrett explained why.
“You watch his Wake Forest tape and they kind of slanted him and were moving him around,” defensive line coach Jeremy Garrett said. “So you’ve got to look at the player, does he have power? Can he come out of his hips? And that was the one thing that we determined: Yeah, he can do it.
“So he can do what we want him to do. You saw some of the attributes more so than him doing it on tape, but then when he got in, smart player, has some twitch, has some explosion.”
Jayden Loving wasn’t used to attack as often as possible.
Wake Forest ran a 4-3 system, but it was geared around defensive linemen running slants. What that means is that Loving would take a diagonal step to the right or left rather than straight ahead. This is meant to confuse offensive blocking and helps to stop the run. It certainly worked well. Three Demon Decon defensive linemen had at least 8.5 tackles for a loss last season, including Loving. However, the scheme isn’t great at producing high sack totals. Their leading pass rusher only had 7.
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This won’t be the case in Chicago. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen runs a system that is centered on attacking the pocket. That means the defensive tackles are getting upfield and staying in their gaps. For that to work, the player must be quick and explosive. Jayden Loving checks both boxes. You’ve seen in the past what happens when Allen has players like that. It worked with Sheldon Rankins and David Onyemata in New Orleans. Loving and Van Den Berg are perfect fits for that system.
The climb is just beginning now.
It was a serious surprise that Loving even made the roster. Remember, the Bears didn’t just draft Van Den Berg. They also signed Kentavius Street, Neville Gallimore, and James Lynch as free agents. All made the roster. That means the rookie can’t afford to rest on his laurels. Making the roster was only step one. If he wants to do more than be a fun one-year story, he must hone his craft harder than ever. Being an undrafted free agent doesn’t afford you much cushion for making mistakes.
If he can build on what he accomplished in the preseason, Loving will be in a great spot. Having one defensive tackle who can squeeze the pocket is good. Having two would be an enormous advantage for this defense. We might not have seen the real version of Loving in college. That is the scary part. If he was that disruptive while not playing to his strengths, imagine what happens when the Bears change that.
