When talking about the highlights of the Chicago Bears 2021 offseason? Attention tends to gravitate towards a select few names. Justin Fields of course. Teven Jenkins, Marquise Goodwin, Damiere Byrd, and Desmond Trufant among others. One name that came and went during the past three months of furious activity that barely registered on the radar was Angelo Blackson.
His addition was a bit of a mild surprise. The 29-year old has had a journeyman career to this point, playing for three different teams prior to arriving in Chicago. During that time he hasn’t exactly been a stat machine, collecting just six sacks in six seasons. So how good could he actually be? Apparently good enough to warrant a two-year deal worth $5.5 million. Maybe the Bears brass thinks his value goes deeper than people realize.
They might be right.
One thing about GM Ryan Pace is he tends to target players who are on the upswing in their careers. As in playing their best football. This seems to be the case with Blackson. Though he only has 2.5 sacks last season for Arizona, he also has eight QB hits and 12 pressures. Both career-highs. All that while playing just 50% of the total defensive snaps. That isn’t too bad.
This also overshadows his value elsewhere. Blackson doesn’t get enough credit for being a good run defender. In 2017, the Texans’ defense was just 13th against the run. Blackson played only 19% of the snaps that year. Then in 2018, he played 40%. Houston improved to 3rd in run defense. In 2019? Arizona was 24th against the run. Blackson helped shore it up a bit to 22nd last year. His mixture of size and quickness helps him clog running lanes quite often.
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Last but not least? He seems to have a talent for blocking kicks on special teams.
ANGELO. BLACKSON.
His second blocked kick in as many weeks!#HOUvsTB pic.twitter.com/i4yHXPPLIp
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) December 21, 2019
Angelo Blackson on the first play from scrimmage takes down Russ! #RedSea pic.twitter.com/LoRTP2SVte
— uSTADIUM (@uSTADIUM) November 20, 2020
Watching the game-deciding two-point conversion attempt from this angle, looks like Angelo Blackson, DJ Reader and Zach Cunningham all plugged up the hole, leaving Leonard Fournette to spin into Justin Reid. pic.twitter.com/fzdwDukS3W
— Aaron Reiss (@aaronjreiss) September 17, 2019
The Chicago Bears have a history of surprise DL finds
GM Ryan Pace seems to have a knack for it. Over the years he’s produced several pleasant surprises on the defensive front nobody saw coming. Nicholas Williams, Brent Urban, Mario Edwards Jr., and even Akiem Hicks all qualify. All came in with low expectations and all didn’t take long to exceed them. It’s important to remember Blackson doesn’t come in with any sort of burden of expectations.
The Chicago Bears already have their starters locked in with Hicks, Eddie Goldman, and Bilal Nichols. Blackson will be expected to come in as a rotational guy to give those men breathers during games. Similar to the role departed names like Urban and Roy Robertson-Harris filled. If he plays the way he flashed in Arizona last season? Then the defensive line will be just as good as ever.
Keep his name in mind.
The Bears are going to need him this year. They play a rather considerable slate of strong offensive opponents this season. It’ll start right out of the gate against the Los Angeles Rams on opening night. A team he is familiar with from last season. As the year unfolds and a long season gets going, his presence will be vital.
