Bear Digest

All-NFC North Team: T.J. Edwards' Position Fit Proves Ideal

Top NFC North Linebackers: The Bears brought in T.J. Edwards and found he fit the critical weakside linebacker spot exactly to specifications, meaning he could produce takeaways.

Gene Chamberlain

T. J. Edwards steps up and brings down Bryce Young on a scramble in last season's 16-13 Bears win over the Panthers.
T. J. Edwards steps up and brings down Bryce Young on a scramble in last season's 16-13 Bears win over the Panthers. / Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports
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When the Bears couldn’t immediately buy a defensive line in 2023 free agency, instead they focused on getting as strong as possible at linebacker while building a line with potential pieces as they came along.

From the way T.J. Edwards played after coming over from Philadelphia, it’s apparent they got the weakside linebacker position right.

Tremaine Edmunds showed enough down the stretch to think he’ll eventually be the dominant player at the Mike linebacker spot the Bears needed in their Tampa-2 scheme, but the All-NFC North team chosen in preseason is about production in addition to promise.

Players who consistently produced when it mattered made the team.

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THE VANISHING BREED OF LINEBACKERS

Edwards, Green Bay’s Quay Walker and Minnesota rookie Ivan Pace Jr. came out on top in the voting for linebacker positions.

T.J. Edwards

When the Bears signed Edwards, there was great discourse about which of the two key linebacker positions he’d play in a Tampa-2 style 4-3 scheme. Coach Matt Eberflus decided it was the weakside and it quickly became apparent the fit was right.

Edwards came within eight tackles of Roquan Smith’s single-season team record and his three interceptions were one more than he made in his four years with the Eagles combined. With eight tackles for loss, Edwards showed he is the attacking linebacker the weakside position must be in this one-gap approach at the line of scrimmage. He even made career highs of 2 ½ sacks and eight quarterback hits as he returned successfully to his hometown.

Edwards is definitely not a linebacker blessed with tremendous speed but at 6-foot-1, 242 pounds he can be a load to handle when charging downhill through a gap and is capable of more than the two forced fumbles and one recovery he had last season. Shaq Leonard had eight forced fumbles, four interceptions and three recovered fumbles in his last year as Eberflus’ weakside in Indianapolis. Anything for Edwards even approaching those numbers would be a tremendous success.

-Gene Chamberlain Bears On SI

Quay Walker, Green Bay Packers

The top two linebackers in the 2022 NFL Draft class were Walker (No. 22 pick) and the Jaguars’ Devin Lloyd (No. 27 pick). Lloyd is first in the draft class with 242 tackles and Walker is second with 239. However, Walker has Lloyd beat in sacks (4-0) and tackles for losses (12-2).

Walker, however, always leaves you wanting just a little more. He went from seven passes defensed and three forced fumbles as a rookie to three passes defensed and zero forced fumbles last year and gave up far too many completions. He had one interception and dropped a couple others. Since so much analysis is stats-driven, the narrative might be different had he made those plays.

This will be a huge season for Walker. From a team perspective, the schematic change has Walker moving to middle linebacker, where he’ll be expected to lead the defense by word and deed. From a personal perspective, the team will have to decide on the fifth-year option at the end of the season.

Still, Walker is 24 and has two years of seasoning. Combined with a still-elite combination of size and athleticism, the arrow is pointing up. If he has a big-time season, the defense will put the team in the Super Bowl hunt.

-Bill Huber, Packers On SI

Ivan Pace Jr., Minnesota Vikings

Pace has a long way to go before he enters the same realm as Vikings greats who went undrafted, a la John Randle and Adam Thielen, but if his rookie season was any indication of things to come, the middle of Minnesota's defense is in good hands.

Pace, who is expected to wear the green dot and command the defense as a second-year linebacker in 2024, burst onto the scene in 2023 and finished as Pro Football Focus' 17th-ranked qualified linebacker. He was especially good as a pass rusher, ranking 12th among all linebackers in PFF's pass rush grades. 

No rookie linebacker had more pressures (15), sacks (3) and quarterback hurries (6). The only rookie linebacker with more QB hits than Pace (6) was Detroit's Jack Campbell (7). Ironically, Campbell, at Iowa, was the No. 2 PFF linebacker in the nation behind Pace in 2022. 

Pace should be even better in his second season in defensive coordinator Brian Flores' scheme. And after starting only 11 of 17 games as a rookie, Pace will be an unquestioned starter every week, which should yield bigger numbers and more praise from his peers. 

-Joe Nelson, Minnesota Vikings On SI

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Gene Chamberlain

GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.