Bear Digest

Bears Trade with Seattle for Edge Rusher Darrell Taylor

Seahawks edge player Darrell Taylor joins the Bears for a sixth-round pick as Bears GM Ryan Poles plugs one of their major remaining gaps on the roster.

Gene Chamberlain

Darrell Taylor strips the ball from former Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins. Taylor has reportedly been traded to the Bears.
Darrell Taylor strips the ball from former Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins. Taylor has reportedly been traded to the Bears. / Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

The Bears have their extra pass rusher and it didn't take signing Yannick Ngakoue.

They traded away a sixth-round pick and obtained Seattle's edge rusher Darrell Taylor.

This isn't a blockbuster type of deal but looks like a coup at first glance anyway because of both Taylor's production as a pass rusher, how little Ryan Poles gave up for him, but also because he is well suited to their scheme.

At 6-foot-4, 267 pounds, Taylor was categorized as an outside linebacker but his size is more in tune with the type of player Matt Eberflus looks for in a defensive end for his system.

BEARS TRADE FOR DEFENSIVE TACKLE AND WAIVE FORMER ILLINI PLAYER

Taylor was a second-round pick in 2021 from Tennessee. He has played in 49 games with 13 starts and has been in the Seattle pass rush rotation. He made 21 1/2 sacks, including 9 1/2 sacks in 2022. He is in a contract year. he had missed his rookie season of 2020 due to a fractured leg .

Taylor's pass rush production has been fairly consistent. He had seven tackles for loss in 2021 and 2023 and eight in 2022. He also had 13 quarterback hits in 2021 and 2022 and eight last year. During his best season in 2022, he had four forced fumbles. Over three seasons he had 58 1/2 pressures.

For comparison's sake, Chase Young was a name being talked about for the Bears last year before the Montez Sweat trade. Young, now in New Orleans after San Francisco decided not to keep him, has played 43 games and has 16 1/2 career sacks. He has five fewer sacks than Taylor has made in six less games.

BEARS FINAL 53-MAN ROSTER PROJECTION

Last year Pro Football Focus graded Taylor 103rd out of 112 edge rushers and only one spot higher than Bears backup Rasheem Green, a fellow teammate of his with Seattle at one time. But he was higher than Ngakoue, who was graded 111th and next to last in the league.

In both 2021 and 2022, Taylor rated a bit higher in PFF grades. On the PFF scale, he was at 74.0 as a pass rusher in 2022, which is an excellent grade. However, he dipped to 62.1 last year. He has never been regarded as a good run defender.

BEARS WINNERS AND LOSERS FROM VICTORY OVER KANSAS CITY

Adding him to the mix at the expense of a late, Day 3 pick, brings depth and experience to the edge. The Bears were going to be short on experience if they went into the season with Austin Booker playing a vital role and with a player like Daniel Hardy and/or Khalid Kareem playing outside.

BEARS REPORT CARD FROM WIN OVER CHIEFS

This also casts doubt on the roles of injured Jake Martin or under performing Dominique Robinson, who was a a fifth-round pick by Poles in 2022. It makes cutdown day at defensive end even more interesting for the Bears.

They might need defensive tackle help, still, as well. With Zacch Pickens' injury status unknown, Eberflus didn't sound too optimistic about their depth at the position after the win over Kansas City Thursday night.

Twitter: BearsOnSI

Published |Modified
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.