Bear Digest

Bolstering a Weak Strong Side for Bears

Mainly because of the changeover from a 3-4, the Bears are lacking a legitimate strong-side linebacker for their new 4-3 scheme and here are some options from their roster or the draft.

Gene Chamberlain

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When the Bears last played the same defense current coach Matt Eberflus plans to use, they had Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs as their MIKE and WILL linebackers the middle and weak side.

On the strong side, or the SAM spot, they had Hunter Hillenmeyer. A former Packers draft pick who the Bears signed after being cut by Green Bay in 2003, Hillenmeyer gave the Bears steady and heady play alongside their two Pro Bowl players for six seasons before concussion issues led to the end of his career.

When the Bears played for the NFC championship in 2010, the last year they won a playoff game, Hillenmeyer's career had come to an end earlier in the season and they used Nick Roach at SAM. But the main starter at SAM in the regular season with 10 starts and in the playoffs was former Rams linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa.

Looking at the Bears roster as presently constructed, there is only one player who definitively fits the SAM role in this defense and he has started there in a base 4-3 only once in his career.

That's Joe Thomas, a career backup linebacker they signed before free agency after he had been with Baltimore's practice squad and got into two games last year but he received no contract for 2022.

The Ravens had him because Lovie Smith's defense tried using him in the classic 4-3 cover-2 style in 2021 for starts at both weak side and strong side and then cut him in October.

Being 31 years old this season, it's obvious Thomas isn't a long-term player for any position but might be a fit as a starter until a rookie gets ready to start.

Thomas has versatility as he has started games at all three 4-3 linebacker positions, including both Mike and Will in a 4-3 for Dallas.

Thomas is 6-1, 230 and can play a position where the main requirement is lining up over the tight end's side and being tough against the run while covering short zones against the pass.

There are other possible candidates for this spot but no one who stands out:

  • Noah Dawkins is a younger player with only 18 NFL defensive snaps but is ideal size-wise at 6-1, 235 to play there.
  • Caleb Johnson is a bit light to be covering the tight end's side at 6-2, 227. He has a ways to go as a former Division II player with Houston Baptist who got in for only five defensive snaps in a 3-4 last year.
  • Ledarius Mack, Khalil's little brother, is 6-1, 237 and played 24 snaps of defense last year in three games but is actually an edge rusher without great lateral quickness. However, he did play some off-ball linebacker in junior college and they might want to try him there.
  • Nick Morrow is probably a deep middle linebacker in the cover-2 for passing situations or possibly weak side because he's only 216 pounds. He usually was best deployed in pass coverage with the Raiders. Putting him over a tight end at SAM might not be advisable against the run or even in coverage, when he's going to be outweighed by 30 to 40 pounds.
  • The only other player who has been a SAM is Jeremiah Attaochu but he wasn't really an off-ball linebacker. He lined up as pass-rusher on the strong side and at 262 pounds is really a lifetime 3-4 edge rusher who is mis-cast on this new Bears roster.

So it's easy to see the Bears could use another linebacker capable of covering short zones and stopping the run in this draft. Here are the best possible players for this spot in the 2022 draft considering their needs at other positions for earlier rounds with the picks they have.

Aaron Mosby, Fresno State

Considering the need for the Bears to find wide receiver, offensive line and cornerback help earlier in the draft, they'll need to look later in Day 3 and beyond possible Sam linebacker types like Troy Andersen or Quay Walker. Fresno State's Mosby is a bit larger than ideal size at 246 pounds but is 6-4 and that extra reach can help. The most intriguing thing about him is he once was a defensive back. So he could be a fit in the middle, weak side or strong side.

Either way, he is a player comfortable playing in space and could handle covering a tight end with his size. He's rated the seventh-best Sam prospect by NFL Draft Bible.

Nate Landman, Colorado

Although he played more like an inside 3-4 linebacker, Landman showed enough ability to cover tight ends and disrupt screen passes that he could play Sam in a 4-3. Since the Sam in a 4-3 often gives way to the slot cornerback in passing situations, there shouldn't be a problem with him playing the spot. His best quality is tackling and not coverage. Ranked the ninth-best Sam backer by NFLDB.

Chauncey Manac, Louisiana-Lafayette

A 6-3, 249-pound who NFLDB says has can disrupt the run or hold down an edge the way a Sam might need to do at times. He's not a big asset in coverage but has enough to play the short zone and is ranked 10th among Sam backers by NFLDB.

Micah McFadden, Indiana

He's about the size of Montana State's Andersen, at 6-1, 240 but being two inches shorter makes it tougher in pass coverage. It's stopping the run where he was viewed by NFLDB as at his best. He had 216 tackles in a four-year career and was good enough in coverage to track down four intercetions.

Kuony Deng, California

A team looking for a steal later in the draft could find one with this linebacker who has unsual height and reach. At 6-6, 240, he looks like more of an edge rusher in a 3-4 but he has displayed great athleticism and broke up six passes in a junior college season. Deng should be an athletic linebacker outside because he was a VMI basketball player first. He played a 2020 season shortened by the pandemic but led the team in tackles. Then he played only twice last year because of injuries so he has played just six games the last two years. Rated the 14th best Sam prospect by NFLDB.

Mike Rose, Iowa State

He checks all the boxes for what a Sam linebacker must be as a run stopper who doesn't have the athleticism to play too far out in space but can cover. "...his likely role is limited to a two-down LB who will need to be great on special teams," NFL Draft Bible concludes. At 6-4, 245, he has classic size best put to use stopping the run or covering short zone against tight ends.

Isaiah Graham-Mobley, Boston College

He has two factors working on his side here as he went to Boston College, where Ryan Poles played and briefly coached, and he is regarded as a leader and glue guy, the type Poles signed in free agency. Graham-Mobley has fought through injuries and is 6-1, 230.

Darrian Beavers, Cincinnati

His size at 6-4, 237 gives rise to hope he can overcome some of the alarming tendencies he had with his play as a Mike linebacker in college. A physical player who "...shows really good awareness to understand his zone and let the quarterback’s eyes lead him," says NFLDB. A former UConn player, he benefited from playing with a stronger program.

Jack Cochrane, South Dakota

At 6-2 1/2, 234, he has a knack for being around the ball according to NFLDB, but he doesn't have the great speed to be a play maker at Will or Mike. NFLDB notes an ability to locate routes in zone coverage and says he can "...stick with tight ends underneath."

Daniel Hardy, Montana State

Most see him as an edger rusher for a 3-4 but he would be undersized in such a role at 6-3, 239. And his 239 pounds came after he added 20 pounds using a 5600-calorie daily diet, according to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Hardy made 18 1/2 sacks in college and was a complement to Andersen but a team selecting him in the NFL would either be trying to bulk him up even more to play the edge or letting him play Sam and working with him to learn how to cover passes. He'd likely be a project.

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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.

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