2021 Chicago Bears Preview: Defensive Interior

By Kevin Schroeder
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Updated: September 11, 2021

(Photo: Wikipedia)

Akiem Hicks returns, looking to bounce back to the form that got him to the Pro Bowl in 2018. Signed as a free agent before the 2016 season, Hicks recorded 7, 8.5, and 7.5 sacks in his first three seasons as a Bear and was finally rewarded for his production with the aforementioned Pro Bowl selection after the third. However, in 2019, an arm injury limited him to just 5 games. Hicks missed only one game a year ago, but wasn’t quite his old self, recording just 3.5 sacks. Approaching his 32^nd birthday, Hicks remains a steady, solid force on the Bears’ defensive line. This space asserts that this season, he’ll look more like the Hicks of a few years ago as Eddie Goldman returns to eat up some of the blocks that were devoted to Hicks a year ago.

As just mentioned, Eddie Goldman returns to the Bears’ lineup after opting out of the 2020 season. There were brief concerns this summer that he may retire altogether after he wasn’t present at mini-camp, but those fears were allayed when he showed up at training camp. At camp, he didn’t look like he had missed a beat. Goldman clearly took care of himself while away from the team and should be ready to resume his role as the Bears’ top space eater. As nose tackles go, Goldman is a capable pass rusher, but where he really shines is in run support. A year ago, we saw just how valuable he is to the team as the Bears could never truly filled his role and, as a result, guys like Hicks and Nichols saw increased attention from opposing offensive linemen.

A fifth-round pick in 2018, Bilal Nichols looked like a steal after his rookie year, but took a step back in 2019. Last year, we saw that that was nothing more than just a sophomore slump, as he took a big step forward, even without Eddie Goldman around to divert attention from him. 2020 saw Nichols routinely in opposing backfields, recording 7 tackles for loss and 5 sacks. The former Blue Hen even had an interception. The hope is that Nichols can continue his upward trajectory. He’s got extra incentive to do so this year, as it’s a contract year.

Mario Edwards Jr. was signed in September of 2020 to provide depth on the defensive line and turned out to be a nice player for the team, setting a career high in sacks. Your author did not expect much of the signing at the time, to the point that Edwards didn’t even get a Welcome post. Credit Ryan Pace for seeing something in him and the Bears’ coaching staff for bringing it out of him, as, to that point, Edwards had bounced around without much success. This space says that Edwards will have another quality year after serving his two-game suspension for performance-enhancing drug use.

Angelo Blackson comes to Chicago to fill the depth spot on the defensive line vacated by Brent Urban after he signed with the Cowboys. Blackson enters his seventh year in the league looking to finally stick with a team; the Bears are his fourth so far. A fourth-round pick by Tennessee in 2015, Blackson notched 2.5 sacks his rookie season and tied that mark last year with the Cardinals. However, in the four years in between, he only had one. Total. This signing doesn’t look like much, but we’ve seen the Bears take just-a-guy defensive linemen and turn them into quality players before, here’s hoping they can do it again.

Khyris Tonga was drafted by the Bears in the seventh round out of BYU this year. An older rookie, Tonga is already 25 after spending two years on a Mormon mission prior to college. In four years as a Cougar, Tonga was a solid presence on the line capable of eating blocks and taking up space. While your author doesn’t expect him to be a star, early returns suggest he should be at least capable of providing legitimate depth at the nose tackle spot.

Twitter: @KSchroeder_312