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With new upper management, a new coaching staff, and an influx of new players the 2015 Chicago Bears are going to look different on both sides of the ball. With new schemes in place on offense and defense, there will inevitably be plenty of new starters. The offense has a few new playmakers (Royal, White, maybe Langford), but the defense has a more significant scheme change which could lead to as many as 7-8 new starters depending on how things pan out in training camp. With that many potential new starters, there is a good chance there will be new leaders in most of the statistical categories.
A new scheme also brings new responsibilities and opens up new roles for players who may not have been good fits in the Bears previous 4-3 scheme. Natural pass rushers who struggled against the run like David Bass and Cornelius Washington can focus on what they are good at and young linebackers like Jon Bostic, Christian Jones and Shea McClellin who have been moved all over the place by the old regime can finally lock into one position and try to salvage their career. With so many positions in the starting defensive lineup up for grabs, there are a bunch of players who could earn starting roles and have a breakout season. I listed my sevn best bets below:
Christian Jones
In college (Florida St) Jones was deployed all over the field by the Seminoles in their 3-4 scheme. He has experience playing OLB, DE, and ILB which could make Jones an ideal fit for new DC Vic Fangio’s hybrid scheme. With the Niners Fangio changed his front seven alignment often and a versatile defender like Jones with the size (6’3 | 240) and athleticism to play all over the field could end up seeing more snaps than any of the Bears other ILBs. Jones came on strong late last season showing a well-rounded skill-set with the ability to rush the passer, blanket tight ends in coverage, and be effective vs the run. He could be used as a jack-of-all trades type like how Fangio used Ahmad Brooks with the Niners and may end up being the Bears most productive ILB in 2015.
I predict that Jones ends up winning one of the starting ILB spots due to his versatility. Of the Bears ILB options, Jones is not only the biggest, but might be the best in coverage, the best blitzer, and have enough versatility to handle multiple roles which is a huge plus in Fangio’s scheme.