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Chicago Bears Post Draft Defensive Line Review

By Parker Hurley

NEW ORLEANS, LA - OCTOBER 29: Akiem Hicks #96 of the Chicago Bears on the sidelines during a game against the New Orleans Saints at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on October 29, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Saints defeated the Bears 20-12. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - OCTOBER 29: Akiem Hicks #96 of the Chicago Bears on the sidelines during a game against the New Orleans Saints at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on October 29, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Saints defeated the Bears 20-12. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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Now that the 2018 NFL draft has come to an end, what does the Chicago Bears depth chart look like?

The Chicago Bears were pretty set on the defensive line at the top. However, they did do some touching up to the depth and talent of the roster. What does the unit look like post draft?

Akiem Hicks

This position is more cut and dry than some of the others. They are held up at the top by Akiem Hicks, who is coming off of a career year that deserved more attention. If he can build off of that, he should get more national recognition in 2018.

Eddie Goldman

Goldman is mainly a nose tackle, but last season he was able to get on the field for more nickel situations. He wound up playing a career-high in percent of snaps played and proved his value as an underrated plugger.

Jonathan Bullard

This year is make or break for Jonathan Bullard. The team got rid of Mitch Unrein, signaling a plethora of open snaps. Bullard will have to compete with Roy Robertson-Harris, but is the better interior rusher of the two. He is going to see a bigger role next season.

Roy Robertson-Harris

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Robertson-Harris is a great depth piece to add who can line up and down the defensive front. His combination of size and power should get him on the field more in 2018 as well.

John Jenkins

Jenkins essentially serves as the Eddie Goldman replacement. The other defensive lineman are more upfield penetrators while Jenkins and Goldman do more of their damage by clogging lanes.

Bilal Nichols

Nichols is an athletic, former basketball player who has good feet, but lacks the instinct and natural technique at the position. Next season the team will look to slowly insert him into the rotation. The hope would be that if a player such as Bullard does not take advantage of his bigger role in 2018, Nichols could be seeing a huge increase in snap count in 2019.

Nick Williams

Williams spent three seasons with the Arizona Cardinals before being cut. He spent time with the Miami Dolphins but did not catch onto a roster in 2017. He is a camp body at a position where depth could get questionable in a hurry.

Abdullah Anderson

Of the two UDFA defensive lineman signed onto the Chicago Bears, Abdullah Anderson is the one with the higher ceiling. Like Nichols, he is a former basketball player with a high athletic upside and a lot of raw potential. Many across the NFL assumed he would have gotten drafted.

Olubmni Rotimi

Rotimi is another player with limited experience at defensive tackle. However, he got an invite to the combine and showed up unathletic. That is never a good sign for a player who feasted on lower level competition like he did at Old Dominion.

Will Pericak

Pericak spent most of his 2017 on the Bills practice squad. However, in late November the Chicago Bears brought him in. He will compete for depth at defensive end.

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