Slump or Jump: Which way is the arrow pointing for Jonathan Bullard?

As the Chicago Bears 2018 offseason continues, there is no doubt that the Bears have gotten better on paper.

Being one of the youngest teams in the NFL, the Chicago Bears have plenty of players at multiple positions that seem like they’re waiting to take take the next step. Today, we examine whether or not Jonathan Bullard can take the next step in 2018.

We’ve already examined whether or not Mitchell Trubisky, Jordan Howard, Tarik Cohen, Eddie Jackson, Leonard Floyd, Adam Shaheen, and Nick Kwiatkoski can take the next step in 2018.

2017 season recap:

In three starts, Bullard had three sacks and eighteen tackles.

Much like Nick Kwiatkoski, it’s difficult to see where Jonathan Bullard fits on the Bears roster. He’s shown flashes of being a future starter but has lacked consistency throughout the process. It looks as if the arrow seems to be pointing sideways for the former Florida Gator.

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In other words, he’ll have to leave everything out on the field to prove that he’s worthy of a starting spot. If he doesn’t he could be part of the Bears final roster cuts leading up to the regular season.

Originally drafted in the third-round back in 2016, Bullard will now be entering his third season full season on the Bears defensive line. While the average age of the Bears defensive line is about twenty-five years old, Bullard is considered to be one of the older players in the room due to the fact that he’s played two full NFL seasons.

Additionally, it also means that he needs to start producing. As of right now, aside from Akiem Hicks and Eddie Goldman, there are questions surrounding who’ll be the third starter on the Bears defensive line.

Last year, the only major competition that Bullard had was veteran defensive end Mitch Unrein, who left this offseason and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, as the season went on, other players such as Roy Robertson-Harris and Isaiah Irving emerged, showing that they too could compete for the starting spot, undoubtedly putting Bullard’s future with the Bears in question.

Perhaps the biggest attribute that led to the Bears drafting Bullard was his quick first step which made him very explosive. While he has flashed some of that explosiveness, he hasn’t done so consistently.

Bullard is another example of a player on the Chicago Bears roster that seems as if he has unlimited potential, but unfortunately, has yet to reach that potential. He’ll need to have a big 2018 season in order to prove everyone wrong, otherwise, it will be clear that he most likely won’t be in the Bears plans when his rookie contract ends in 2020.

Prediction: Slump

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