Chicago Bears: Eddie Goldman career trajectory

Through five seasons, who are some of the most comparable NFL players to Chicago Bears nose tackle Eddie Goldman?

It seems like he has been on the defense since the ’85 Bears, but Eddie Goldman is entering year six with the 2020 Chicago Bears. Even more surprising is that through five seasons, Goldman has still just turned 26 years old recently.

Ages 25-30 is typically the prime for a player, so despite hitting the ground running, the Bears should hope to see four or five more prime years out of Goldman. When we looked into some of the most statistical comparisons to Allen Robinson through his age 25 seasons, we found that he may be on a path to finish his career similarly to Andre Johnson.

When looking at players who had a similar start to their career as Eddie Goldman, what type of athletes come up?

Finding a career trajectory for Eddie Goldman

According to Pro Football reference, Goldman has 12.5 sacks, and an approximate value of 32 through five seasons. When looking at all defensive tackles who had at least 10 sacks, and an AV of 25, he is just one of 44 players all-time to be on that list.

Of course, he is on the lower end of the historical list, still, you can see some of the best historic comparisons to Goldman below.

There are a lot of great historical comparisons to Goldman. He suits a lot of them well in terms of playstyle too. What is most impressive about this list is that Sam Adams and Shaun Rogers were playing through their age 34 seasons. Richard Seymour was effective through age 33, while Jenkins and Maryland played through age 31. He may not be quite as productive in tackles as someone such as Shaun Rogers, but they have a similar role, the game has just changed away from Goldman. Still, when you factor in play style, pass rush, and AV through their age 25 seasons, you see similar players.

When you look more recently, there is an even better list to go off of. Below are five other names that have been drafted since the new CBA in 2011, and a lot of rule changes turned the game into the one we see today.

Below is their statistics through their age 26 season. For Williams, Browns, and Goldman, they will all turn 26 this season. Kenny Clark is a year younger, though.

Similarly to Shaun Rogers, Poe was a bit more productive through this point. He was probably a better player than Rogers. Williams may not have the big sack numbers, but his ginormous lead in quarterback hits could start to justify him seeing a franchise tag this year at $16 million while Goldman is signed at $10 million per year.

Still, on the other side, Brown looks like a steal making just $5 million per year, although injuries are a factor for him. Still, he has age and productivity on his side.

Brockers will be 29 this season and is making $8 million per year, and Poe is 30 and making $4.3 million per year.

Overall, Brown is the biggest value of this group but compared to Brockers, and Williams, Goldman is justified for his salary. The biggest takeaway is likely that Brockers signed a three-year extension at age 29, and Poe signed the same length at age 30. With the veterans playing into their 30s as well, it is fair to assume that the Bears could be getting this type of consistent play much longer than his contract, which lasts through 2022. Goldman will only be 28 in 2022, and likely will deserve another extension for three or four more years of consistent play beyond that.