Will Al-Quadin Muhammad start for Chicago Bears?
There is no doubt about who the Chicago Bears’ top three edge rushers will be. The team is sticking with Robert Quinn and has Trevis Gipson as well as the addition of Al-Quadin Muhammad to make up their top three pass rushers.
Still, while Quinn is obviously the top dog, there are questions about whether the team will go with Gipson, the player who is from the past regime, or Muhammad, who was on the Colts last season, working with Matt Eberflus across from Quinn on the majority of the snaps.
Muhammad may be the leader in the clubhouse. He played 800 snaps last season for the Colts. That is much more than the 489 snaps that Gipson played. In fact, Muhammad played more snaps last season than Gipson in his entire career.
Muhammad is more experienced, he started last season, and he is in the defensive scheme that he was starting in. For Gipson, it is a change in role, although it could be for the better because he was not much of an off-ball player.
While the scheme and experience favor Muhammad, Gipson can make the case for being the better player.
It was on a lower snap count, but Gipson has an 11.9 Pass Rush Productivity rating and a 19.3% win rate, per PFF. On the flip side, Muhammad is at 6.4 in pass-rush productivity and 17.3% in his win rate.
Against the run, Gipson is at 4.8% in his run stop rate, while Muhammad is at 4.1%. Gipson missed a tackle 12% of the time while Muhammad was at 17.1%
So, all that Muhammad has going for him is the scheme and experience. When the two have been on the field, it typically has been Gipson creating havoc and adding pressure more often than Muhammad.
Next. 5 things to know about Tavon Young. dark
It can be argued that Muhammad only played out of necessity for the Colts, and while he was brought in because he knows the scheme, that can be defined in the locker room, in the meeting rooms, and as a culture setter. That does not mean he will immediately be treated as a starter.
Muhammad is a smart addition for all of the reasons mentioned. Still, the Colts relied on him too often last season and the Chicago Bears would be smart to keep him in a role as a third pass rusher who is used on specific occasions. That means starting Trevis Gipson.