The Chicago Bears signing Al-Quadin Muhammad this offseason is a notable addition. The big reason is that Muhammad spent the last four seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, meaning he has more time working with Matt Eberflus and the defensive staff than any other player on the roster.
While that will help Muhammad, and he will be looked at as a culture starter, he also will not be handed anything. He will have to earn his role like anyone else.
Chicago Bears EDGE Al-Quadin Muhammad advanced stats review
Still, in Indianapolis, he went from 542 snaps to 483 to 612 up to 800 last season. If he gets that many snaps, it would likely be as a starter across from Robert Quinn. Do the advanced stats say that he will keep starting or was he starting last year out of desperation from the Colts, and Matt Eberflu views him as a backup.
According to PFF, he has 13 sacks, 21 hits, 70 hurries, and 104 total pressures over the past four seasons. That comes out to 26 pressures, 3.3 sacks, 5.3 hits, and 17.5 hurries. Last season PFF credited Trevis Gipson with 27 pressures, 10 sacks, one hit, and 16 hurries, so with sacks being a big difference, Gipson was slightly better than the career average of AQM.
One thing that is notable is that while Robert Quinn almost always lined up against the left tackle, and Trevis Gipson always lined up against the right tackle. Muhammad spent 59% of his snaps against the right tackle, and 41% against the left tackle.
Perhaps this is a sign that AQM will back up both, and the split of 59% for Gipson, and 41% for Quinn may fit too. At the same time, it may speak to the idea that Quinn and Gipson will be flipping sides more often because Indy asked their starters to do so.
Either way, when it comes to the productivity of Muhammad, there is a reason why the Bears were able to sign him for cheap that goes beyond familiarity.
Muhammad had a 6.4 pass-rush productivity rating which has him 82nd out of 95 qualified rushers. He is with names such as Dante Fowler, Jonathan Cooper, and Rasheem Green. Muhammad was also better rushing from the right side, and taking on left tackles, although the difference was not major.
He was not as productive but did win one-on-one matchups a little more. Still, he ranked 61st in this area, out of 95 with a 17.3% pass rush win rate.
Lastly, Muhammad had a 4.1% run stop rate. That is as low as it sounds, and he ranked 98th out of 116 qualified defenders. He is with names such as Michael Danna and Shaq Lawson here. Still, another name that unfortunately is down with Muhammad in run stop rate was Khalil Mack. At 4.1% that was his worst rate, and possibly more context into why the Chicago Bears felt right trading him when they did.
Either way, the advanced stats have not been promising for Al-Quadin Muhammad. They paint the picture of a role player being asked to take starter snaps. While the coaching staff may like him, they should keep expectations to the degree of being that role player, and not as someone who will start over Trevis Gipson.