5 things to know about Chicago Bears new DL Armon Watts
4. How Armon Watts stacks up in Chicago Bears DL room
As noted, Watts will likely be the third man in the Chicago Bears’ defensive line rotation. They only kept four defensive linemen, so all four will be seeing the field in some capacity. Mike Pennel and Angelo Blackson are experienced veterans, although neither has held down a legitimate starter role.
Justin Jones is one year older than Watts. Below, you can see how the four compare since Watts has entered the NFL in 2019.
| Tack | Tack | Tack | Tack | Fumb | Fumb | Def | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Player | From | To | AV ▼ |
G | Solo | Ast | QBHits | TFL | Sk | FF | FR | Int |
| 1 | Justin Jones | 2019 | 2021 | 16 | 36 | 56 | 45 | 12 | 12 | 4.0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | Angelo Blackson | 2019 | 2021 | 15 | 48 | 50 | 37 | 18 | 9 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Armon Watts | 2019 | 2021 | 7 | 40 | 39 | 51 | 13 | 3 | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Mike Pennel | 2019 | 2021 | 3 | 32 | 35 | 39 | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Justin Jones did not do much as a rookie, and the veterans have always been in similar roles so it is a fair comparison. It also gives us a good breakdown of how the snaps will be divided as they are sorted by approximate value.
Justin Jones and Blackson have been about equally valuable. Watts has better pass rush numbers but is well below in tackles. Blackson also has five more QB hits, despite two fewer sacks.
Either way, Watts has been a bit less valuable than these two, and he is likely to fill in behind both as the rotational third defensive lineman. Pennel is a depth lineman who can play nose tackle when asked to.
Overall, that is how you should expect things to shake up.