Should the Chicago Bears sign this former first-round defensive tackle?
By Peter Jurich
On Thursday night, the Los Angeles Chargers released former first-round pick, Jerry Tillery. The 28th-overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Tillery played a few hours away from the Chicago Bears at Notre Dame for four seasons. He accrued 11.5 sacks in his final two collegiate seasons. Tillery had missed the last two practices due to “personal” reasons. A few teams called about him prior to the trade deadline. Clearly, a few teams will be interested in claiming him off waivers.
Chargers waived their former first-round pick Jerry Tillery.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 11, 2022
Should the Chicago Bears claim Jerry Tillery off waivers?
With the Chargers, Tillery accumulated 10.5 sacks through 3.5 seasons and missed only one game during his rookie season. At 6’6.5″ and 295 pounds, Tillery has the frame of a Calais Campbell/Deforest Buckner-type 3 technique. He can eat up space and has the ability to reach high for pass deflections at the line of scrimmage.
Despite Jerry Tillery’s stats and production not reflecting a first-round draft selection, it is undeniable that the 26-year-old player has a lot of intangibles that other defensive linemen simply do not possess.
Considering that the Bears’ defensive front, outside of defensive end, is not terribly deep, it might make sense for Matt Eberflus and Ryan Poles to take a flier on the former Chargers’ first-round pick. As previously mentioned, Eberflus may recognize the similarity between Tillery and Deforest Buckner when it comes to size and frame. Buckner joined Eberflus’ defense in Indianapolis in March of 2020 and instantly reached his full potential.
None of the Chicago Bears starting offensive linemen are playing to a point where Ryan Poles and Eberflus can ignore the possibility of an upgrade. Pairing Jerry Tillery back up with Justin Jones could be interesting too. They were both starters for the Chargers last season.
A player with Tillery’s size can make a lot of roles for the defensive ends and off-ball linebackers significantly easier as they can avoid double teams on the perimeter and see the running/passing lanes more clearly. Considering Tillery is only 26, he would be an interesting piece for this regime to bring in and try out for the back half of this season.
The waiver order is the same as the 2022 NFL Draft order. Therefore, the teams ahead of the Chicago Bears that could also be interested include Jacksonville, Detroit, Houston, New York Jets, New York Giants, and the Carolina Panthers. It’s possible that the Jets or Giants could be interested as both are currently making a run at the playoffs.