5 Chicago Bears defensive building blocks for future

2. Do Chicago Bears have a legitimate starter in Jack Sanborn?

The trade of Roquan Smith opened up time for Jack Sanborn to start in the middle for the Chicago Bears. This may be the case of a win-win trade because the Ravens filled a hole now, and the Bears may have something for the future.

Fans love to tout tackle stats, but that is not a great measure. Still, overall, Sanborn has done enough to get a starting nod next season. He is excellent in run defense, and both advanced metrics, and the film can verify this.

On the flip side, he did have his struggles in coverage, and anyone watching him play could also verify this. Still, the reality is that they have a starting linebacker who is a UDFA in his second NFL season.

The play may not be elite, and the pay is going to be well below average for a starting player. The Chicago Bears have so many holes on their defense, being able to fill a gap with such a cheap player is huge. It allows them to spend draft picks and money at other positions. Then, in turn, as the players around him improve, the Chicago Bears will have a better view at how his progression looks in year two.

We are not screaming Hall of Fame, but he is a surefire starter, and that is something to build off of.