Every NFL team is looking to find the next Zack Baun to transform their defense. The Chicago Bears are no exception to that.
Last year's Bears defense was 27th in the NFL in total defense, allowing 354.3 yards per game. Even though they kept teams out of the end zone fairly well, allowing 21.8 points per game, those yardages consumed a lot of clock and hurt them in multiple close games.
With new head coach Ben Johnson, Chicago put a lot of focus on the offense to build around their second-year quarterback Caleb Williams. The only problem is that while they did add pieces on defense, it wasn't enough to silence the questions surrounding their depth.
Going into the 2025 training camp, the Bears need one of their more unknown players to step up to the plate and become the sleeper defender Baun was for the Philadelphia Eagles. Luckily for Chicago, there is a guy who could surprise everyone.
Noah Sewell is ready to shine in the spotlight in Chicago
A lot of focus has been on rookie linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II, as he could be one of the three starters with T.J. Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds. Hyppolite still has to compete with Sewell for that final spot, and it isn't a given for the first-year man.
Sewell was a Day 3 pick for the Bears, and Chicago selected him in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Incredibly, he was 21 at the time he got drafted and had to work his way into finding some playing time.
Through his first two years, Sewell has found himself on special teams, having played only 32 snaps on defense over the last two seasons, while playing over 70% of the special teams snaps, and has appeared in 22 games. His career stats so far include 13 tackles and two forced fumbles.
Baun had a similar path in his first four years with the New Orleans Saints, as in three out of the four years, he played at least 79% of the snaps on special teams in the regular season. That was significantly reduced in Philadelphia last year as he became an All-Pro linebacker.
Sewell could be facing the same situation as Baun, as he has a legitimate chance to get playing time on defense and could see the field less on special teams. Going up against Hyppolite will be a challenging task since he has impressed the coaching staff so far.
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Don't count out the 23-year-old third year man as Sewell knows this is his opportunity to shine and will make the most of it.