The Chicago Bears have a lot of cap space, but so many holes. They are going to need to spend big to fix as much as they can this offseason. A big area of need is the defensive line. They missed some targets in free agency last season, and then they traded Khalil Mack and Robert Quinn. They are starting fresh.
Who are some of the top defensive lineman that the Chicago Bears should be considering?
5. Chicago Bears should push the New York Jets for Bryce Huff
This is not a name you hear thrown out there often, and it does make sense because he is a restricted free agent. Still, the Chicago Bears did not let Ryan Bates being tied to the Buffalo Bills stop them from pushing the Bills to pay him more, and they should do the exact same with the Jets and Byrce Huff.
The difference is this year the Bears have more cap space and could really make this happen. Bryce Huff was a 2020 UDFA and will now be entering his fourth NFL season. He is just 24 years old, so the tip of the iceberg is all that we have seen.
Beyond that, because he missed the first three games with an injury and was eased back in, he only had 175 pass rush snaps last season. However, according to PFF Huff ranked third among rushers with at least 150 snaps in win rate, and also ranked fourth in pass rush productivity.
The names around him include Rashad Gary, Myles Garrett, Brandon Graham, Micah Parson, and Nick Bosa.
He was a specialized pass rusher and was excellent in his role. Of course, some of those rushers had double the snaps and thus double the production. There are two ways to view it.
First, he is 24, and he has the goods, so with more playing time he can produce. The other is that this is a small sample and he cannot maintain rushing snap-in and snap-out every week.
The good news is that he will be highly sought after, and could be signed to a reasonable deal because of the unkowns. At the least, the team should push the Jets to pay him in the way they did for Ryan Bates.