Now that the Chicago Bears have finished ten games and are onto the second half of the 2023 season, it is a good time to look back at the first half of the year and decide which players had the biggest impact. In the standard awards format, we will be handing out awards to see which players were most valuable in each area.
Chicago Bears Team MVP: D.J. Moore
This one should be pretty easy. D.J. Moore has been the best thing that happened to the Chicago Bears this season. The team has not had a wide receiver at his talent level since Alshon Jeffrey, and at the age and production, Moore has shown he has a chance to be one of the best wide receivers in franchise history.
Yes, it is just ten games, but he has been that good. On a team that has been awful, he has been the bright light all year. Moore is averaging 2.26 yards per route run. That is with Tyson Bagent for four games and Justin Fields working through things behind a banged-up offensive line.
For his career, he averages 1.98 yards per route run, so he is even better than we could have thought. One of the crazier stats about Moore is the number of targets that turn into a first down.
His career-high entering the year was 48% of his targets going for a first down. In the past two years, he has had 38% and 40% of his targets move the chains. This year, it is up to 51%. Every time you throw the ball to Moore, there is a better chance you move the chains than anything else. That is reliability. That is why he is the MVP.
Chicago Bears Offensive Player of the Year: Cole Kmet
This is like how the MVP and Offensive Player of the Year are never the same player. Yes, D.J. Moore is the most important offensive player, but if he is the MVP overall, the OPOY award goes to Cole Kmet.
Kmet has been excellent this year. He has had two games where he had nine yards combined as he got used to Tyson Bagent. However, he got on the same page, and in the last three games, he is averaging 56 yards per game.
For the season, he is averaging 41.9 yards per game, which is up from his career high of 30.3. He is averaging 1.53 yards per route run, which is up from his career rate of 1.24. Kmet is breaking out.
We thought there was a chance that this would happen at his age and previous production, but the efficiency has been impressive to see. The Chicago Bears have needed Kmet and have to love what he is bringing in year four.
Chicago Bears Defensive Player of the Year: Jaylon Johnson
The Chicago Bears decided to extend Cole Kmet and bet on what he could become. They decided to challenge Jaylon Johnson to earn a contract. Both tactics appear to have worked. Jaylon Johnson has been excellent since returning from injury.
Since week six, Johnson has allowed 68 yards on 19 targets. His passer rating allowed him 47.9. Last year, it was 96.8, and for his career, it is 95.1. This is the best we are seeing from Jaylon Johnson. The Bears did not trade him because they know how valuable he can be. They know that he ascends into a player that deserves a franchise tag if things do not come together.
He added two interceptions and had a touchdown on one of his picks. Johnson also follows Adam Thielen for Thursday Night Football. He is doing everything you can ask for.
The Chicago Bears are seeing a great year from Andrew Billings, and while TJ Edwards has a ton of tackles, he has issues in coverage. This is an easy choice to go with Jaylon Johnson.
Chicago Bears Rookie of the Year: Darnell Wright
How can you go with anyone but Darnell Wright? First, Wright has not missed a snap this season, and he is doing well. He has had his issues for sure, but he has also faced some serious pass-rushing talent. Just in recent weeks, he saw Cam Jordan, Joey Bosa, Maxx Crosby, and Danielle Hunter. Still, he has not fallen apart.
Wright has all of the makings of a stud right tackle. More than that, who else would you choose? It is nice that Tyrique Stevenson has been able to start every game, but if there is any knock against Jaylon Johnson this year, it is that teams are so eager to target Stevenson why would they not target Johnson?
Stevenson has had some ups but far more downs than Darnell Wright. Gervon Dexter is not trusted on run-downs and is up and down as a pass rusher, and Zacch Pickens is struggling to get on the field for a serious role in anyway.
Tyler Scott and Roschon Johnson have been worked in depth but have not had anything close to the impact of Wright.
We saw Terrell Smith, and with Tremaine Edmunds out, we are seeing small doses of Noah Sewell. Travis Bell and Kendall Williamson have not played, and Bell is gone. The Bears have an obvious choice here.
Chicago Bears Comeback Player of the Year: Jack Sanborn
This was a tough one to call, mainly because there were so few players back from the team last year. The ones who are back have struggled in many ways. Darnell Mooney is back, and so is Eddie Jackson, but neither has shown that they are better or even improving after their injuries.
That leaves us with Jack Sanborn. In some ways, he took a step back because he got a chance to start in the MIKE. He looked good, and then injury ruined any chance he could play that role again. The Bears signed Tremaine Edmunds and TJ Edwards, limiting him to the SAM Role.
Still, Sanborn was playing so well that they would play base against 11-personnel just to keep Sanborn on the field. Now, with Edmunds out, Sanborn has stepped in. The rumblings are quiet, but you can hear people saying that Sanbor has been better in the last two games than anything that Edmunds has put together this year.
Jack Sanborn came back from a season-ending injury and became a valuable SAM linebacker who may be better than the Bears' biggest free agent signing. That gets him the award.
Chicago Bears Most Improved Player: Teven Jenkins
This is another tough one because there are not many players coming back. A lot of them have suffered injuries as well. That includes Teven Jenkins. However, when you think about the impact that Jenkins has on this offense, it is fair to put him here.
Jenkins changed the run game around immediately. The Bears ground attack was at its best when Jenkins stepped in at left guard, and Nate Davis was finally healthy at left guard. They ran all over the Washington Commander front.
Then, he was asked to move to right guard, and Jenkins has been even better. With Darnell Wright next to him, the right side has become a clear strength to run behind.
In the summer, the thought was that the front office was ready to move on from Jenkins. They changed his positions for the second straight offseason, and they have shown little commitment to them. For the second straight year, he forced their hand. He is the most improved even after improving in 2022.
Chicago Bears Best Offseason Addition: Andrew Billings
Yes, this one could be D.J. Moore, but he was our MVP. It could be Darnell Wright, but he was already the rookie of the year. The best move overall may be the first overall pick, which could be the Panthers and, therefore, the Bears' pick. So, we are going with the best signing. That is clearly Andrew Billings.
If we are giving out awards in the middle of the season, we have to acknowledge Billings in some way, so this makes plenty of sense. Billings has been everything the Bears wanted from him.
He has helped completely turn this run defense around. He has brought more than expected as a pass rusher, but with the addition of Montez Sweat, the Bears will ask less of him as a pass rusher.
The Bears signed Billings to a one-year deal, and they immediately extended him before the halfway point of the year. That shows us he is doing everything right and deserves the award.
Chicago Bears Coach of the Year: Jim Dray, tight ends
Most teams can choose the offensive or defensive coordinator for this award. However, the defensive coordinator is gone, and the offensive coordinator remains under fire from the fans. The Bears offense has had issues, and he does not get the credit at this point.
So, which unit has impressed the most? This has to be the tight-end spot. First, Cole Kmet has taken huge steps in the past two years under Dray. You can see his development, and this is the career-year so far. The Bears extended Kmet before the season, showing that they saw this coming.
More than that, the usage of Marcedes Lewis and Robert Tonyan has helped turn around the run game. When Chase Claypool was traded, the Bears leaned into those two, and they delivered. How they are used, and when each is out, there is a job of the tight end coach, and they have been utilized perfectly. If anyone gets this award on a 3-7 team, it is Jim Dray.