Undrafted Free Agents Could Find Immediate Edge Roles For Bears

Few who follow the Chicago Bears were paying attention to Jack Sanborn at this time last year. But the undrafted linebacker from the University of Wisconsin would make his presence known during training camp and the regular season.

Sanborn stepped into a major role after General Manager Ryan Poles traded Roquan Smith at mid-season. He went on to start six games and rack up 64 tackles, which was sixth on an underperforming defense. His reward is to enter 2023 as a returning starter on a defense that remains in transition.

Poles focused on the defensive interior in the draft, selecting Florida’s Gervon Dexter Jr. in the second round and South Carolina’s Zaach Pickens in the third round. He did not use any of his draft capital on edge rushers, creating an immediate opportunity for two undrafted players to follow in Sanborn’s footsteps.

There’s nothing guaranteed for the University of Houston’s D’Anthony Jones and Arizona’s Jalen Harris. But barring the late signing of an edge rusher, they will get an unusually good chance to work their way into the plans of head coach Matt Eberflus and defensive coordinator Alan Williams.

The Bears have made only minor upgrades to their defensive end spots after ranking last in the NFL with 20 sacks a year ago. They signed the Tennessee Titans’ DeMarcus Walker to a three-year, $21 million contract, putting him opposite Trevis Gipson on the top tier of the depth chart. But Walker is with his fourth team in four years after starting only 13 games in a six-year career.

Poles did sign free agents Rasheem Green and Terrell Lewis to one-year contacts as depth pieces. They will have to outperform the unproven newcomers, Jones and Harris, to step into significant spots in the defensive rotation.

Jones had eight sacks and five forced fumbles last year for Houston. He also had 14 tackles for losses, making him one of the most disruptive defenders in the American Athletic Conference. He is listed at 6-2, 270, and wasn’t judged as draft worthy after running a 5.15 40-yard dash.

Harris played parts of six seasons in Tucson, accumulating 13 1/2 sacks without any one overly productive season. He had 51 tackles last year. He is listed at 6-5, 254 and looks the part of an edge rusher more than Jones, in part because of long arms and a wing span that ranked in the 96th percentile of draft prospects.

While the Bears have the money to invest in a late signing — Spotrac says they are holding onto $31.6 million in cap space, the most in the NFL — it’s possible they believe they can fill their needs without tying themselves to another veteran.

Jadeveon Clowney, who was ranked 27th among 119 qualifying edge rushers per Pro Football Focus, heads the list of unsigned free agents at the position. But under Poles the Bears have shied away from players who are already 30 years old, rebuilding with players who can contribute for more than one or two seasons.

The two most impactful targets appear to former Jacksonville Jaguar Dawuane Smoot and Yannick Ngakoue, although Ngakoue muddied the waters by saying he wants to play for a team that will contend in 2023. Spotrac estimates Ngakoue’s market value at $59.2 million over four years; Smoot’s value on a new deal is projected to be about half that — $27.6 million over two years.

The issue hanging over Smoot is his recovery from a torn Achilles tendon in Week 16 of last season. The Jaguars have explore re-signing him but even they seem to be proceeding cautiously.

There’s seemingly no ideal edge rusher in the wings for the Bears to sign. The inventory of players on hand, including unknown commodities like Harris and Jones, could serve as a bridge to next year’s class of free agent edge rushers, which could include the likes of Chase Young, Nick Bosa and Josh Allen.