Chicago Bears: Defense should be much better in 2017 if healthy

By David Mamola | Jul 28, 2017

CHICAGO, IL - NOVEMBER 22: Eddie Goldman /

If healthy, the Chicago Bears should have a much improved defense in 2017.

There were high hopes for the Chicago Bears defense entering the 2016 season. The team had added veteran linebackers Danny Trevathan and Jerrell Freeman in free agency, drafted Leonard Floyd in the first round, and were more familiar with Vic Fangio’s 3-4 defense. A lot was expected from the unit.

However, the defense derailed as injuries started to mount. With injuries to Trevathan, Eddie Goldman, Kyle Fuller and Lamarr Houston — just to name a few — the defense failed to live up to the high expectations. At the end of the season, the defense was ranked 15th in yards allowed per game, 24th in points allowed per game, and 22nd in third-down defense.

Despite the disappointing performance, hopes are high yet again for the unit in 2017. There is a lot to like about the defense, health permitting. For one, the front seven should be among the NFC’s best. Eddie Goldman and Akiem Hicks can form one of the more impressive one-two punches in the league, and second-year player Jonathan Bullard hopefully will make significant strides.

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If Pernell McPhee and Floyd can play in all 16 games, they could very well combine for 20 or more sacks. Willie Young provides solid depth, and anything the team can get from Lamarr Houston (who has torn both his right and left ACLs in the past three years) will be considered a bonus.

The health of Danny Trevathan (torn patellar tendon) seems promising, but Nick Kwiatkoski should be able to do a good job filling in for him if needed. Jerrell Freeman is an anchor at linebacker and should easily lead the team in tackles.

The biggest improvement for the defense should come from the secondary. Instead of watching young players go through growing pains, the Bears should have much more reliable starting cornerbacks in Prince Amukamara and Marcus Cooper. Both veterans, along with free agent safety Quintin Demps, should help the defense improve upon the franchise-low eight interceptions the team had in the 2016 season. More takeaways would go a long way to quickly improve the overall rankings of the defense.

Next: NFL Power Rankings 2017: Training camp edition

There are still a lot of “ifs”, but it’s pretty clear that the defense in 2017 should be better than the one in 2016. How much better it will be will likely depend on two things: the growth of younger players and, of course, the big one — health.

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