Chicago Bears: Kylie Fitts could carve out a niche role

Sixth-round rookie outside linebacker Kylie Fitts out of Utah could carve-out a nice role with the Chicago Bears defense.

The Chicago Bears used their sixth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft on Utah pass rusher Kylie Fitts. The 6-4, 263-pound redshirt senior will play outside linebacker for the Bears and has just one job: get after the quarterback. Fitts possesses ideal height/weight for an outside linebacker and has the speed and first-step quickness that teams covet.

The Bears desperately needed pass rush help heading into the draft yet only took Fitts to try to fill the void. There’s a lot of pressure on the young rookie to contribute right away. He’s not a great run stuffer, but on obvious passing situations, he could carve out a nice role. The Bears figure to start Leonard Floyd and Aaron Lynch at outside linebacker, with veteran Sam Acho and possibly Isaiah Irving serving as depth.

Fitts’ biggest issue in college was staying healthy. He missed several games due to injuries and played-through injuries as well. As a result, it’s hard to find tape of Fitts fully healthy. The tape that is out there, however, is quite impressive. You can see his quick burst off the edge and the ability to finish plays. Getting coached by Vic Fangio will also hopefully help Fitts reach his potential.

The Bears don’t need Fitts to play 60 plays per game. In passing situations, the Bears can roll Fitts out and have him focus solely on getting pressure on the quarterback. A good blueprint of what Fitts’ role could possibly be is Mark Anderson. The Bears drafted Mark Anderson in the fifth-round of the 2006 NFL Draft and made him a situational pass rusher. Anderson thrived in that role and racked-up 12 sacks in his rookie season.

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The Bears need Fitts to stay healthy and produce because they’re still lacking depth at the outside linebacker position. Here’s hoping Fitts can have similar success that Anderson found in his rookie season.