Chicago Bears: 6 Free agent targets to pursue in 2020 offseason
Vonn Bell, Strong Safety
Another defender who had a good, but not dominating, season is safety Eddie Jackson. When he was playing his natural free safety spot, no one was better. He always found his way to the ball and caused turnovers.
He had eight interceptions, three forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries in two seasons as a free safety. Additionally, he returned five of his turnovers for touchdowns. As a strong safety in 2019, he had two interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He had no touchdowns.
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Having Jackson move back to the free safety spot allows him to roam and have the defense help the offense out a little. If he again gets his interceptions in bunches, it gives the Bears offense shorter fields to play. Also, if he scores touchdowns again then the offense doesn’t have to work as hard to score.
A nice pickup for the Chicago Bears would be strong safety Vonn Bell.
Bell isn’t a flashy player but he just does a good job on the field. He’ll give you between 83 to 89 tackles a season. He has 17 quarterback hits. Additionally, he gives the Bears some flexibility. With the New Orleans Saints, he’s played cornerback, linebacker, and both free and strong safety slots. Chuck Pagano can move him around a little to keep offenses off-balance.
Some might ask why Bell would leave a great team like the Saints to go to an unknown in Chicago. Well, as good as the Saints have been, they’ve had three straight heartbreaking losses in the playoffs. Drew Brees is getting up in age now so he could be ready to fall off the cliff.
Also, to have an opportunity to play for an elite unit like the Bears defense and alongside a player like Jackson could prove to be very tempting for Bell. It would also give Jackson a chance to continue his ball hawk ways.