The first practice of Chicago Bears training camp on Wednesday got off to a great start (for the defense anyway).
Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds set the tone for Dennis Allen's new aggressive defense, intercepting a pass from Caleb Williams over the middle on the very first play of 11-on-11 drills.
It's certainly something we've seen before in Chicago, with Edmunds having intercepted five passes (one a pick-six) since he arrived in 2023.
When asked about the play, Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen shared his high expectations for Edmunds in 2025.
"I'm anticipating him being an exceptional playmaker for us," Allen said. "He's got size, he's got range, he's got speed. It's hard to throw over him. He's got a lot of length there in the middle of the field. I'm excited to see what he can do. That was a good start, but we've got a long way to go."
Allen shared a similar message when first hired. He sees the 6'5", 250-pound Edmunds as a big part of the Bears' new-look defense.
Edmunds has underwhelmed in Chicago
Allen's big vote of confidence in Edmunds' ability to make an even bigger impact is welcome news to Bears fans. They had very high expectations after the two-time Pro Bowler was signed to a four-year, $72 million contract before the 2023 season.
He was coming off a monster year in Buffalo in 2022, where, among linebackers with a minimum of 20% snaps, he ranked fifth in PFF defense score (81.9) and first in coverage (90.0).
Unfortunately, his impact in Chicago has been underwhelming. Especially given that he earns $18 million AAV — fourth-highest on the Bears roster — and nearly double that of the higher-producing, recently-extended Edwards at $10M AAV.
Over the last two seasons, Edmunds had 129 solo tackles, 94 tackle assists, eight tackles for loss, three quarterback hits, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and 1.0 sacks.
While his numbers appear solid, it's the quality of some of those plays that's declined. This is reflected in the steep drop-off in his PFF defense score rank, from a Top 5 linebacker in 2022 to 59th (59.2) in 2024.
Edmunds is still highly regarded within NFL circles
Despite that — and similar to Allen's view — Edmunds is still regarded as a Top 10 off-the-ball linebacker according to a recent poll of NFL executives, coaches and scouts where he ranked sixth.
Edmunds' impact potential was diminished in Eberflus' scheme
With the disconnect between his performance and how he's perceived, it's not hard to determine that Edmunds may not have been fully optimized in former head coach Matt Eberflus' bend-don't-break defense.
Edmunds performed better in Buffalo, where head coach Sean McDermott emphasizes a more aggressive pass rush, less complexity with clearer assignments, and less checks and rules. The latter is designed to empower players to play fast and free, using their instincts to react more quickly to make the play.
Eberflus' defense featured a focus on consistent pressure but less blitzing with a strong focus on principles designed to prevent bigger plays. There were also more checks and rules.
In Edmunds' case, he was used as a middle-of-the-field passing deterrent, which encouraged quarterbacks to throw to the outside. That resulted in less real estate for the secondary to defend. In and of itself, that can be a good strategy. However, Edmunds often played deeper in a more preventative posture versus closer to the box.
That hindered his ability to be in optimal position to more aggressively attack inside the box for run game assistance and be more disruptive in coverage on routes as they develop versus closer to the catch point. That's an interesting strategy for one of the team's highest-paid players — not positioning him for more opportunities to impact the ball.
Certainly, you want Edmunds to be competitive at the catch point, too. But with his speed and ability to equally cover sideline-to-sideline and shallow-to-deep, a more aggressive versus preventative position on most plays could have yielded even better results.
With the Bears' less effective pass rush, the lack of pressure on many plays also led to prolonged passing windows to cover and less big plays made. Edwards saw a similar decline in his ability to affect the passing game with the drop-off in pressure versus his time with the Eagles.
Outlook in Dennis Allen's scheme is brighter
Allen's defensive scheme and philosophy is more similar to McDermott's than Eberflus', especially with the front four. Allen favors a very aggressive style of play, sophisticated pass-rush looks, and blitzing.
Where Allen's defense differs from both McDermott's and Eberflus' is in its much higher use of man coverage. Although like McDermott, Allen has a streamlined design for speed and prioritizes players operating off their instincts in tighter coverage.
For someone of Edmunds' talent, that is a dream scenario. He will be able to play closer to the ball more often. He will have more control over how he covers his assignments and will benefit from greater pass pressure, disrupting throws to make more plays on the ball.
And as he demonstrated in the play below, his range is so wide that even if he plays more shallow, he is still able to backpedal and make a play on the ball. He doesn't need to play as deep as often, unless the down and distance truly warrants it.
In addition, I wouldn't be surprised if Allen occasionally uses him to pressure the quarterback from the interior on delayed blitzes.
None of this is to say that Edmunds didn't make some fantastic plays during the last two seasons. He certainly did. Instead, it's acknowledging that Allen's scheme will better play to his strengths and enable him to make even more.
I can't wait to see what that looks like in 2025.
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