Chicago Bears Free Agency: Top 5 Players They Should Pursue

Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Brandon Graham, OLB

The Shea McClellin experiment should be over…now…really.

McClellin was one of Phil Emery’s mistakes, and a glaring reason why he is no longer in Chicago. Instead of recognizing his ineffectiveness and cutting his losses, he doubled down on him and moved him from defensive end to outside linebacker. He even lost weight and declared himself ready to take the position.

Well, McClellin proved he was not ready for prime time. He did not do much at linebacker. He recorded one sack, which came in Week 2. He also missed a quarter of the season, and had just 24 tackles.

The Bears have to look for someone new at that position. With Jonathan Bostic probably manning the middle linebacker slot, and Christian Jones getting a shot at weak side linebacker, someone will need to patrol the outside, because it won’t be McClellin.

The Bears should take a look at Brandon Graham.

The Philadelphia Eagles moved up in the 2010 NFL draft to pick Graham in the sixth round. They passed up players like Earl Thomas and Jason Pierre-Paul. The fans would not forget, and no matter what he did, they would bring up the other players in comparison.

When Chip Kelly arrived to Philadelphia and switched the defense to a 3-4, Graham has flourished. In 23 games played under Kelly, Graham has five sacks, four forced fumbles and six tackles for loss. In 40 games, McClellin has 7.5 sacks and ZERO forced fumbles.

In the 3-4, Fangio needs to have a pass rusher off the edge, and Brandon Graham could be that guy.