Chicago Bears: 5 pre-daft position battle previews

Outside Linebacker

Locked in: Leonard Floyd

Currently competing: Sam Acho, Aaron Lynch, Howard Jones

Leonard Floyd is the only guy safe in this area right now. At outside linebacker, Floyd is heavily-invested in after having been selected in the first round two years ago. He’s not going anywhere and will continue to develop under Vic Fangio.

The biggest need right now for the Bears, though, is building depth at the position as well as finding another starter. Chicago signed Aaron Lynch, who played previously under Fangio, and showed a lot of potential when he was at the top of his game.

Other than Lynch, Sam Acho (pictured above) and Howard Jones are two names that are involved. Acho is much more of a roster lock than Jones, having had experience starting as well as being a consistent rotational guy.

The Bears re-signed Acho this spring because they believe in his value to the team in multiple areas. He’s a veteran guy who understands the system and can help newer players catch up to speed. He has also appeared on special teams. Acho is a phenomenal locker room presence — another reason he was brought back.

This year’s draft class features some intriguing prospects at the position and the Bears could choose to go after outside linebacker early. At number eight overall, they could select guys like Marcus Davenport or Tremaine Edmunds — Edmunds being more of a natural inside linebacker.

If they choose to go second or third round, players like Arden Key, Harold Landry or Sam Hubbard may be potential fits. Regardless of what they do here, there is one thing we can count on: Pace will establish hefty competition at this position. Right now it doesn’t look promising, but believe me, it will change drastically in a month or so.