Chicago Bears: Previews and projections for defense in 2018

Defensive Backs

Cornerbacks

On the whole, the defensive backfield constitutes the most stable room in the Chicago Bears’ defensive unit. No, seriously: all four starters from last season (at least later in the season) are back. That whole Quintin Demps thing…let’s just forget that happened.

Now, can they parlay that comfort in Fangio’s defense into more production? In particular, can they take the ball away at a higher clip than they did in 2017?

The Bears made it a point to shore up their cornerback position heading into 2018, shelling out some money to keep both Kyle Fuller and Prince Amukamara in town. On the whole, they sport some pretty affordable contracts as well, making this situation a win-win for the Bears.

Fuller especially can build off of a breakout 2017 campaign that saw him attract plenty of notice around the league.

https://twitter.com/flo_ottis/status/919949701734109184

One way he can do that is plucking a few more footballs out of the air.

Out of the 22 passes Fuller got his hands on in 2017, he only intercepted two. Some of those ended up in the hands of teammates, so that’s not a big deal. But the ones he simply couldn’t come down with himself? Let’s try to at least get that number up to about five in 2018, eh, Kyle?

Out of the 22 passes Fuller got his hands on in 2017, he only intercepted two. Some of those ended up in the hands of teammates, so that’s not a big deal. But the ones he simply couldn’t come down with himself? Let’s try to at least get that number up to about five in 2018, eh, Kyle?

Same goes for Amukamara, who tallied exactly zero interceptions last season.

Safeties

On the backend, the Chicago Bears fortunately have two safeties that compliment each other pretty well.

Adrian Amos comes down into the box to rock ball-carriers while Eddie Jackson roams the deep parts of the field, something Amos doesn’t do as well.

That tandem remained mutually beneficial throughout 2017. Will that be the same in the future?

The Bears have some young talent still to explore in the defensive backfield, namely Deiondre’ Hall, and Amos isn’t guaranteed to return after this season. Could Jackson’s ability to cover up flaws in the deep middle make the Bears comfortable enough to explore other options?

Maybe, but perhaps we’re counting Amos out too soon.

For myself, I’ll predict two interceptions for Amos in addition to his normal productivity as a tackler. Let’s throw in two forced fumbles as well.

Meanwhile, Jackson should up his interception total to at least four. He was agonizingly close at several points as a rookie to snatching a few, and his ball skills will only improve with more time in the NFL.

Outlook

Pumped, Chicago Bears fans? Why not be?

A defense that by many metrics was bordering on being a top-10 unit across the board in 2017 has largely returned in 2018 with a little extra firepower.

On top of that, they have a nice mixture of immediate impact players and high-upside guys in their rookie class. Not everyone will work out, of course, but there’s good reason for optimism.

Expect the Bears to be near the top 10 again in sacks, points and yards allowed (seventh, ninth and 10th in 2017, respectively).

And I expect that they’ll improve on last year’s eight interceptions (tied for 29th). Let’s say they end up middle-of-the-road with 13. Combine that with the crazy rate at which they recovered fumbles last season (first in the NFL with 14 recoveries), and they’ll be on their way to making Chicago a defense to be feared once again.

Next: 5 veterans who must step up for Chicago Bears

This defense was already going to be solid. With a little more fine-tuning, they have the ability to quickly be very good.