Chicago Bears: 5 must-know facts about Khalil Mack trade

Which players are impacted most?

This is where it gets fun. Analyzing a trade like this is easy to do based purely on stats alone, but when you look at how this Bears defense is constructed, Mack’s arrival is going to make such an impact that I don’t even know where to begin.

Let’s start with the obvious. Assuming Leonard Floyd is back and (somewhat) healthy enough to go for Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers, he will see a lot less attention than he’s used to. Prior to acquiring Mack, Floyd was realistically the only true threat off the edge on this Bears roster.

If Floyd plays to his potential, he could wind up with anywhere from 6-to-12 sacks in any given season. He still has yet to peak, but with a player like Mack on the other side, things just got a whole lot easier for Floyd.

Second, look at a guy like Akiem Hicks at the five-technique. Hicks already had himself a great season last year, finishing with 8.5 sacks. Now that he has both Floyd and Mack rushing off the edge, it is going to be very difficult for offenses to double-team the big man.

In fact, I’d say most teams will be forced not to double-team Hicks. What happens when you do? Let’s say you, for some reason, double-team both Hicks and Mack. There will be someone running free, and it’ll likely be Floyd.

I can’t even believe I’m going there, because to double-team two pass rushers would be near-suicide for an offense. Very rarely can you double-team two pass rushers and survive. Typically, that comes in a prevent-type situation.

On an every-down basis, the Bears will likely have a single blocker on two of the three of their best pass rushers in Hicks, Floyd and Mack. This is going to be fun.