Chicago Bears: More is needed from Leonard Floyd

The Chicago Bears must get more production out of Leonard Floyd, and it must start this Sunday against the New England Patriots.

Last season, the Chicago Bears defense finished ranked in the top ten of the NFL. This was a pretty amazing accomplishment considering just how little they had in terms of a legitimate pass rush. Akiem Hicks was truly the only reliable member of the front seven to get consistent pressure.

When he was on the field, however, Leonard Floyd wasn’t far behind. In fact, it appeared as though the former ninth overall pick was starting to live up to that billing. When Ryan Pace traded up from No. 11 to No. 9 to select him in 2016, the Bears thought they were getting an extremely versatile player who could drop in coverage, but also get pressure on the quarterback.

The biggest knock on Floyd out of college was his size. There was no question he possessed the speed and quickness to get to the corner and beat offensive linemen. However, there were legitimate questions as to whether he had enough power to push past them. The hope was he would put on the weight and develop the strength such that he wouldn’t have to rely exclusively on his speed. Obviously, a one-dimensional pass rusher isn’t going to be effective.

Last season, before suffering a season-ending injury, Floyd looked great. In only 10 games, he had seven sacks, 22 hurries, and 36 total pressures. According to Pro Football Focus, through five games this season he has four total pressures, zero sacks, zero batted passes, one quarterback hit, three quarterback hurries, and only eight tackles.

Now to be fair to Loyd, he has been playing most of the season with a club on his hand, so this lack of production must be viewed with that in mind. However, the club is off and it’s time for him to start getting more pressure on the quarterback.

Supporters of Floyd will laud his skills in coverage. While nice, there’s a term for outside linebackers who can cover wide receivers but can’t rush the quarterback — and that term is “cornerback.” Now I’m being a little facetious here, but if all he can do is drop in coverage and is not a threat to rush the passer, he can’t be that effective.

What is so frustrating about his lack of production isn’t just that he appears to have taken a step back this season. It’s that he’s taken a step back despite being on a defense where Khalil Mack, Hicks, and Eddie Goldman are the focus of the opposing team’s offensive line. Floyd should be drawing significantly less attention than he did last season, and yet he has been unable to capitalize.

Again, I am willing to give him a bit of a break due to the injury he played through, but the time is now for him to start asserting himself. Perhaps he is on the verge of doing just that, as Vic Fangio dropped some encouraging news about Floyd during his Thursday press conference.

Let’s hope he has a huge game this Sunday because the Bears are going to need him — especially if Mack isn’t 100 percent. If there is a way to get to Brady and impact his performance it’s through pressure. Not blitzing, but good old-fashioned, naturally generated pressure.

If the Bears can apply it from both ends and the middle, they have a chance in this game. However, they will need Floyd to step up in order for that to happen. And now we wait.

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