Chicago Bears: It’s Leonard Floyd’s time to shine

Pain is one way to overcome weakness

The Chicago Bears have to be excited to see their 2016 first-round draft pick overcome injuries and actually play in all 16 games last year. Injuries are difficult to predict, but when a player is injured year after year, they become “injury-prone”. Just think about Kevin White. How many called for his head and declared him a bust?

Leonard Floyd has yet to be criticized so harshly. He at least played in the majority of games each season. He has shown flashes over his first three seasons too. Therefore, bust is not a term used to associate with Floyd.

Elite is not a word to associate with Floyd either. Potential is floating around, but this year is the year potential needs to show up on paper. More importantly, Floyd needs to become more consistent. Every season, Floyd has started out slow. If he is going to explode and become elite, he needs to come out of the gate stronger.

In his rookie season, Floyd recorded a 0.5 sack in the first game. He then went three games without a sack or QB hit. In his fifth game, he actually had three QB hits and two sacks. This is when his numbers started coming in bunches. Floyd sacked the quarterback 6.5 times over a six-game span. The sacks stopped after that though. Again, consistency needs to happen.

In his second year, Floyd only played in 10 games. Again, Floyd has a slow, inconsistent start. He does not record a sack until the fourth game of the year. He then records four of his 4.5 sacks over a four-game span. He showed progress though despite having a lower sack total. He was consistently pressuring and hitting the quarterback as he finished with 12 QB hits in 2017.

Now we look at last season. Did the club on Floyd’s hand slow him down, or was it that he is just a slow starter? Floyd did not record a sack until the ninth game of the season. He also only had two QB hits before the ninth game. His second half of the season was a different story than the first half though.

Over his last eight games, Floyd notched four sacks and nine QB hits. He also recorded 19 of his 34 solo tackles. Speaking of solo tackles, that is another weakness for Floyd. He does not have an issue tackling from a fundamental standpoint, but with only 34 solo tackles on the season, Floyd limits his overall production. He is not the strongest run defender despite improving since being drafted.

Floyd’s consistency issues could be attributable to his leaner frame. This could also be a reason for some of his injury issues. Even though Floyd has been able to maintain his weight gain since college, he is still very lean. This is evident at times when he is trying to shed blocks during runs or when he is unable to use his speed to get past the outside edge when rushing the quarterback.

Rumors in camp swirl around what the team believes Leonard Floyd will do in Pagano’s defense in 2019. If he can take the next step he could ensure a Floyd and Khalil Mack tandem for years to come.