Chicago Bears: Bold predictions for the defense in 2019
By Ryan Heckman
2. Bilal Nichols will make the Pro Bowl
I think Matt Nagy had a little bit to do with this pick last year. In the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft, Ryan Pace and the Bears selected Bilal Nichols out of Delaware. Don’t forget, Nagy played for those same Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens.
Nagy and Pace knew what they were doing. Nichols will end up being one of the steals of the draft, but it could be harder to notice on a defense like the Bears. For a few years, Chicago has been trying to find a solidified starter opposite Akiem Hicks, and they finally found him in Nichols.
Last year, the Delaware product ended up starting six games for the Bears once they decided to unleash him. To begin the season, we saw the same mix of both Roy Robertson-Harris and Jonathan Bullard, with a sprinkle of Nichols here and there. As the season wore on, it was clear who the best of the bunch was — it’s Nichols.
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His rookie year, Nichols posted 3.0 sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and seven quarterback hits. This, of course, was in limited time. If you simply take those numbers and multiply them by 2.5, which would give him 15 starts instead of six (for simplicity’s sake), here’s what you’d see: 7.5 sacks, five forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and 18 quarterback hits.
Are those numbers alone good enough to get him to the Pro Bowl? Maybe, maybe not. But, playing on the league’s best defense won’t hurt.