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3 Bears Trade Targets Who Would Fit in Dennis Allen's New Defense

By Charlie Smith

Oct 27, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen on the sidelines in the second half against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Oct 27, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen on the sidelines in the second half against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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Dennis Allen was hired as the Bears new defensive coordinator to help bring some head coaching experience to Ben Johnson's staff as well as get a once-vaunted defense back on track after slipping this past season. Allen is considered one of the better coordinators in football, but did not pan out for the Saints in a head coaching role.

From 2017 to 2023, Dennis Allen's defenses never finished lower than 14th, including a couple of top-5 finishes in 2020-21. Make no mistake- the guy can coach defense. Now that he will be returning to a coordinator role instead of leading an entire team, Bears fans are hopeful his defense will shine.

Players oftentimes follow coaches that align with their play style or scheme that fits them both. A common one is when a defense switches from a 3-4 to a 4-3 or vice versa. The edge rushers and interior defensive linemen in those schemes have different skill sets so may perform better in their original scheme versus trying to mold them into a new player.

The good news for the Bears is that Allen will run a base 4-3 which is what they have been running under Matt Eberflus the past three seasons. The biggest difference will be Allen plays much more man coverage and coaches aggressively whereas Eberflus sat in cover 2 zone mainly and tried to prevent the big plays.

The Bears defense has a load of talent, but can always upgrade. The defensive line is one of the biggest needs going into the offseason. Let's take a look at a few possible trade targets to fit in Allen's defense.

1. Sam Hubbard, DE, Cincinnati Bengals

The Bears defense desperately needs another rusher opposite Montez Sweat in order to put consistent pressure on the quarterback. As mentioned earlier, Dennis Allen will run a lot of man coverage so it is pivotal that they can get to the quarterback early to avoid having to cover guys for extended periods of time.

We also know that Allen prefers bigger defensive ends in his scheme and Hubbard definitely fits that at 6,5", 265 pounds. The former third-round pick by the Bengals has had a solid career thus far with 38.5 sacks in 7 years. He has also been dependable as he has played in 13 or more games every year of his career.

The Bengals have some decisions to make this offseason - mainly in regards to star wide receiver Tee Higgins. He is set to hit free agency this offseason if a deal is not made. The Bengals also have to look at next season where they are going to have to extend Ja'Marr Chase. If they plan on bringing back Higgins, then they will need to clear up some space elsewhere and a Hubbard trade could help that.

Hubbard has one year remaining on his deal, but if traded before June 1st the Bengals could save $9.5M in cap space per Over the Cap. The Bears, on the other hand, could get a proven edge rusher in the building and choose to extend him or play him in a prove-it year to help Allen's new defense. He will be 30 soon and coming off only two sacks in 2024, so the asking price may not be too steep.

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