Montez Sweat’s place in ESPN’s latest edge rusher rankings says plenty about where the Chicago Bears stand up front.
Jeremy Fowler polled executives, coaches and scouts to identify the NFL’s best edge rushers, and Sweat landed just outside the top 10. He didn’t appear on enough ballots to make the list, but he did receive votes, one of 20 edge rushers to do so. That puts him in a solid spot - around the No. 20 range at his position - but not in the tier of players who can be expected to carry a pass rush on their own.
That’s the heart of the Bears’ problem. Sweat is good, and better than most teams’ top starter, but he’s still on the edge of star territory rather than firmly inside it. Chicago has one strong edge rusher, not the kind of dominant centerpiece some other teams can lean on.
The Texans, for example, had two players in the top 10. The Jaguars had two players receive votes.
The Steelers had T.J. Watt at No. 7, with Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig also drawing votes.
In those cases, teams are either built around a true headliner or have enough depth around him to make the whole unit dangerous.
Sweat is grouped with players like Highsmith, Herbig, Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen. That kind of talent can be a real problem when it comes in pairs or as part of a rotation. On its own, though, it doesn’t always overwhelm an offense.
Jaelan Phillips is another useful comparison. He also received votes in the top 10, and after a down year with the Miami Dolphins, he got traded to the Philadelphia Eagles and quickly put his name back on the map. If he had stayed in Miami all season, he likely wouldn’t have drawn the same level of attention.
For the Bears, the ranking leaves them with a clear choice: hope Sweat climbs into the top 10 and becomes the kind of force who can anchor a room, or find another edge rusher in that fringe top-20 range who can take some of the load off him. Either way, this list made the need obvious.
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