Mack fighting back
Whether the former All-Pro pass rusher can still dominate a big question heading into camp
The only thing everyone wants to know about the Chicago Bears is when the Justin Fields era will begin.
The rookie quarterback’s time figures to come this season, so however coach Matt Nagy and his staff arrange reps in training camp with veteran Andy Dalton will be under the microscope. Perhaps it will turn into a full-fledged competition for the starting job from Day 1, in which case Fields could state his case with a strong preseason. Maybe the plan is for Dalton to start initially to ensure Fields isn’t pushed into action before he’s ready.
Either way — and Nagy has been short on details to this point — there’s growing intrigue regarding how this will unfold, and the questions surrounding Fields’ development plan are endless.
Plenty of other storylines will begin to play out in the remainder of the offseason program and heading into training camp. Let’s ask 11 questions.
1. Can second-round pick Teven Jenkins nail down the left tackle job and excel?
Jenkins better be able to take the job and run with it because it’s unclear what the fallback plan would be after the Bears released veteran Charles Leno, designating him as a post-June 1 cut to clear $9 million in cap space.
There isn’t a player on the roster with an NFL start at left tackle, and the Bears are placing a great deal of faith in Jenkins — who primarily was a right tackle at Oklahoma State but did make seven starts at left tackle — to emerge as a frontline player as he takes over for Leno, who made 93 consecutive regular-season starts at the position.
Jenkins clearly has the size to be a physical presence, but it’s yet to be seen if he has the athleticism to fit in a scheme that wants to be wide open running RPOs and zone reads. If not, the Bears could consider Alex Bars, who otherwise could be ticketed for a super sub role, or potentially try Cody Whitehair, who has played all three interior spots but likely is earmarked for left guard right now.
This is Jenkins’ job to lose and the Bears are betting on him working out; otherwise, line coach Juan Castillo will be forced to do some juggling.
2. What will the depth chart look like at wide receiver after Allen Robinson and Darnell Mooney?
A ton of playing time is up for grabs, and the Bears are expecting big things from Mooney, who set a franchise record for receptions by a rookie wide receiver with 61 in 2020. Nagy has compared him to DeSean Jackson and Tyreek Hill, and that has created expectations for a big step forward in Year 2.
There were 996 snaps that went to wide receivers other than Robinson and Mooney last season, excluding Cordarrelle Patterson, who was on the field for 201 plays but lined up in the backfield a fair amount. Nagy has tried pumping up Anthony
Miller as he enters his fourth season, but it’s best to take a believe-it-when-you-see-it approach with him.
Damiere Byrd could push for time along with rookie Dazz Newsome. Riley Ridley barely could get on the field the last two years, so expecting a breakthrough might not be realistic. Personnel groupings in training camp and preseason are worth tracking.
3. Can Sam Mustipher build off the second half of last season?
The Bears stumbled into a pleasant discovery when Mustipher was forced into action at center midway through 2020, playing so well it led to a starting job the rest of the season.
Mustipher was able to get everyone on the same page. The former undrafted free agent has a great opportunity to settle into the job.
4. How will Tarik Cohen fare returning from a torn ACL?
Cohen was lost for the season in Week 3, so barring something unexpected, he should be good to go in training camp.
He was a dangerous player in 2018, when he averaged 4.5 yards per carry and 10.2 yards per reception, but he couldn’t get loose the next season. It will be a challenge for Nagy to take advantage of Cohen’s openfield ability as he returns to health.
5. Will Germain Ifedi be a steady option at right tackle?
When the Bears signed Ifedi a year ago, they did so with the idea of moving him inside to right guard. They thought he would be better there than at right tackle, where he spent most of four seasons with the Seattle Seahawks.
After Bobby Massie went down with a knee injury and more dominoes fell on the line, Ifedi found himself back outside at right tackle, where he started the final six games. He played well enough to earn a one-year, $4.25 million contract, and with fifth-round pick Larry Borom in the mix, he will have to hold off the rookie, who could be part of the plan moving forward.
6. What is the next step for Cole Kmet?
The secondround pick showed incremental growth last season that can be tracked by his playing time, which steadily increased. Kmet has the ability to help in the running game and be an effective passing target in the middle of the field.
“We have outlined some things in our Zoom calls during the Phase 1 part of OTAs,” tight ends coach Clancy Barone said, “and going back looking at all the snaps and things he can certainly get better at, everything from technique to seeing what the defense is pre-snap and post-snap. Those are things that often times the guys get figured out during preseason and didn’t have that chance last year.”
If the Bears are to make major advances on offense, Kmet needs to be part of increased production from the position.
7. What tweaks will firstyear coordinator Sean Desai make? The Bears turned to a Vic Fangio pupil in Desai to lead the defense after a two-year run by Chuck Pagano. The hope is the move will restore some of the mojo the unit last experienced in 2018.
The Bears defense was dominant at times under Pagano but fell off during the second half of last season. Desai won’t be reinventing how the unit plays — and Mike Pettine was hired as a senior assistant to lend a hand to the first-time coordinator — but there should be some slight modifications.
8. How big of an impact will the return of Eddie Goldman make? The Bears have said only positive things about the nose tackle, who opted out because of COVID-19 last year. He’s an elite run stuffer, and when he’s in the middle of the line the Bears are significantly better against the run. That’s key as the defense slumped to No. 15 against the run last year.
Goldman should be in the prime years of his career at 27, but after taking a year off, it will be interesting to see how he returns.
9. Will Robert Quinn bounce back from a disappointing season? The Bears’ major offseason plan a year ago was to ramp up the pass rush, and the key move was swapping out former firstround pick Leonard Floyd for the free-agent addition Quinn (five-year, $70 million contract with $30 million fully guaranteed).
That never panned out as Quinn, who was joining his fourth team in as many seasons, had only two sacks while Floyd had 10½ for the Los Angeles Rams.
The 31-year-old Quinn should have some gas left in the tank, but the challenge is on Desai to bring out the best in Quinn, who had four consecutive seasons with 8½ sacks or fewer before posting 11½ with the Dallas Cowboys in 2019.
10. Will a healthy Khalil Mack be a dominant force again? Mack sho wed up on the injury report last season with four different issues, and at the end of the year the team said a shoulder injury was problematic but did not require surgery.
Mack still is going to command extra attention from offenses, but as one of the highest-paid defenders in the league, he needs to be able to take over games. If not, the Bears are going to have a ton of money sunk in a very, very good player who’s being paid at an elite level.
11. Is Eddie Jackson primed for a bounce-back season?
It stands to reason that Desai, who served as the safeties coach last season, will know better than anyone how to position Jackson to best use his abilities.
Jackson emerged as a legitimate ballhawking center fielder in 2018, when he made six interceptions, but he has just two since (both in 2019) and sloppy open-field tackling plagued his 2020 season.
The Bears rewarded Jackson in January 2020 with a contract that made him the highest-paid safety in the league, so he needs to play as one of the game’s best.