Tremaine Edmunds' LB ranking shows his true impact in Chicago may be bigger than most realize ahead of make-or-break year
A constant source of debate in the Chicago Bears fanbase is whether or not linebacker Tremaine Edmunds has been worth the price tag since being signed in 2023.To this day, Edmunds remains one of the largest investments made by general manager Ryan Poles after signing four-year, $72 million deal as a free agent, a deal […]
A constant source of debate in the Chicago Bears fanbase is whether or not linebacker Tremaine Edmunds has been worth the price tag since being signed in 2023.
To this day, Edmunds remains one of the largest investments made by general manager Ryan Poles after signing four-year, $72 million deal as a free agent, a deal that still ranks second in total value and third in average per year at his position.
A bulk of the debate also centers around T.J. Edwards, who was signed to play alongside Edmunds at a much lower price and more than earned his worth by already receiving a second contract with the team this offseason.
As for Edmunds, the 2025 season will be a critical make-or-break year. After this season, the Bears have more leeway to get off the contract if the front office and new coaching staff determine he's no longer the best fit in Chicago.
The reason the Bears would consider moving on his because Edmunds hasn't been able to light up the stat sheet like we've seen from Edwards.
Since 2023, Edmunds has recorded 223 combined tackles, compared to Edwards' 284 tackles. On top of that, Edwards is much more effective as a downhill player, totaling 6.5 sacks and 20 tackles for a loss in two seasons with the team.
Yet, from a league-wide perspective, it's Edmunds who still gets the high praise.
ESPN ranks Tremaine Edmunds 6th among off-ball LBs
On Tuesday, ESPN unveiled the latest Top-10 positional rankings at the off-ball linebacker position voted on by executives, coaches, and scouts from around the NFL.
In this year's ranking Edmunds moved even higher up the board as the 6th-ranked off-ball linebacker, with the highest vote ranking him #3 and the lowest having Edmunds ranked outside the Top-10.
Moral of the story, even those around the league are split on the guy. But, overall, they are much higher on Edmunds than Bears' fans seem to be. The reason why has more to do with his traits than his actual production.
"He has the prototypical physique, athletic ability and speed that you covet in an ILB in today's game," an NFL personnel director said. "He can diagnose playing downhill in the box, he can play sideline to sideline and has the coverage ability to match up in zone or man coverage." – via ESPN's Jeremy Fowler
How can Chicago finally get the most out of Edmunds' traits?
Edmunds' traits are what brought him to Chicago in the first place. Former head coach Matt Eberflus' defense needed a lengthy middle linebacker to defend the pass in the middle of the field in his zone scheme, and Edmunds was solid in that role.
From 2023-2024, Edmunds had five interceptions and 15 pass deflections in coverage by eliminating throwing lanes with his physical size.
With new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen coming in looking to run a more aggressive scheme, things will look different for Edmunds and present more opportunities to show what he can do as an impact player.
Allen plans to rotate Edmunds and Edwards at the WILL and MIKE positions which will give Edmunds more chances to be a downhill player. In the role, Allen can look to exploit his size and speed in a way Eberflus never did.
"Whatever position I am out there, my goal is to make plays," Edmunds said. "Whatever that looks like, I'm going to figure out a way in the system to obviously get my job done and what coach is asking me to do, but at the end of the day I'm out there to make plays and that's what my plan is."
Doing so at a more rounded level can hopefully allow Edmunds to prove himself and live up to such a high position ranking as the player many believe he can be.
