Bolstering a Weak Strong Side for Bears

When the Bears last played the same defense current coach Matt Eberflus plans to use, they had Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs as their MIKE and WILL linebackers the middle and weak side.

On the strong side, or the SAM spot, they had Hunter Hillenmeyer. A former Packers draft pick who the Bears signed after being cut by Green Bay in 2003, Hillenmeyer gave the Bears steady and heady play alongside their two Pro Bowl players for six seasons before concussion issues led to the end of his career.

When the Bears played for the NFC championship in 2010, the last year they won a playoff game, Hillenmeyer's career had come to an end earlier in the season and they used Nick Roach at SAM. But the main starter at SAM in the regular season with 10 starts and in the playoffs was former Rams linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa.

Looking at the Bears roster as presently constructed, there is only one player who definitively fits the SAM role in this defense and he has started there in a base 4-3 only once in his career.

That's Joe Thomas, a career backup linebacker they signed before free agency after he had been with Baltimore's practice squad and got into two games last year but he received no contract for 2022.

The Ravens had him because Lovie Smith's defense tried using him in the classic 4-3 cover-2 style in 2021 for starts at both weak side and strong side and then cut him in October.

Being 31 years old this season, it's obvious Thomas isn't a long-term player for any position but might be a fit as a starter until a rookie gets ready to start.

Thomas has versatility as he has started games at all three 4-3 linebacker positions, including both Mike and Will in a 4-3 for Dallas.

Thomas is 6-1, 230 and can play a position where the main requirement is lining up over the tight end's side and being tough against the run while covering short zones against the pass.

There are other possible candidates for this spot but no one who stands out:

• Noah Dawkins is a younger player with only 18 NFL defensive snaps but is ideal size-wise at 6-1, 235 to play there.

• Caleb Johnson is a bit light to be covering the tight end's side at 6-2, 227. He has a ways to go as a former Division II player with Houston Baptist who got in for only five defensive snaps in a 3-4 last year.

• Ledarius Mack, Khalil's little brother, is 6-1, 237 and played 24 snaps of defense last year in three games but is actually an edge rusher without great lateral quickness. However, he did play some off-ball linebacker in junior college and they might want to try him there.

• Nick Morrow is probably a deep middle linebacker in the cover-2 for passing situations or possibly weak side because he's only 216 pounds. He usually was best deployed in pass coverage with the Raiders. Putting him over a tight end at SAM might not be advisable against the run or even in coverage, when he's going to be outweighed by 30 to 40 pounds.

• The only other player who has been a SAM is Jeremiah Attaochu but he wasn't really an off-ball linebacker. He lined up as pass-rusher on the strong side and at 262 pounds is really a lifetime 3-4 edge rusher who is mis-cast on this new Bears roster.

So it's easy to see the Bears could use another linebacker capable of covering short zones and stopping the run in this draft. Here are the best possible players for this spot in the 2022 draft considering their needs at other positions for earlier rounds with the picks they have.

Aaron Mosby, Fresno State

Considering the need for the Bears to find wide receiver, offensive line and cornerback help earlier in the draft, they'll need to look later in Day 3 and beyond possible Sam linebacker types like Troy Andersen or Quay Walker. Fresno State's Mosby is a bit larger than ideal size at 246 pounds but is 6-4 and that extra reach can help. The most intriguing thing about him is he once was a defensive back. So he could be a fit in the middle, weak side or strong side.

Either way, he is a player comfortable playing in space and could handle covering a tight end with his size. He's rated the seventh-best Sam prospect by NFL Draft Bible.