Chicago Bears: Stop Saying Tremaine Edmunds is a Fangio Guy

Somewhere along the line, Chicago Bears fans got it in their heads that Virginia Tech linebacker Tremaine Edmunds is the messiah come to rescue their defense.

Look, the kid is a freak of nature. He’s 6’5″, 250 lbs and has lots of speed and agility that isn’t normal for somebody that size. Are there lots of star potential in his future? Of course but the record needs to be set straight on this. Edmunds is a decent player right now. He’s 19-years old with two seasons of starting experience that included 202 tackles and 10 sacks. Yet evaluation of the tape shows an inconsistent player. He’ll make a handful of good plays and then get fooled on a few others. His instinct isn’t quite there and he also has some bad tackling habits

Then there’s the notion that because he’s a really big guy he’s suddenly the ideal linebacker for Vic Fangio. First of all, that’s a misrepresentation. Fangio prefers bigger guys at cornerback. The same has never been true at linebacker. If you don’t believe it, go back through the history of the greatest linebackers he coached and see how tall they stood. You might be surprised to find out that size doesn’t matter as much there.

Instinct and intelligence are valued more by Fangio at linebacker

• Patrick Willis:  6’1″, 240 lbs
• NaVorro Bowman:  6’1″, 230 lbs
• Ray Lewis:  6’1″, 245 lbs
• Vaughn Johnson:  6’3″, 235 lbs
• Sam Mills:  5’9″, 229 lbs

As one can see, size is definitely not a factor in determining the best linebackers Fangio has coached. All of those names did have something in common. They were athletic, instinctive and immensely intelligent. They thought the game out like a defensive quarterback on the field. That’s what Fangio is searching for more than anything. He wants his QB of the defense. Danny Trevathan is a good player but that’s not his thing. Is Edmunds? He’s not dumb but one wouldn’t call him the leader of the defense and as stated earlier his instinct for the position is raw.

Next: 2018 NFL Mock Draft: The Quarterback Double Down Arrives

Meanwhile, Roquan Smith was the leader of one of the best defenses in the country at Georgia and made the national championship. He was a captain on that unit and fits almost the exact profile of those names listed above at 6’1″, 230 lbs. Why isn’t he getting more consideration for the Bears at #8? Mostly because he’s not the big, shiny toy that’s fun to look at Edmunds is. He’s just a better, more proven football player. We’ll which the Bears decide to go for if they indeed target a linebacker this April.