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Shaw Local is counting down the top 25 most important Bears for the 2023 season.
What makes one player more important than another? That’s subjective, of course. But for our purposes it comes down to this: Are the Bears worse off if this player can’t play? Does this player have untapped potential or past greatness to live up to? Is his story going to be one fans follow closely this season?
The best player on the team isn’t always the most important, but he certainly can be. We will release one player every day between now and the start of training camp.
No. 19 DeMarcus Walker
Position: Defensive end
NFL experience: Seventh season
Last year’s ranking: N/A
Looking back: The Bears finished the 2022 season with a league-worst 20 sacks over 17 games. They ranked 31st in sack rate, reaching the QB on only 4% of snaps. The organization traded away its best pass rusher, Robert Quinn, midway through the season. Safety Jaquan Brisker led the team with four sacks. Of all the defensive linemen, tackle Justin Jones and defensive end Trevis Gipson led the way with three sacks each.
That’s why the Bears signed free agent DeMarcus Walker to a three-year, $21 million contract worth $15 million in guaranteed money. Walker comes to Chicago after totaling seven sacks last season with the Tennessee Titans. Walker’s seven sacks marked a career high. In total, he has 19.5 career sacks over six NFL seasons. He was a second-round draft pick of the Denver Broncos in 2017.
The Bears failed to address the pass rush in the draft. General manager Ryan Poles said at the time that his front office “can’t fix everything at a high level in one swoop.”
Looking forward: The Bears might not be done adding veteran pass rushers for 2023. There still remain several intriguing free agents on the market who they could plug into the lineup immediately. But, as of now, Walker is the top edge rusher on this roster. If that is still the case come Week 1, the Bears need Walker to play at a high level.
They wouldn’t have offered a three-year contract if they didn’t think Walker could be a part of their plan for several years. The Bears like his willingness to be a vocal leader. The front office appears to believe his seven-sack season last year was the beginning of a breakthrough. Now, Walker has to prove that he can replicate it and, potentially, surpass it.
If the Bears want to be in the playoff hunt late in the season, the pass rush has to be vastly improved. Walker will be key to that effort. Walker was the only significant addition the Bears made at defensive end. The linebackers and secondary could be greatly improved, but if the defensive line can’t reach the opposing quarterback, that could be a fatal flaw for this defense.
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