The Chicago Bears aren’t winning football games at the moment, but the defense appears sound.
Though they let up over 20 points for the first time this season, the Bears D turned in another solid performance against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. They held Indianapolis to 306 total yards, and a 3-for-12 conversion rate on third downs.
A key aspect of the Bears’ early defensive success has been the pass rush, aided by preseason trade acquisition Darrell Taylor. Chicago brought in the former Seattle Seahawks second-rounder to cause some havoc up front, and so far, Taylor has delivered.
Taylor will be a free agent after the season, though, and the Bears could face stiff competition to bring him back. Bleacher Report’s NFL Scouting Department predicted on Monday that the Baltimore Ravens will be the team to land Taylor’s services in 2025.
“Odafe Oweh finally looks like the dominant force the Ravens thought he could be when they drafted him in 2021. David Ojabo is still a work in progress, though,” the authors said. “Darrell Taylor is starting to look like the 2022 version of himself that had 9.5 sacks. He would be an intriguing free-agent target for the Ravens defense next season.”
Taylor, 27, had a fantastic first game for the Bears this season against the Tennessee Titans, racking up two sacks and a forced fumble. He hasn’t had the same production in the two games since, but he’s still applied pressure and hasn’t been giving up ground in the run game.
For a 2025 sixth-round pick, Taylor has been a fantastic acquisition so far for the Bears, a team that desperately needed pass-rush help at the start of the year. But soon, Chicago will have to decide whether he’s worth making a long-term member of the defensive line.
How Taylor plays the rest of the way will heavily sway the market for his services. He could end up in a Ravens uniform, a Bears uniform, or another uniform completely, but putting together more big games will help guarantee he lands a cushy contract.
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