How the Bears Satisfied Their Speed Needs in Free Agency and Other Bullets

Mar 17, 2019

It’s Selection Sunday and March Madness is about to be lit. Here’s hoping your favorite school makes it all the way. Unless it’s Duke, of course.

Justis Mosqueda of Bleacher Report calls the Bears’ signing of Coradarrelle Patterson the team’s smartest decision of the offseason. Considering the Bears’ need to add speed, a game-breaking return specialist, and a capable receiver at the back end of the depth chart, Patterson’s signing checked all the right boxes.

I’m looking forward to seeing what Cordarrelle Patterson can do in this Bears offense:

https://youtu.be/BKNaKC80SDs

Shoutout to my buddy Zack for putting this on our radar. Jet sweeps are a nice little wrinkle to modern offenses and it’s an alternative way to get the running game in gear. We’re likely to see more of it in 2019.

Patterson is the type of player Bears fans would watch other teams have and use to perfection and leave us wondering why their favorite team couldn’t have a player like that, playing for coaches like that, and in a system like that. Well, now the Bears do have that player, those coaches, and that system. One of the reasons the Bears up-swing came last year was because they were able to use speed to their advantage. With Patterson, Taylor Gabriel, Tarik Cohen, and Anthony Miller able to provide that element to the offense, it makes the Bears awfully dangerous when they’re all on the field at the same time.

I don’t want to add Marvin Hall to that group just yet, but you can see why I’d want to:

https://youtu.be/wstq7C_dnKk

Let’s give it a different perspective:

The #Bears have signed former #Falcons WR Marvin Hall Jr., one of the fastest players in the NFL, source said. He was recorded at 23 MPH last year.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 15, 2019

That type of speed will get you a ticket in a school zone.

Seriously, *someone* is going to be open if you put all those potential playmakers on the field together. The variety of areas the Bears should be able to attack on the field should allow for big play potential on any given snap. If Mitch Trubisky takes the next step, watch out!

And to think, Marvin Hall might be more than just a token speed guy. Browsing through the Falcons’ snap counts via Pro Football Reference, Hall was in on 203 special teams plays – or 46.1% of that phase’s snaps. As a point of comparison, Josh Bellamy played on 245 special teams snaps (or 57.7%). A strong training camp performance could solidify Hall’s spot on the roster by taking over Bellamy’s role. It’s probably too early to think about that, but it’s something to store away in the back of your mind for when the time comes.

Mike Davis isn’t a burner, but he is coming off a career year:

New #Bears running back Mike Davis is coming off of the best season of his career pic.twitter.com/2n4p6sYnaF

— PFF CHI Bears (@PFF_Bears) March 17, 2019

Davis figures to be in line for a role that best suits his skills as the third running back in a rotation with Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen. The Bears prioritized Davis enough to sign him early in the free agency process, so there must have been something they really liked about him. Surely, we’ll see what that is once training camp and the preseason rolls around. To be clear, it would have been nice to see the Bears land a player with more experience and a longer track record of success, but the small snippet of tape that’s out there on Davis suggests there is some upside if he is used properly. So long as the Bears can figure out how to best utilize this collection of backfield playmakers, the running game will improve from what we saw last year.

An update on the possibilities of the Bears getting a compensatory pick in 2020:

Looking at the #Bears current FA haul & who they've lost.

Right now, they'd be in line for a 4th round comp pick in 2020 (due to Amos). Everything else cancels each other out so far.

Still have Lynch & Witzmann that can help.

Cut off for 7th last year (AAV): $2.5M & a 6th: $4M

— Aaron Leming (@AaronLemingNFL) March 17, 2019

Old friend Marcus cooper is staying in Detroit:

The #Lions have agreed to terms with CB Marcus Cooper on a one-year contract. pic.twitter.com/oOOd4lVXKb

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) March 16, 2019

Cooper earned a 90.0 grade in 39 snaps with the Lions last season. It’s a small sample, but one that was ridiculously good for the ex-Bears corner. I’m not sure that’s sustainable, but Detroit could use all the help it can get in the secondary.

Speaking of ex-Bears corners, Bryce Callahan had the Broncos in his sights the whole time:

Bryce Callahan said a couple other teams were interested in him but "the Broncos were always my top pick."

— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) March 16, 2019

Johnny Manziel SZN:

Welcome to The Alliance, @JManziel2. pic.twitter.com/CO1z4eiDLb

— The Alliance (@TheAAF) March 17, 2019

The Heisman Trophy winner gets to try his hand in the Alliance of American Football under Bears legend Mike Singletary. Good luck, Johnny.

written by

Luis C. Medina

Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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