The Chicago Bears didn’t have a single Pro Bowl representative last year, but the team’s big 2018 turnaround has several guys on the cusp of all-star status.
Outside linebacker Khalil Mack, free safety Eddie Jackson, cornerback Kyle Fuller, and return specialist Tarik Cohen are the leading vote-getters among NFC players at their respective positions, and I am one happy blogger.
This is a big deal. It’s been a while since the Bears have had multiple players worthy of this recognition. Nothing says the organizational rebuild is going well like having players performing at a high level and fans acknowledging their play by showering them with Pro Bowl votes. Oh, and wins. Wins says that too.
Jokes aside, this is truly a testament to Bears fans who have suffered through years where Pro Bowl talk was limited to players we only wished were on our favorite team and those who were more usually on our fiercest rivals. I suppose this could also be viewed as a sign that GM Ryan Pace is doing something right.
Think about it. Pace drafted Jackson and Cohen in the fourth round in 2017, then watched them grow into playmakers for their respective units within the first two years as professionals. He then creatively retained Fuller as a free agent after his breakout year, only to watch the once-maligned corner surpass his career high in interceptions with five games remaining to get more. And then there’s Mack, the player Pace mortgaged the future to acquire and bring the Bears a prosperous present … and probably a pretty awesome future, too.
The Bears have good players who are now popular and the fans are letting others know about it by way of a Pro Bowl vote. Good job all around, guys.
Of course, there is still work to be done. You can continue to vote your favorite Bears players who aren’t among the leading vote-getters *cough AKIEM HICKS cough* into the Pro Bowl here. Your vote counts, so let your voice be heard.
You can take a look at the complete list of top vote-getters below:
No #DaBears players among top 10 Pro Bowl vote-getters overall, but Mack, Jackson, Fuller and Cohen each lead their respective positions in NFC. pic.twitter.com/dne60U5Fm3
— Arthur Arkush (@ArthurArkush) November 28, 2018