Bears Need Rapid Growth from Dominique Robinson

As the final days of last season wound down, Bears coach Matt Eberflus received an obvious media question based on individual performances.

Was defensive end Dominique Robinson merely a rookie needing to grow into the role or was there another explanation why he didn't have a sack after the first game of the year?

"I think he's a very mature guy, but I do want to see pressure on the quarterback," Eberflus said. "I want to see him get home. I want to see him be able to affect the passer.

"That's what defensive ends are called to do. They're there to affect the passer and we want to see that with either quarterback pressure or just sacks."

The offseason came and went and, in reality, the Bears haven't brought in someone who projects to keep Robinson from playing a role as an edge rusher again.

Neither DeMarcus Walker nor Rasheem Green rate only as edge rushers. They are solid all-around linemen who will line up in the base defense at end but can move inside for pass rushing situations, especially walker. This leaves open the possibility their third and fourth defensive ends will have big roles.

Robinson started seven of the last eight games and had at least 30% of the defensive plays in the first nine games. Yet, he didn't produce a sack after the opener and made only one tackle for loss over the final 16 games.

He made 30 total tackles and had nine pressures for the full season with five hurries. A hurry is when a QB throws the ball earlier than he wants to or is flushed out of the pocket and forced to throw.

The need for that extra edge rush threat is obvious for the team. 

They still have Trevis Gipson and he has had seven sacks in a season.

"He's been through multiple systems here, playing outside backer/D-End role," defensive line coach Travis Smith said. "He's played just the left end now (this year) he's playing both (sides). You’ll see we brought in some outside guys, too, in free agency. Has he changed his demeanor at all? No. Is he competing every day? Absolutely."

With Walker, the pass rush is going to be predictable but he can be effective.

"The first thing we talk about is he's a physical rusher when you're talking about pass rush," Smith said. "No matter what, whether he's going to go through you, he's gonna create momentum and counter it. We like to talk about, we need guys who are going to dent the pocket. He's a pocket denter."

They need someone to come around the end at some point, though.  They had only 6 1/2 sacks total from defensive ends last year, an intolerable number.

If it's going to be Robinson then he needs to start to show something in this training camp. A handful of unsigned veteran free agent rushers are floating out there and if the Bears don't see something from their second-year player, it would seem very likely they'll bring someone in who they know can do it.

The Starters

DeMarcus Walker: No. 95, a 6-foot-4, 280-pound, seventh-year player who signed in free agency after a career-best seven sacks for Tennessee. He had two sacks for Houston the previous season and then 4 1/2 and four in his previous two years with Denver, the team that drafted him 51st overall in 2017. Walker's powerful bull rush makes him effective at three-technique tackle in passing situations and the Bears have already talked about deploying him this way. He did this enough with Tennessee that Pro Football Focus graded him with its interior defensive linemen. He was 24th overall among 127 they graded last year. In fact, Walker has done both evenly. He has lined up in the A Gap or B Gap inside 790 times and outside tackle or over tackle 820 times. He could pop up anywhere along the defensive front.

Rasheem Green: No. 94, a 6-foot-4, 279-pound, sixth-year player who had been with Houston last season after spending his first four years with Seatttle. Green was ranked 77th of 119 edge players last year by PFF.

He is much less likely to be deployed inside than Walker, as 2,246 of his snaps came from an edge position either at tackle or outside tackle and only 376 on the interior. Green had not been a consistent run defender until picking it up greatly last year in Houston as an end in Lovie Smith's scheme, a similar one to what the Bears use. Green has 17 sacks in five seasons, 16 coming the last four seasons. He had 65 pressures in five seasons, 63 of them the last four years with a high of 24 in 2021. He signed on only a one-year deal.

The Backups

Trevis Gipson: No. 99, a 6-4, 263-pound end in his fourth season and in need of a contract for 2024. The fifth-round pick from Tulsa has 10 career sacks, three coming last year and seven in a different scheme in 2021. He was rated the sixth-best edge player for run defense win rate by ESPN last season, although Pro Football Focus had a far more dim view of his run-stuffing ability. They rated him 115th of 119 against the run, just ahead of his teammate, Robinson. Gipson had to adjust to a new scheme in Chicago behind Khalil Mack in a 3-4 and did it. Last year it was a new scheme in the 4-3. The Bears are hopeful he'll show the same kind of progress in Year 2 of this defense as in Year 2 of the old scheme. They're counting on it.

Dominique Robinson: No. 91, a 6-4, 249-pound fifth-round pick in 2022 who had not played on defense before his 2020 season at Miami of Ohio. A former wide receiver and quarterback, he quickly caught on defensively in college and had 11 sacks his last two years of college, including 8 1/2 his final season. Robinson had a smash debut in the rain at Soldier Field with 1 1/2 sacks, then no more the entire year. He had nine games with one total tackle or less and had one tackle for loss after the opener. PFF graded him 116th against the run out of 119 players graded but had him 98th out of pass rushers.

Terrell Lewis: No. 52, a 6-5, 262-pound defensive end who had been a 3-4 linebacker with the Rams. He was an effective edge rusher for Alabama until a badly injured knee, then had six sacks and 14 pressures in three seasons with seven starts and 30 games played mostly as a backup with the Rams. Lewis made 40 tackles and three pass defenses with an interception and forced fumble in L.A. from 2020-22. The Rams waived him Dec. 15 and the Bears picked him up five days later for the practice squad. He was elevated from the practice squad for the finale but was a game-day inactive.

Jalyn Holmes: No. 90, a 6-5, 283-pound defensive end who was a fifth-round pick by the Vikings in 2018 and made no starts until 2020, when he had nine and made 36 tackles without a sack. He has one sack as a pro, coming in his first year at Minnesota. The Saints had him in 2021 and he had 14 tackles and a pass deflection. He has 60 tackles, six for loss in his career. The Giants had him in training camp last year and waived him just before the seaason. The Bears signed him for their practice squad in October and he got into the season finale with 34 plays of defense and three tackles against the team that drafted him.

Jalen Harris: No. 59, a 6-4, 257 undrafted rookie from Arizona. His father is Sean Harris, the former Bears linebacker in the 1990s. He was in the Arizona program six seasons, including the pandemic-shortened four-game 2020 season. He had 13 1/2 sacks and 25 1/2 tackles for loss while deflecting 10 passes and forcing three fumbles.