The Darrell Taylor trade is officially official.
Both the and have made announcements sharing the deal publicly on Friday afternoon. And while we don’t know which of the three sixth-round picks the Bears own will end up in Seattle right now, I think we can start getting into the nitty gritty regarding the newest member of Matt Eberflus’ defense. We can deal with the pick stuff later down the line.
In a stroke of good timing, 670 The Score had Coach Eberflus on its airwaves after the deal went down. Here is what Eberfl🎃us said about the player his defense was adding.
“It’s exciting for us to get him,” Eberflus said, . “He’s got sack production, a really good pass rusher. He fits our scheme in terms of his effort, his style, his disposition.”
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Effort. Style. Disposition. If I didn’t know better, I’d point out that it sounds like Darrell Taylor is a H.I.T.S. guy. And that makes him an Eberflus guy. Look … the H.I.T.S. stuff might’ve come off as corny at the outset. But let it be known that it is something that resonates with certain players. Former Cubs Manager Joe Maddon used to say “If it looks hot, wear it.” That line of thinking can be applied to players and the H.I.T.S. principle. If it works, then why not keep banging that drum? But I digress, if only because there is more to say about the player the Bears just brought onto their roster beyond his fit as a H.I.T.S. guy.
Trading for Darrell Taylor is worth a shot
Shooter’s shoot. And when it comes to Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Poles, he shoots his shots by way of sending Day 3 picks to teams in exchange for players he thinks can be useful to his squad. Last year, he sent one to the Miami Dolphins for offensive lineman Dan Feeney. One year later, Poles is sending one to Seattle for Taylor. While the deals are similar, I believe trading for a player who has a clear path to playing time as a rotational pass rusher is a smarter move than acquiring a backup interior lineman who needed injuries to get on the field.
And just li🙈ke that, we can fully put missing out on Matthew Judon in our rearview mirror.
Let me be clear. Judon’s track record and résumé are better than what Darrell Taylor has put out there to this point. But Taylor is five years younger and has been a productive player in the snaps he has been in on while in Seattle. Plus, Taylor’s arrival allows Eberflus, Defensive Coordinator Eric Washington, and the rest of the staff to mix and match along the defensive line.
For instance, DeMarcus Walker can be the Bears’ defensive end on early-down situations when offenses tend to run the ball. Then, in obvious passing situations, Chicago can kick Walker inside and deploy Taylor as a defensive end. In other words, Evberflus can run the type of defense that was successful after the Montez Sweat trade when he was using Yannick Ngakoue outside after sliding Walker into the defensive interior. Wait … did the Bears just trade for a younger and healthier version of Ngakoue? It would make sense if that was their vision here.
There are a bunch of different iterations the Bears’ defensive coaching staff can draw up to get the most out of the players they have at their disposal. Frankly, I’m looking forward to seeing how they go about scheming with the newest piece of the defensive puzzle. If the Bears can hide Taylor’s deficiencies with when they use him, it could level up their defense.
Also worth noting as we wrap this up: The Bears waived defensive end Khalid Kareem to make room on the roster for Taylor’s arrival. The team also terminated the contract of wide receiver Freddie Swain, who was just put on injured reserve earlier in the week.
