Bilal Nichols Remembers Exact Play That Told Him He Could Own NFL

GM Ryan Pace has a growing reputation for being able to find quality talent in the later rounds of the draft. This is an art few of the general managers in football possess. Sure some will get hits from time to time, but most can rarely string it together from year to year. Pace is one of those few. This latest success story appears to be 2018 fifth round choice Bilal Nichols.

Most people had no idea who he was. Not a surprise. He was coming out of Delaware, a school that wasn't know for being a hot bed of NFL talent in years past. Sure it was the alma mater of head coach Matt Nagy, but Nichols played defense. What could the team expect from him outside of hopefully becoming a solid rotational defensive lineman?

More than expected, that's for sure. Nichols delivered three sacks, seven QB hits, five tackles for loss and two forced fumbles in limited snaps for the Bears as a rookie. He played not only with talent but also surprising confidence for a rookie from such humble origins. It makes one wonder where he got it from. Nichols told Kevin Fishbaine of The Athletic where and when it really started to build for him.

Bilal Nichols jacking back a five-year veteran helped

Justin Britt was going to his fifth NFL season with the Seattle Seahawks and his third as their starting center. He'd helped them to their second-straight Super Bowl appearance in 2014. This guy had played in big games against big opponents. A guy who had to block the likes of Aaron Donald twice a year. So when Nichols put him on his heels early in the Bears' home opener against Seattle, it was a huge boost.

“That was the first game I was active because I was inactive Week 1 against the Packers,” Nichols said last week at Halas Hall. “I made a tackle against the running back when they ran inside zone. Then a couple plays later I got a pressure on Russell Wilson where I bulled the center back and created havoc in the backfield. That was the moment where I was like, ‘You can play with anybody.’ Just as long as I had that confidence in myself, that’s really all that matters.”

It's interesting to see how things might develop for Nichols going into Year 2. The Bears aren't completely set on their third starter spot on the defensive line alongside Akiem Hicks and Eddie Goldman. Most would assume the job will go to Roy Robertson-Harris, but one could argue Nichols outperformed him last year. This may be one of the most interesting battles to watch in training camp.