ESPN Projects How Many Sacks Yannick Ngakoue Has This Year

The Chicago Bears believe their defense will be a lot better in 2023. It isn't hard to understand why. They've made strong investments across the board this off-season. Andrew Billings, Gervon Dexter, and Zacch Pickens shore up defensive tackle. Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards upgrade the linebacker spots. Tyrique Stevenson joins an already promising secondary. However, the most crucial addition may have been signing veteran pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue earlier this month.

It isn't a secret why the Bears defense was terrible last season. They couldn't get to the quarterback. As a team, they only had 20 sacks. Barely half of them came from the defensive line. They sorely needed a credible edge rusher to help fix that. While DeMarcus Walker was a fine addition, he's not considered a true sack artist. Ngakoue is. He has 65 sacks since entering the league in 2016. ESPN analytics expert Seth Walder ran projections for the 2023 season on the league's sack leaders.

Here is where they have Ngakoue landing.

That feels like the right territory for Yannick Ngakoue.

His track record in the NFL has been remarkably consistent. He always lands somewhere around eight or nine sacks. There is no reason to think that will change this year. If the Bears get that production level, they should feel happy with their investment. Remember, as stated earlier, the entire defensive line had ten sacks last season. Ngakoue getting eight by himself would be a massive step up for them this year. If Walker, Justin Jones, and others can make solid contributions, then this front will be far more respectable.

Much of this will hinge on the Bears' run defense. As bad as the pass rush was last season, they may have been worse stopping the run. A big part of a successful rush is getting opponents into long down and distance situations. That comes from preventing good runs on 1st or 2nd down. Chicago faced only 48 plays of 3rd and 10 or longer last year. By comparison, the San Francisco 49ers faced 70. That was a big part of why they had 44 sacks as a team. If the Bears want to maximize Yannick Ngakoue, they must get him into advantageous positions.