Matt Nagy Calls Khalil Mack the Jerry Rice of NFL Defense

The comparisons for Khalil Mack from various sources over the past few weeks have been impressive. Multiple experts claim he's the most complete outside linebacker they've seen since Lawrence Taylor. This due to his rare mix of power and speed. Vic Fangio said he saw more of Hall of Famer Rickey Jackson, whom he coached for years down in New Orleans. So who does Matt Nagy see when watching the superstar pass rusher? One might say his choice would reflect better than most. Nagy coached against Mack for four years during his time as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs. He had to game plan against Mack eight times, watching him extensively on tape and in games. So who's the all-time great defender he picked? Nobody. Nagy sat down to speak with Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. He talked about all the positive impacts Mack has had on this Bears team, not just the defense. He's set a different level of work ethic and expectation and everybody is feeding off that. However, when given the chance to make a comparison, he went in an unexpected direction.

Khalil Mack is the defensive version of Jerry Rice to Nagy

I asked Nagy about having heard that Mack is even better away from the field than he is on the field, and the head coach quickly replied “without a doubt” and compared Mack to one of the NFL’s all-time great. “You always hear about Jerry Rice, he always caught the ball and ran it to the goal line,” he said. “This guy does the opposite on defense. If there’s a pass thrown downfield and he’s rushing the quarterback, he’ll turn around, he’ll watch the ball be caught, and he’ll run 30, 40 yards downfield to the ballcarrier. And it’s every play. You just don’t normally see that. You see guys that’ll go hard for their position, on their rush, and then they’re done, that’s it. This guy’s different, he’s wired differently, he thinks differently, he plays differently, and he’s rubbing off on the other guys now and they’re getting to reap some of the rewards because of him getting double- and triple-teamed.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWWUyBY201Y Jerry Rice isn't just considered the greatest wide receiver of all-time. That much is beyond dispute. Many say he was the greatest NFL player in history. Given his level of dominance over a long period of time and the example he set for those that followed? It's hard to dispute. The man was a machine for two decades, winning with his mind as well as his heart.

Mack is much the same way.

His relentless effort on every single snap is rare for players these days. Yet it's easy to miss how passionate the man is for the game. He loves it and that reflects in both his leadership and his conduct in the locker room. It's not a coincidence that others around him got a lot better. Simply being a good physical talent doesn't create that. His arrival alone would've helped regardless, but many Bears defenders are in the midst of having career seasons. That's due to their own play as much as Mack's. It's because, like Rice, he's setting the standard of what should be expected from this team every Sunday.