The Chicago Bears are hoping for Leonard Floyd to take forward strides this season. Matt Nagy said that Floyd has been like ‘a sponge' throughout the offseason.
Matt Nagy said of Leonard Floyd: "He's very, very eager to learn every single day. He's a sponge. … He's very focused, very driven, smart player. Now, it's just a matter of him producing and doing it this year."
— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) August 26, 2019
Floyd is entering his fourth season with the franchise after the Bears selected him with the ninth overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. Coming into the NFL, Floyd was expected to be a premier edge-rusher from day one.
After three seasons, that hasn't exactly been the case for the Georgia product. In his rookie season, Floyd provided a glimpse of his potential; yielding seven sacks, six tackles for loss, nine hits on the quarterback, and a forced fumble.
Floyd followed that by struggling to provide pressure for Chicago in 2017. The pass-rusher managed to wrangle up just 4.5 sacks, eight tackles for loss, and 12 hits on the quarterback.
Last year, Floyd didn't improve much from the 2017 season and finished with a mere four sacks, nine tackles for loss, and 11 hits on the quarterback. It's safe to say that Floyd hasn't exactly turned into what the Bears anticipated him to.
Nonetheless, Nagy has confidence in the outside linebacker to find his footing in the defense this season. With that being said, Chicago is going to need Floyd to play an expanded role in 2019 if they hope to repeat their defensive success from 2018.
Before the 2018 season, the Bears were able to acquire Khalil Mack from the Oakland Raiders. Mack ended the year with 12.5 sacks and six forced fumbles in his first season in Chicago. As good as Mack is, he will need a running mate to propel this defense to the next level.
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