Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
Every great 3-4 defense that has ever existed has had a strong defensive line. The three up front get the least exposure, but are perhaps the most critical to making the scheme work as they take up space and blockers, and ultimately make all of the playmakers’ lives easier.
Just think about Justin Smith with the San Francisco 49ers, Haloti Gnata with the Baltimore Ravens or Casey Hampton (among others) with the vaunted Pittsburgh Steelers‘ defense a few years ago. All of those guys are recent or current examples of why it’s so important to have a massive, strong defensive lineman who can eat space and command more than one blocker on almost every play.
For the Chicago Bears, Eddie Goldman has the size, talent and potential to be that guy for their new 3-4 defense as he was drafted by them in the second round, No. 39 overall.
Goldman, defensive tackle from FSU, is — simply put — humongous. Listed at 6-foot-4, 336 pounds, he’s going to be a force on the Bears’ defense. He’s been labeled as a stout run-stuffer, which will definitely improve a Bears rush defense that was the absolute worst in the NFL two years ago, and still gave up well over 100 yards per game in 2014. While many question his pass-rushing abilities, the Bears will still have a rotation of players on the D-line, which will include Jeremiah Ratliff and Ego Ferguson — both of which have proven they can put on a pass rush.
Even with the questions about pass rushing, just watch some tape on Goldman. This mammoth is an athlete — not just a big body; he can move and even played basketball and ran track some in high school. Goldman does need to learn to play a little bit lower, and the excellent coaching of new coordinator Vic Fangio and defensive line coach Jay Rodgers should help.
What all of this leads me to believe is that the Bears made a fantastic pick in the second round. Finding a guy like this who could potentially be the NT for this defense for the next 10 years is exciting, especially considering how shoddy the D-line play has been the past few years. The Bears’ linemen on that side of the ball have been undersized and pushed around.
No longer will that be the case.
Brian Neal is a contributor for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @brianneal23.
