Before the 2014 NFL Draft when I did my research and watched the tape on a few players, I always found myself raving about a kid named Khalil Mack. Although he didn’t go to a big named school, he came into that draft class as one of the top prospects and was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the 2014 draft with the fifth overall pick. In his rookie season, he had an immediate impact and I knew the future was bright for this kid. It hasn’t been the best Summer for Khalil and he stated that he’d holdout even if this went into the regular season if he wasn’t given a new deal. He and the Raiders could never come to an agreement and at the start of the season next week, he will be wearing the uniform of a new team. He’s been traded to the Chicago Bears for two first-round draft picks.
Khalil Mack is a top five defensive player in the NFL right now and he has such an impact on the defensive side of the football and he was the heartbeat of that Raiders team as soon as he was drafted. He’s a 6’3, 252-pound guy with the quickness of a speedy running back and has such a tremendous first step when the football is snapped. He’s a strong force when it comes to stopping the run, his specialty has been the ability to rush the passer and he’s always on the move. He has active feet and he will use his speed to get to the ball-carrier even if he ran on the opposite side where Mack isn’t lined up. He’s an edge-setter and he has the speed to get into the opposing backfield before they can even make a play out of the backfield. He’s always in on making tackles and this is a guy that gives you 125 percent on each play and you talk about leaving it all on the field, that’s Khalil Mack for you. His motor is always revved up and what I mean by that is he always has his foot on the gas pedal whether his team is up comfortably by a large margin or they are behind, he’s always electric and giving everything that he has. This is the type of football player that you want to play with, for and you want to acquire. I’ll always remember a game in December against the Denver Broncos in 2015. He sacked Brock Osweiler a total of five times and that was the moment when I knew he just introduced himself to more people in the football world. He was also named First Team All-Pro in 2015 and became the first player in NFL history to be named All-Pro at two different positions in the same season. His 2016 season was hands down the best that he had. The number of sacks wasn’t necessarily eye-popping, but he was clutch that year and how often can we say we’ve seen a defensive player turn it up when the game is on the line? That’s exactly what he did and he was named the defensive MVP that season.
I’m a big fan of this move and this gives the Chicago Bears a playmaker and a guy who can come in and make all the difference along with some leadership, something they haven’t had since the days of Brian Urlacher. The trio of Mack, Leonard Floyd, and rookie Roquan Smith could be a lethal one if everything can pan out for them. When I think of the Bears, defense always comes to mind and this trade definitely told me that they want to get back to that reputation.
