The latest Chicago Bears breakout candidate.
The Chicago Bears have done a great job developing depth at key positions in recent years, and that applies to Roy Robertson-Harris as well.
However, this was not always the case. In fact, for many years the Bears routinely failed to notch any compensatory picks in each year’s NFL Draft. One of the main reasons is they rarely had any free agents signed away from their team — or at least none significant enough to net them a compensatory pick.
That changed in a major way this past offseason, with the team landing four compensatory picks in the 2021 draft. Two of the players responsible for them were Kevin Pierre-Louis and Nick Williams. In fact, they were set to receive another compensatory pick for homegrown Nick Kwiatkoski, but that was negated with the Robert Quinn signing.
Pierre-Louis and Williams both had very solid years last season, and their development under the Bears coaching staff wasn’t only beneficial for their draft pick inventory, but to the team’s depth.
Each player contributed in the absence of key starters and the career reserves found fairly lucrative contracts in the offseason.
One player who is set to make an even greater leap this year is Robertson-Harris. RRH is back with the Bears on a one-year $3.259 million deal after signing as a restricted free agent this offseason.
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Based on how he’s been improving each year, Ryan Pace may regret not locking him up longer after this season.
Robertson-Harris has been an incredibly disruptive presence on the defensive front for the Bears the past two seasons. Whether it was as a rotational player or filling in for the injured Akiem Hicks, RRH made the most of his opportunities.
He had 2.5 sacks last season and three the year before that. He also finished with 30 tackles and 10 quarterback hits and 22 tackles and 11 quarterback hits respectively.
Under the instruction of Jay Rodgers, RRH has gone from a raw but powerful, disruptive force to a skilled technician whose improved technique has made him a wrecking ball on the defensive line.