Perhaps you missed it, but the Leonard Floyd bandwagon filled up awfully fast this offseason.
Yet one person who absolutely won’t hype Leonard Floyd? That’d be Leonard Floyd.
PFW, nonetheless, chatted exclusively with the Bears’ breakout pass-rush candidate last week, when he remained a man of very few words. So we’ll share only a few of our favorite, with those closest to Floyd filling in the gaps on why seemingly everyone following the Bears predicts a massive fourth season for the former No. 9 overall pick.
“This year, I just want to build off where I was at the end of last season,” Floyd told PFW of the second half of his Pro Bowl alternate campaign, when he averaged a tackle for loss and QB hurry and totaled five sacks over the final nine games. “I wouldn’t say it’s my best stretch [so far] as a pro, just something to build off.”
And with new a host of architects helping him continue to build toward his potential — mainly OLB coach Ted Monachino and defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano — there are new methods being enacted to maximize Floyd’s outstanding resources. We’ve heard a lot about Monachino’s focus on helping Floyd finish at the top of his rush and late in downs, and he expounded a bit more on that notion Tuesday.
“I think Leonard is prepared to make a quantum leap in his play,” Monachino said. “I think that last year there were a lot of things on his plate. And it’s not any different this year — there still will be — but what we try to do is make it as tight as we can, as simple and sound as we can, so he has an opportunity to play fast. When he plays fast, he’s really hard to handle because he’s so long and athletic and flexible. He’s got a great set of skills as a pass rusher, a really natural toolbox. But we’ll give him special things, especially at the top of the pocket and late in the down when it can really help you.”
We asked Floyd, who overcame a broken hand sustained in an August exhibition to play his first full season before having his $13.2 million fifth-year team option guaranteed for injury only, if he can offer any hints regarding those special new tricks.
“Time will tell. I don’t want to give away too much,” said a grinning Floyd.
What he did offer up is his “love” for Monachino and the fact that they’ve watched film together of his new position coach’s old star pupils, Terrell Suggs and Robert Mathis. That’s pretty exciting stuff considering they’re future Hall of Famers, and though we’re certainly not comparing their bodies of work to Floyd’s, neither had his unique length and speed to bend the edges.
“He knows how to use speed, and his quickness off the ball,” said first-team All Pro Khalil Mack of his bookend rusher’s tools. “He does get off with a lean, he uses it consistently and that’s what it’s all about right now — just being consistent and getting off the ball and using our hands and whatever it is that we’re working on that day.”
Remember, we only caught a small glimpse, say, roughly nine games (coincidence?) of a full-strength Floyd and Mack working in tandem last season. And although they moved around more during that stretch than in the first half, it probably only scratched the surface of the myriad ways they’ll be unleashed under Pagano.
That’s why Danny Trevathan said in June that, “I don’t know how many linemen you got, but you better put some more on there,” to describe the conundrum offenses will face protecting the edges. It’s also why Floyd, like the next player the Bears traded up to draft in Round 1, Mitch Trubisky, finally finds himself in an ideal situation to take flight
“It’s great being out there on defense with such great guys and dominant players,” Floyd said. “I just know they’re going to hunt, just like I am, and I look forward to continuing to play with them this season.”
If Floyd’s Year 4 goes as the Bears expect, it’s likely they’ll attempt to ensure he plays in this defense for many seasons to come.
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