The resurgent Chicago Bears have some new faces representing them on the NFC’s Pro Bowl roster this year.
Center Drew Dalman, guard Joe Thuney, and safety Kevin Byard III will represent the Bears at the Pro
Bowl Games this season, with the announcement coming just three days after the Bears clinched their first playoff berth in five seasons. Last year, Chicago was represented by cornerback Jaylon Johnson.
This will be the first Pro Bowl for Dalman, who spent the first four seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. He, along with Thuney, came to the Bears this offseason to help revamp a porous offensive line.
Safe to say, that vision has panned out swimmingly. The Bears’ offense ranks fifth in the NFL in total yards (371.5 per game), second in rushing yards (152.1) and tied for sixth in fewest sacks allowed (23), according to the Bears’ website.
Thuney, meanwhile, has continued his dominant stretch as one of the NFL’s very best linemen, earning his fourth straight Pro Bowl nod and trying to earn his third consecutive First Team All-Pro honor. Not surprisingly, his arrival has coincided with a playoff appearance for the Bears; Thuney has only missed the playoffs in one season of his 10-year career.
For Byard, the league leader in interceptions, this makes three Pro Bowls in his career. The impending free agent has stabilized the backend of the defense and provided leadership to a unit that leads the NFL in takeaways.
Together, the three of them represent a huge win for Ryan Poles: veteran presences that have helped change the culture and on-field performance of a languishing franchise that will now have a real shot at contention this year.
Now, fans will also notice the “Wright brothers”—right tackle Darnell, who’s playing at an All-Pro level for the Bears this season, and Nahshon, whose five interceptions and knack for huge forced fumbles have made him arguably the steal of the offseason—are not on this list. Though Bears fans showed out to get both of them into the game, making them the top vote-getters at their respective positions, it wasn’t enough to get them on the roster. That said, there’s always the All-Pro team for Darnell, and Nahshon has made himself a name, no matter what.
And, for all Bears who made the Pro Bowl or didn’t, there are bigger, better things ahead this season.
