Three Chicago Bears were named to the Pro Bowl on Tuesday, the most from the team since 2019.
Safety Kevin Byard, who received the fifth-most fan votes among all NFL players, leads the group. It’s his third Pro Bowl appearance and first as a Bear. Guard Joe Thuney, the team’s biggest veteran acquisition, is going to his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl. Center Drew Dalman will make his first appearance.
This comes two days after the Bears clinched their first playoff berth since 2020.
One-third of the determination for the Pro Bowl is fan voting, and Bears fans flooded the polls, putting 10 players atop their respective positions in votes. Voting by players and coaches also help determine the Pro Bowl rosters.
As we get into the playoffs and players drop out and are replaced by alternates, the Bears could come closer to 2018, when they won the division and ultimately sent eight players to the game. We’ll see if quarterback Caleb Williams, who finished first in fan voting among NFC QBs, can match Mitch Trubisky in that regard.
Cornerback Nahshon Wright was a stunning snub from the initial Pro Bowl roster. He leads the league in fumble recoveries (three) and is tied for second with five interceptions, making him No. 1 in the NFL in takeaways. He has more interceptions than three of the NFC Pro Bowl selections combined (Devon Witherspoon, Cooper DeJean, Quinyon Mitchell). Those are all phenomenal corners, and interceptions aren’t everything, but Wright should have been a selection. He led all corners in fan votes and is simply a great story.
Special teamer Josh Blackwell was also worthy of consideration, having saved two games this season with a blocked field goal in Las Vegas and his onside kick recovery against the Packers. Had linebacker Tremaine Edmunds not spent four games on injured reserve, he might have made the team. He has four interceptions and nine passes defensed to go along with a team-high 95 tackles. Right tackle Darnell Wright has also been a major part of the Bears’ successful run game, not to mention producing a couple of blocks this season that have gone viral.
The Pro Bowl was moved to Super Bowl week for the first time this year in hopes of increasing fan and player engagement. It will be held on Feb. 3 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco and include a flag football game and skills competition.
Here’s a look at the impact of the three Pro Bowlers and what we’ve heard about them from coaches.
S Kevin Byard
Key stats: Six interceptions (leads NFL), four tackles for loss, seven passes defensed
Signature moment: In the win over the Vikings, Byard’s third-quarter interception of J.J. McCarthy at midfield ended a Minnesota drive, and his 23-yard return set up a Bears field goal.
Coachspeak: “He’s incredible. I had a lot of respect for him from afar prior to coming into the building. It’s nothing but grown from there. He’s done a tremendous job taking care of his own business first and foremost. … He’s playing at a really high level on that back end, picking up a new scheme, and he’s really leading the charge, not just for the defense but the entire team. I lean into him heavily for kind of feeling the pulse of the locker room. He knows what winning looks like. His voice really carries a lot of weight for everybody in the building.” — coach Ben Johnson
Impact: Byard is getting set to play his 163rd consecutive game. The ironman’s impact on the field is obvious with the way he has created takeaways, but off the field, Byard is a team captain and the one who gives the players a pep talk each week before they head to the locker room before kickoff.
Bears newcomer Joe Thuney earned his fourth Pro Bowl invitation on Tuesday. (David Banks / Imagn Images)
G Joe Thuney
Key stats: Has played all but four snaps; two penalties; has allowed only one QB hit and zero sacks, per Pro Football Focus
Coachspeak: “Joe Thuney, it starts kind of behind the scenes, what you guys don’t see. Just how he carries himself each day. And then, really, the thing is he’s incredibly consistent. (Running backs coach) Eric Bieniemy, when we were kind of going through this process, kind of talked about his relationship with him in Kansas City said he’s just going to bore you to death with how consistent he is on his details. You’re really not going to notice him. And that’s the biggest thing. He’s done a great job of doing everything we’ve asked of him, but his leadership behind the scenes is really the area where he has the biggest impact on our team.” — offensive coordinator Declan Doyle
Impact: Is Thuney the MVP of the Bears offense? The best thing you could say about the now-four-time Pro Bowler is you never notice him during games. He just goes about his business and does his job at a high level. He won’t maul opponents, but he’s always in front of them, and he gets a ton of credit for the Bears’ second-ranked rushing attack while also keeping Williams clean.
C Drew Dalman
Key stats: Only player to play every snap this season; three penalties; has allowed two sacks and one QB hit, per PFF
Coachspeak: “Significant. He wears a lot of hats in terms of what we ask him to do. He’s so smart. There’s really not a whole lot we get stumped by. It’s rare that we’ve gone into our postgame film review and we feel like we’re mis-targeting. He takes a lot of pride in that. He understands his role in the play. And he’s a very big part of what we’re doing in the ground game. He’s excellent in this wide zone scheme we’re looking to implement. He runs off the ball. I think he does a fantastic job in that regard.” — Johnson
Impact: As the player tasked with ID’ing the defense and calling out the protections, Dalman deserves a ton of credit for the Bears ranking sixth in sacks allowed per pass. The top center in free agency, he has lived up to that designation and been a major part of the rushing attack. Dalman’s snaps have been much better after a shaky start to the season — excluding the airmail over running back Kyle Monangai’s head against the Packers.