The Chicago Bears knew they needed help rushing the passer.
Coming off a 2023 season that saw the Bears sack opposing quarterbacks fewer times than every other team in the National Football League besides the Carolina Panthers, general manager Ryan Poles saw an opportunity to make a splash via trade.
Poles took that chance, and he appears to be laughing his way to the bank.
On Aug. 23, Poles traded a sixth-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks for fourth-year defensive end Darrell Taylor, a former 2020 second-rounder who never fully established himself as a key cog in Seattle's defensive machine.
Barely two weeks later, Taylor was racking up two sacks, a forced fumble, and seven tackles in a dominant performance by the Bears defense in their 24-17 season-opening win over the Tennessee Titans.
On Tuesday, Bears insider Adam Jahns of The Athletic intimated that the deal was a fleece for Poles and the Bears, especially for such a low price.
"Taylor was one of the Bears’ best players in the 24-17 win against the Titans," Jahns said. "It’s only one game, but the trade for Taylor looks like another hit for general manager Ryan Poles, especially because it only cost the team a sixth-round pick."
In his three seasons in Seattle, Taylor played 46%, 44%, and 44% of the team's defensive snaps. It's only one game, but on Sunday, the 27-year-old was on the field for 59% of the snaps for the Bears, and he was everywhere.
The strip-sack of Titans quarterback Will Levis came in the fourth quarter, Chicago still trailing 17-13. It set the Bears up in instant field goal range, leading to the kick that made it a one-point game before Tyrique Stevenson's pick-six put Chicago in the win column.
Jahns' words will prove prophetic if Taylor plays more games like he did Sunday. The edge-rusher looks like tremendous value for Poles on the trade market, and he might just help propel the Bears toward the playoffs.
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