An old Chinese proverb states that two things come from a crisis. One is danger and the other is opportunity. The Chicago Bears entered a crisis on defense when star nose tackle Eddie Goldman decided to opt out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns. While the team supported his choice, it didn’t erase the danger he’d created by doing so. At the same time, another man on the roster suddenly saw an opportunity. That being Bilal Nichols.
Expectations were high for the former 5th round pick in 2019. Sadly things didn’t go as planned. Nichols broke his hand in the second game of the season in Denver. He never quite found the same form he flashed as a rookie in 2018. People seemed to cool on him because of that. However, the third-year man isn’t about to waste this latest chance.
With Goldman out of the picture, that nose tackle spot is wide open for the taking. Nichols has shown the qualities needed to play in the middle from a strong lower body to violent hands. It’s about eating up blocks and plugging gaps. Not the same as his previous duties at defensive end but the adjustment shouldn’t be too hard. The 23-year old sounds more than ready to get after it.
At 6’4 and 313 lbs, Nichols has the body dimensions to handle nose tackle just fine. He may want to add a few more pounds to be safe. That aside, his ability to generate pressure up the middle could be of enormous benefit. The tricky part will be whether he can hold his ground against the run. Something that truly separated Goldman from a lot of other nose tackles.
This is where Nichols will win or lose the job. The team has yet to make a move to add more help on the defensive line from the outside. A surefire sign they trust the kid enough to run with it. However, if he fails this audition then one can expect that to change. Sounds like he is off to a good start.
