PFF Has Trade Theory for Vikings Foe
Dustin Baker
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Do you know how Chicago Bears DT Akiem Hicks is always a menace to the Vikings in NFC North contests?
Pro Football Focus has a fix for that.
The Bears are at season crossroads, stuck with committing to the maturation of a so-far underwhelming rookie quarterback while trying to win games for the head coach’s job security. On some Sundays, the Bears do enough to slay the bigboys like the Cincinnati Bengals (5-2) and Las Vegas Raiders (5-2).
But then games like yesterday’s drop in their lap, and Matt Nagy’s team gets crucified. The Super Bowl champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers murdered Chicago 38-3 in a cockamamie showing from Justin Fields and the Bears. Such poor offensive dealings lead to nauseating stats like this:
Well, if Chicago is disinterested in playing like the team that shocked the Bengals and Raiders, Brad Spielberger from PFF foresees a sale of assets, mainly the aforementioned Hicks.
In an article detailing 12 NFC trades that would make sense before the trade deadline (Nov. 2), Spielberger brainstormed a trade of Hicks to the Los Angeles Chargers for a 2022 5th-Round draft pick.
Hicks reached a Pro Bowl one time in his career, 2018, and experienced his heyday for production in 2017 and 2018. He’s always decent, but his scale of success is intensified against the Vikings – for some reason. It might have something to do with Minnesota’s notoriously porous offensive line.
On the hypothetical Hicks-to-Chargers trade, Spielberger wrote:
“Chargers head coach Brandon Staley is a fast-rising branch of the Vic Fangio defensive tree, as he coached outside linebackers for the Bears under Fangio in 2017-18 before following him to the Denver Broncos in 2019. After just one season as the Los Angeles Rams’ defensive coordinator in 2020, where he lead them to the No. 1 ranking in terms of expected points allowed per play, Staley finds himself the head coach of the other team in Los Angeles. Hicks was at the peak of his powers during Staley’s tenure in Chicago (2017-18), as he recorded 100 total quarterback pressures, ranking eighth among all interior defenders. He was equally good against the run — his 71 defensive stops ranked second and his 20 tackles for loss or no gain ranked tied for sixth from 2017-18. The Chargers currently rank 31st in team run-defense grade (35.2), and the interior defender unit ranks 24th in pass-rush grade (59.3).”
Such a trade would presumably clear the way for more defensive snaps by Angelo Blackson, a veteran who has spent time with the Titans, Texans, and Cardinals. But that’s about it for pros and cons of the deal. Chicago does not have a young, high-round pick waiting in the wings at Hicks’ position. The Chargers would love the deal – snag a reputable run-stopper for an ailing rush defense. Sign Los Angeles up.
Yet, this trade likely won’t occur because the Bears aren’t mailing it in. Nagy must win now or go offensively coordinate elsewhere when the calendar reads 2022.
Hicks heading to the Chargers would be pretty neat for the Vikings. His feast on Minnesota twice annually would diminish. Although, the Vikings travel to Los Angeles for a date with Justin Herbert’s team in three weeks.
This idea would work if Chicago was in sell-off mode. But all signs indicate that is not the case.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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