NFL.com writer Chase Goodbread has selected Bears first-round pick Leonard Floyd as one of six candidates to win the league's defensive rookie of the year award.
Bears first-round pick Leonard Floyd recorded 184 tackles over three seasons for the Georgia Bulldogs.
"There weren't many first-round picks that were a better scheme fit with the team that chose them than Floyd's fit with the Bears," Goodbread wrote. "Vic Fangio's 3-4 defense desperately needs an edge rusher who has the quickness to get around the corner of the pocket. That's what Floyd brings, and unlike his last year at Georgia, where he was asked to play multiple linebacker roles, expect the Bears to allow Floyd to do what he does best: get to the quarterback."
The Bears traded up two spots to select Floyd, an outside linebacker from Georgia, with the ninth pick in the draft. The 6-4, 244-pounder appeared in 38 games with 32 starts over three seasons for the Bulldogs, recording 184 tackles, 28.5 tackles-for-loss and 17 sacks.
The other five defensive rookie of the year candidates that Goodbread lists are Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa (chosen at No. 3), Jaguars linebacker Myles Jack (No. 36), Jaguars defensive back Jalen Ramsey (No. 5), Raiders defensive back Karl Joseph (No. 14) and Jets linebacker Darron Lee (No. 20).
