Pro Football Focus unveiled their All-Rookie Team for the 2022 regular season. And while the Chicago Bears finished with the worst record in the league, they were well-represented on the list.
Which isn’t a surprise considering they led the NFL in rookie snaps by over 1,000.
The Bears had three rookies make the list: second-round safety Jaquan brisker, fifth-round left tackle Braxton Jones and undrafted linebacker Jack Sanborn.
Brisker made his presence clear pretty early on in the offseason, and it translated into on-field success. He entered his rookie season as the undisputed starter, and he proved throughout the year why. Brisker is a physical, instinctive safety that was always around the football. Oh, and he led the team in sacks (4.0).
Brisker always seemed to be around the ball for Chicago as a rookie. He finished his first season with 28 defensive stops, the 10th-most of any safety in the league. And he did it all from a number of alignments, with 371 snaps coming from the slot, 150 along the line of scrimmage, 289 deep and 100 from the slot.
Jones quickly worked his way up the depth chart in the offseason, where he established himself as the team’s best option at left tackle. While Jones was far from perfect — and still has plenty of work to do — he was one of the more reliable offensive linemen for Chicago this season.
One of the steals of the draft class so far. The Bears’ fifth-rounder did enough to put himself as their undisputed long-term starter at left tackle. He finished with a 79.4 run-blocking grade and a 70.5 pass-blocking grade on the season.
Then there’s Sanborn, an undrafted rookie who flashed during the preseason. When Roquan Smith was traded to the Ravens, Sanborn finally got his starting opportunity. And he never looked back. Sanborn was one of the most consistent players on defense, and he made a case to be a starter moving forward.
Sanborn was a revelation in his albeit brief stint as the starting linebacker for the Bears. In six games as a starter, he racked up 24 defensive stops. Extrapolate that to a full 17-game season, and it would have ranked second in the league. That’s quite the start of a career.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles said he wants to build through the NFL draft, and he’s off to a strong start. Brisker, Jones, Sanborn and even cornerback Kyler Gordon look to be building blocks for this team moving forward.
