For the first time in years Danny Trevathan Jerseys Stitched , the Bears’ fingerprints could be seen all over Day 1 of the draft."the Vikings have taken three interior linemen in the first two rounds of the draft. One of those players was Hall of Famer Randall McDaniel in 1988. The others were the short-lived careers of Marcus Johnson and Ryan Cook. Who? Exactly. In recent years — with head coach Mike Zimmer in the fold — the Vikings have tailored their early draft philosophy around rebuilding their secondary with cornerbacks like Trae Waynes, Mackensie Alexander, and Mike Hughes. That’s because all Minnesota has had to primarily worry about was defending an explosive Packers passing game led by Aaron Rodgers — the team they’ve most often butted heads with for divisional supremacy. After Green Bay has fallen off following two consecutive missed postseasons, Minnesota approached the first round of the 2019 draft in a different manner. This time, they were gunning for the lead dog Bears. As the first first-round interior lineman the Vikings have drafted since McDaniel, NC State’s Garrett Bradbury was picked mostly in mind to combat the galvanizing Chicago trio of Akiem Hicks, Eddie Goldman, and Bilal Nichols. Three bullies up front who set the tone for the best part of the Bears defense, and destroy the worst part of the Vikings offense. In two games against Minnesota last season, Hicks alone had nine tackles, 7.5 tackles-for-loss, four quarterback hits, and 2.5 sacks. Nichols had four tackles, three quarterback hits, and one sack. Goldman had three tackles, one tackle-for-loss, one quarterback hit, and one sack. When you talk about stuffing the shat sheet with stars and depth, the Bears had it in spades against everyone, but especially the Vikings. They not only took control of the interior Youth Danny Trevathan Jerseys , they owned it. It was as if Hicks and company told Minnesota about lucrative and exclusive timeshare opportunities through two separate grueling three-hour presentations on the field. All the Vikings wanted to do was get to the pool and beach and relax, but they couldn’t. These were timeshares designed to only take advantage of the Vikings.Collectively, the prowess of the Bears’ defensive interior was on display throughout the entire year. According to Football Outsiders, the Bears allowed the third-least amount of rushing yards up the middle and were second only to the Lions in allowing the least amount of successful attempts up the middle at 46.2 percent. The Vikings meanwhile were the 26th-least successful rushing team behind their center or either guard, garnering a mere 4.11 adjusted line yards when electing to ground-and-pound. Where the Bears were at their best, Minnesota was at its worst. Beyond the foibles of Kirk Cousins, Chicago’s interior dominance over the Vikings was the biggest reason they snatched away the divisional crown. Bradbury, while a solid prospect who should have a good career, faces a tall order to quickly shift Minnesota’s fortune against the Bears’ main defensive strength. The Vikings, in making such a grand investment in his future to beat Chicago, expect nothing less. Green Bay Packers: No. 21 overall, Darnell Savage, SA copycat league foreverEveryone wants their own Eddie Jackson. Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY SportsThanks to fancy draft finagling on their part, the Packers started Thursday night with multiple first-round picks. As a franchise that considers itself to be a part of the NFL’s gold standard, they also had a plan of emulating the Bears they’d stick to at all costs. One of the best aspects of the Bears is another 2018 first-team All-Pro in Eddie Jackson. To this stage in his career, he’s on pace to potentially be the best playmaking safety the Bears have ever had. The 26-year-old is a modern reincarnation of the feared Ed Reed. If that sounds ludicrous, ask the first-ballot Hall of Famer in Reed about the valid comparison. Naturally, when you have such a talented player like Jackson at your disposal, your closest competitors are going to find a way to copy your success if they can. In a cliche copycat league, everyone wants the “next Eddie Jackson”. Green Bay already signed former Bears safety and all-out thumper Adrian Amos to an expensive deal in March’s free agency. But they still needed a ballhawk with coverage range and instinct like Jackson beside him. Savage, while a reach at No. 21 overall David Montgomery Jersey Color Rush , fits the Packers’ bill to a tee. Over the last two years, Jackson and Amos formed quite the complementary pair. Amos, the hybrid in-the-box safety. Jackson, the rangy closer covering for everyone else’s mistakes even when they didn’t ask. By nabbing Savage — and trading up for him to boot — the Packers want to copy the template of the 2017-2018 Bears. Amos is still the thumper, but now Savage is the rangy closer. General manager Brian Gutekunst and the Green Bay front office don’t make this pick if they aren’t envisioning what the Bears have built over the past couple of seasons. For one, if Amos was really a complete all-around coverage player, Savage isn’t a Packer right now. But then again, the Packers never considered his faults in such a manner. They signed Amos with an idea in mind that they were always going to find his more nimble ballhawk and Jackson-like friend in the draft. The Packers following the Bears’ lead. After over a quarter century of a tilted rivalry ... what a world. Future ramificationsFor once, everyone else in the NFC North wanted to be like the Bears and they didn’t hide it. For once, the Bears had a direct influence on how their competitors approached the most important acquisition day of the year, and they didn’t have to do anything but exist. For once, the Bears learned it’s good to be the king. Robert is the Editor-in-chief of The Blitz Network, the managing editor of Windy City Gridiron, and the Bears beat writer for The Rock River Times. Follow him on Twitter @RobertZeglinski. The hard-hitting Amos is on his way to Green Bay as the Bears look elsewhere at strong safety."After 56 starts in over four seasons in Chicago, the Bears-Adrian Amos partnership has come to an end. Considered one of the best available safeties in an oversaturated free agent safety market, Amos signed a lucrative deal with the Green Bay Packers on Tuesday, reports NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting the contract will be a four-year deal worth $37 million, including $14 million in the first year and $21 million in the first two years of the contract.Over the past few years, there’s been a lot of debate as to how valuable Amos really was to the Bears defense. With their largely arbitrary player grades, outlets like Pro Football Focus have consistently contributed to the metaphorical tug of war concerning Amos’ place in the Chicago defensive box. Some have seen the high tackle numbers and grades and thought “superstar.” Factor in Amos’ standard penchant for violent hits — of which mean little in comparison to far more useful skills but do stand out as lewd football plays — and you have a traditional old school Bears player.From the other perspective, some have seen the rampant mistakes when matched up against more prominent pass catchers in coverage and a mere three interceptions in four years and think “fine Womens David Montgomery Jersey , but not irreplaceable on a great defense.” Given that the Bears ultimately let Amos walk and drew out his negotiating situation well into the 2019 off-season, it can be reasonably surmised they sat somewhere far closer to the latter sentiment. The issue with Amos was never anything specifically related to him. As an individual talent, he’s a fine safety and an above average starter. The 25-year-old would be a starter on most NFL teams and fit in seamlessly. On a stacked Bears defense featuring more impactful star players like Khalil Mack, Eddie Jackson, Akiem Hicks, and Roquan Smith among others, Amos didn’t rank highly in Chicago’s hierarchy. He earned every bit of his new contract as he starts the next phase of his career on a defense where he’ll have far more responsibility. That lucrative contract is one the Bears simply couldn’t afford with other more preeminent playmakers already locked in (Mack, Hicks), or others waiting for their contract opening (Jackson) in the coming years. You can’t reward everyone when other more deserving and important players take first priority. The NFL salary cap can be twisted around and flexed with things like restructures, but it can only be twisted around and flexed so much. The question moving forward is who the Bears elect to replace Amos with. There are any number of available free agent safeties left on the market that could suit their fancy. Another versatile defensive back like former Falcon Brian Poole is also someone in play. If not on the open market, the draft is also always an option with names like Fresno State’s Mike Bell and Maryland’s Darnell Savage standing out as prominent mid-round possibilities. Of course, the Bears could look inward and turn to Deon Bush. The former 2016 fourth-round pick played admirably beside Amos when Eddie Jackson went down with a foot injury late last season. Entrusting Bush in the full-time strong safety role next to a healthy Jackson is a sensible move, but it would have to undoubtedly be signed off on by new secondary coach Deshea Townsend. Whatever the case, you’re not in dire straits when you have to replace but one defensive starter on an otherwise loaded group. Whoever does end up happening to feature as the Bears’ strong safety next season, they’ll be one of the more fortunate players in the NFL. They’ll get to play next to a First-Team All-Pro safety like Jackson that can cover for a lot of mistakes on the back-end. They’ll have a defense with a ferocious pass rush in front of them of which can do much of the same. It’s good work if you can get it. On a star-laden Bears defense, often all you have to do is show up and be consistent. Robert is the Editor-in-chief of The Blitz Network (subscribe here!), the managing editor of Windy City Gridiron, and writes for a host of other fine publications. You can follow him on Twitter @RobertZeglinski.