“It’s not a surprise to me, and it doesn’t matter anyways,” he said about Chicago not picking up his option, according to Jake Bartelson of ChicagoFootball.com. “It is what it is.”
Shea McClellin Can Find New Life in the Chicago Bears’ 3-4 Defense in 2015
Published by Matt Eurich on June 1, 2015
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
British writer William Edward Hickson once wrote, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again,” and Chicago Bears inside linebacker Shea McClellin is taking Hickson‘s advice this offseason as he moves to his third different position in four years.
‘‘I would like to settle into a position,’’ said McClellin this offseason, according to Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times. ‘‘It does get difficult just switching. It’s my third switch now.’’
Drafted in the first round of the 2012 draft out of Boise State, McClellin was viewed by many as a bit of a reach with the 19th overall pick, but then-general manager Phil Emery said he was excited about McClellin‘s potential at the time, according to Larry Mayer of ChicagoBears.com:
I’m very excited to have Shea become a Chicago Bear. It helped fill a need for us as a pass rusher. We’re also very excited about Shea in terms of his all-downs ability. This is an all-downs football player, including special teams. This is a four-down player. Our special teams coaches gave him a blue level grade (the highest possible) as a special teams player.
Despite spending the majority of his career at Boise State as an outside linebacker in the team’s 3-4 defense, the Bears opted to use McClellin as a 4-3 defensive end, and the young pass-rusher struggled to make much of an impact his rookie season.
He took on a bigger role in his second season, but his overall play dropped off from the year before.
The Bears decided to move McClellin to strong-side linebacker in 2014, but he only played in 12 games and finished with 36 tackles. He looked more comfortable and fluid standing up at linebacker last season, and even though he struggled at times against the pass, he did show improvement against the run.
According to Pro Football Focus, he finished the 2013 season with a minus-30.6 grade against the run, but he bounced back to record a plus-10.1 grade against the run in 2014.
Despite showing progress last season at strong-side linebacker, McClellin will be forced to play a third position in as many years in 2015. The team hired Vic Fangio to run its defense this offseason, and even though McClellin has experience playing outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense, the Bears have opted to move him to inside linebacker.
‘‘I thought highly of him when he came out of Boise State, [but] he was more of an outside linebacker in that scheme,’’ head coach John Fox said, according to Jahns. ‘‘Right now, putting him inside, we’ll see how he does there, see how he progresses, because he is a good athlete. He does have good size, good length.”
At 6’3″ and 245 pounds, McClellin does have good size for the position, and at the NFL Scouting Combine back in 2012, his 4.63 40-yard dash was the second fastest among all defensive linemen. He was unable to show off that quickness as a 4-3 defensive end, but he did show flashes of his speed last year playing out of a two-point stance.
Fangio took it a step further this offseason and said he believes McClellin can develop into a good inside linebacker.
“I think he’s got a chance to be a good inside linebacker,” said Fangio, according to John Mullin of CSNChicago.com. “We’re going to give him a full opportunity and full chance to learn the position so we can evaluate him and see if that’s a good spot for him.”
Both Fox and Fangio appear to be high on McClellin‘s abilities, so how can the young linebacker find new life in Chicago’s 3-4 defense this season?
Use Him at “Jack” Linebacker
Even though he has struggled since entering the league in 2012, McClellin still has the tools to be a productive NFL player if his team uses him properly.
The decision to use him as a 4-3 defensive end was clearly a bad one, but he showed hints of his potential last season. When playing out of a two-point stance, McClellin looks much more at ease, and he does not take as long to process a play when standing up as opposed to playing out of a three-point stance.
Even though he has experience playing outside linebacker, Fangio thinks McClellin possesses a lot of the tools to be successful at inside linebacker.
“He has good instincts,” Fangio said, according to Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune. “He can run. He could be a good blitzer from in there. Just a little bit of everything.”
If Fangio believes McClellin can do “a little bit of everything,” then the 25-year-old would be an ideal fit at the Jack linebacker position in Fangio‘s 3-4 defense.
While the Mike linebacker is expected to play on the strong side of the formation and play downhill against the run, the Jack linebacker is given more freedom to freelance from the inside. McClellin could potentially play the Mike position, but because of his versatility and athleticism, he projects better at the Jack.
Part of McClellin‘s issues at both defensive end and strong-side linebacker was his inability to shed blockers and work through traffic. And while he will still have to fight his way through traffic as a Jack linebacker, he will not be face-to-face with a blocker immediately off the snap of the football when playing on the inside.
Instead of relying on his strength on the outside at either defensive end or outside linebacker, he will be able to use his speed to quickly hit holes and fill gaps against the run.
His improvement against the run last season was the result of having more space to work with when playing out of a two-point stance, and he should continue to show improvement from the inside playing the Jack linebacker position because he will have more open space to work with.
He did struggle last season against the pass, but he is athletic and quick enough to keep up with most tight ends in the league, although he will need to improve his technique in order for Chicago to rely on him as a three-down player.
Even if McClellin does not earn a starting job over linebackers Jon Bostic, Mason Foster and Christian Jones out of training camp, he can still find new life as a situational pass-rusher.
Allow Him to Freelance as a Pass-Rusher
One of the reasons why experts viewed McClellin as a first-round pick heading into the 2012 draft was because of the numbers he put up in his final two seasons at Boise State.
The Broncos listed him as an outside linebacker, but he played 3-4 outside linebacker, 4-3 defensive end and 3-4 inside linebacker in the team’s multiple-look defense.
In the video above, McClellin is seen rushing the quarterback from all over the field, and he could find success in Fangio‘s defense if used as a situational pass-rusher this season.
He will not see any time at defensive end in the team’s 3-4 scheme in 2015, but Fangio could give him the opportunity to pin his ears back and attack the quarterback from either the outside linebacker position or the inside linebacker position in obvious passing situations.
McClellin was productive at Boise State when given the freedom to freelance as a pass-rusher, and he could find success this year if given the ability to pick and choose his battles. He was limited as a 4-3 defensive end because the position relied more on strength than athleticism, but he will be able to better utilize his athleticism out of a two-point stance.
He used his hands well and was able to dip his hips to get past blockers in college, and even though his skill set is better suited on the outside in the NFL, his athleticism and quickness should allow him to be a serviceable blitzer up the middle.
McClellin has failed to live up to the expectations of a top-20 draft pick so far in his career, and 2015 will be a big year for him in terms of his future. The team opted not to pick up his fifth-year option for the 2016 season, meaning the 2015 season will be the final year of his rookie contract.
McClellin does not need to put up big sack numbers in order to call 2015 a success, but if he can develop into a serviceable contributor in Fangio‘s system, he has a chance to find new life in Chicago’s 3-4 defense this season.
Statistical information courtesy of NFL.com unless otherwise noted.
Matt Eurich is a Chicago Bears Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.
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