American Football

West’s 21st Century Bears team: Caleb and the Clawettes!

May 16, 2024

NFL: Chicago Bears-Rookie Minicamp — David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Check out Mason West’s 21st Centrury Chicago Bears Fantasy Team!

After the 2024 NFL Draft, several of us at Windy City Gridiron participated in a 21st-century all-Chicago Bears fantasy draft.

What does that mean? Well, eight of our staffers got together in a randomized snake draft to build out a roster in all three phases consisting only of Bears players from the year 2000 to the present. Some people will argue the 21st century starts in 2001, but they can go to hell. It was a fun exercise, both in trying to build a complete roster and in going down memory lane.

Back in 2018, we ran a similar exercise with every player to ever suit up for the Bears. This time, though, our time constraint allowed us to really get into the weeds and get creative — or in some cases, depressing — with our selections.

This process consisted of 26 rounds, with 12 people on offense, 12 people on defense, and two special teamers. This allowed us some flexibility for our 11th man on the field, and consolidating kicker and punter into one position prevented any of us from having to select players who only played a game or two for the Bears.

Here is Mason West’s team in his own words…

Caleb and the Clawettes

(Editor: The real name of his team is Caleb’s Pretty Good to Really Really Really Great Brigade Who Didn’t Really Get Their Due (Read in the Zoolander Voice) but that was too big for the article title.)

What is the one thing that the Bears are really not known for in a positive light? Quarterback. Jay Cutler went 1.01, which can be argued in terms of first-overall pick usage, but there is a paucity of long-term and good QBs. I chose to go for a brighter future. What sounds better? A shining light that is Caleb Williams or the frustrating early careers of Mitch/Justin? The high floor-low ceiling play of Kyle Orton/Josh McCown?

Caleb was the answer at the end of round 1.

I wanted to prioritize wide receiver next, but I just couldn’t turn down a first-ballot Hall of Famer in Julius Peppers. The Bears don’t often have a lot of success with free agents being more than contributors, but Peppers arguably had one of the best free agent careers with the Bears, even more than considering Pepper’s impact and longevity in Chicago. Not a bad double dip.

Then came a long wait seeing the receivers I wanted fly off the board in DJ Moore and Alshon Jeffrey. So, why not go with the most prolific Bears WR of the early 2000s? Marty Booker ranks 8th overall in receiving yards, 3rd in this time period behind only Alshon and Matt Forte with 3,895 yards. He had an 11-year career and was a functional WR throughout.

I continued my emphasis on offense with arguably the Bears 2nd best running back in the 2000s, Thomas Jones. There is a reason Bears fans were so upset in the drafting of Cedric Benson. He is 7th all-time in rushing yards for the Bears with 3493 yards and he had 22 TDs with only 3 years of service. Compare that to 4 years of David Montgomery (3609 yards/26 TDs). Jones was done a disservice and could have cemented himself as 2nd best all-time Bears RB if given the chance.

I then realized that I was behind the 8 ball in terms of offensive line. I knew I would not have the best OL in the draft, but I needed to start somewhere. Why not one of the best OLs the Bears currently have who is already grading as a top tackle after just one year? Enter Darnell Wright. Playing through a shoulder injury, he still was one of the best rookie OLs last year and outplayed plenty of more senior tackles. Wright looks to be a cornerstone player for the Bears going forward.

Tarik Cohen was one of my favorite players on that 2018 team, so I had to do it. He made us little guys (I am 5’8” for reference) feel like we could be a part of the conversation. I already had my RB so I took him as a special teamer. I mean do you remember Cohen’s return late in the Eagles wildcard game that nearly resulted in a Bears win? In 2018, he was selected to his first Pro Bowl after leading the NFL with 411 punt return yards and averaging 12.5 yards per punt return. His career was cut short by a brutal ACL tear and further derailed by an Achilles rupture during his comeback. He changed games with his presence on offense and special teams.

Like wide receiver, tight end is not a historical position for the Bears and Greg Olsen was long gone, so I picked Desmond Clark. He would be a top 10 tight end in today’s pass happy NFL. The guy is 3rd all time in receiving yards, first in this time period. He deserves his flowers.

Defense. I need defense. Adrian Amos and Bryce Callahan were integral parts of the dominant 2018 defense, and you can see that simply by looking at the contracts they were offered by other teams to play for them. Tyrique Stevenson held his own last year as a rookie. He needs to get the penalties in order, but he didn’t blink and was able to turn the ball over.

Going back to What If stories, Cameron Meredith. Bears fans and coaches were excited to see what he could do after his breakout season but a torn ACL in preseason derailed that. He ranks 27th all-time in yards per game, 21st in receptions per game, and 18th in yards per target. We are picking based on peak performance and one year of Meredith is good by me.

For the rest, a few sentences per pick:

DE Willie Young—During his time with the Bears, Young had 77 solo tackles and 26 sacks, which most other Bears players couldn’t touch in this time period.
DT Stephen Paea- Besides holding the NFL combine for bench press with 49 reps, Paea was a consistent performer for the Bears between 2011 and 2014 but a switch from 4-3 to 3-4 in 2015 doomed his fit.
LG Chris Williams- This pick may not be everyone’s favorite, but A) I need a guard, and B) he was a 14th overall pick who played in 50 games with 38 starts in five seasons. He wasn’t great but he was usable.
LT J’Marcus Webb- Say what you will about Webb but Chris Williams could not beat him out for LT. Webb came into the NFL as a seventh-round pick and was just 20 years old. He improved significantly in his three years of starting but could not lock onto fundamentals. Still, he was average for the Bears… which isn’t bad!
C Ted Larsen- Definition of a functional football player. He had 2 stints with the Bears (2016 and 2019). Larsen started eight games for the Bears in 2016 after Kyle Long injured his ankle. He got snaps at center and was not the reason a sack or pressures happened.
S Antrelle Rolle- “I’m here for a good time, not a long time.” In 2015 week 3, Rolle had a season-high ten combined tackles (seven solos) during a 26–0 loss at the Seahawks. Then he was sidelined for 2 weeks with a sprained ankle. A few weeks later, in November, Rolle sprained his MCL while participating in a walk-through. He finished his lone season with the Chicago Bears with only 35 combined tackles (30 solo) and a pass deflection in seven games and seven starts. Oh, what could have been.
DT Justin Jones- Justin Jones was a good 3t. Not great, not an engine of a defense like Eberflus needed, but good. Jones has played over 700 snaps in each of the last seasons for the Bears, starting all 34 games. He had 4.5 sacks and 17 QB hits in 2023. He signed a well-earned 3-year deal with the Cardinals for $30.1 million with $19.75 million guaranteed. You don’t get that if you’re bad.
FB Jason Mckie- This was a steal of a pick. Jason Mckie is synonymous with early 2000s Bears football. A UDFA who earned every snap he got, McKie was claimed off waivers by the Chicago Bears in 2003. He was your traditional fullback, helping Matt Forte break the franchise record for most rushing yards by a rookie. In 2010, he was released after the team hired new offensive coordinator Mike Martz. I hate Mike Martz.
WR Devin Aromashodu- More like Devin Aromasho-”DUDE.” Devin was inactive his first year with the team; Jay Cutler lobbied the team’s offensive coordinator, Ron Turner, to give Aromashodu playing time. During the 2009 season finale, he caught two touchdowns on 46 yards on five receptions finishing the season with 24 catches, 298 yards, and four receiving touchdowns. The finish was so good that it caused an uproar as to why it took so long for him to get significant playing time. Making Ron Turner look silly makes me smile. Devin certainly could have had a bigger impact with a better OC. Fight me.
LB Shea McClellin- Oh, Shea. He injured Aaron Rodgers. Is that not enough for you? Shea was in an odd place. Was he a DE? Was he a LB? Lack of consistency hurt his growth. In 2015 he switched to LB and racked up 81 total tackles. Worthy of a first-round pick? No. But he was a good player who had too many expectations put on him when the DC didn’t even know how to use him
LB Sam Acho- Sam was the perfect player for this time in bears history. The team was not good and was in transition. A consummate professional who was mainly a backup, BUT he became a starting outside linebacker for the last nine games of the regular season after Willie Young and Leonard Floyd both suffered injuries and were placed on injured reserve. Takes a special player to “always be ready” and perform at a decent level. He had a 1-game, 25-start tenure with 140 total tackles (17 on special teams), four sacks, three forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery that only ended due to a torn pec.
DE Yannick Ngakoue- This is tough. Yannick signed a one-year deal worth $10.5 million and instantly upgraded the team’s front seven but he had a limited impact. The DL sucked last year until the Sweat Effect became activated. He had 2 sacks through week 9 but added 2 more in the next 4 weeks until he got hurt. He has the high profile one wants, but Bears-specific production leaves you wanting. No guarantee he is back in 2024 but I have a feeling he will be.
DE Mitch Unrein- So pretty cool, Unrein’s wife is Olympic bronze-medalist trapshooter Corey Cogdell. Is your spouse that cool? I think not. Mitch was a solid player who even got some run at fullback in special packages. He ended the 2015 season (his first) with 32 tackles, two tackles-for-loss, and a sack. He was re-signed on a 2-year deal. In 2017, Unrein started eight out of 12 games played, recording a career-high 32 tackles and 2.5 sacks before ending the season on IR. This range is all about solid contributors.
K Connor Barth- Sure he was 11/16 in his Bears career. Sure, as Sam Householder puts it, “I was at Barth’s final game as a Bear, and for that reason alone, I couldn’t pick him. I’ll never forgive him for that miss.” But he was 17/17 on XPs so… that is something?
RG Rashaad Coward- Look, the guy was a DT and he was a good enough athlete and player that the Bears wanted him on their team somehow some way. They transitioned him to guard and he did ok. You have to admire someone that a team forces a way to keep you and you can actually make an impact in a totally different position.