Bears DE Dayo Odeyingbo believes he's ready to break out
The Chicago Bears prioritized the trenches during free agency, which included the signing of defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo to shore up the edge opposite Montez Sweat.
The Bears pass rush was average last season, totaling 40 sacks with Sweat leading the way with 3.5 sacks in a down year. With the arrival of new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, getting after the quarterback is a prime focus. Enter Odeyingbo, who believes he's just hitting his stride and is ready to break out.
"I still believe I'm just at the beginning," Odeyingbo said in his introductory press conference. "I have a lot of football ahead of me and I'm just starting to hit my stride. I've gone through a lot of learning throughout my years with the injury and having to grow through that, and I think it's made me a better player.
"I think I've improved consistently every year that I've played and I plan to continue to do that. For me, I feel like you should never stop improving as a player, stop getting better as a player. I'm just at the beginning of my career and I have a lot of great things ahead of me."
Odeyingbo wasn't the proven veteran that fans were expecting the team to sign in free agency. He's started just 19 games in his four-year career, where he's totaled 16.5 sacks. But it's Odeyingbo's ability to play in different alignments that attracted general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson.
"If you watch the tape, you understand how disruptive he can be, both inside and outside," Johnson said. "He's 25, he's played a few years in the league —and this goes into our collaboration and working well in terms of the front office and coaching staff. We believe that there's even more room to grow for him to continue to get better."
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears DE Dayo Odeyingbo believes he's ready to break out
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