The Mack Attack
Updated: Sep 25, 2018
KHALIL MACK
Russell Fluech
Monsters of the Midway! It’s a moniker the Chicago Bears have had linked to them for many years. Although they have boasted a top 10 defense the last two years the Bears have not quite lived up to the name. Well, today they traded for Khalil Mack. Mack is notoriously known throughout the league as a defensive superstar that gets to the quarterback better than almost anyone. In 2015 Mack was an AP All-Pro, at TWO positions. It’s hard enough to crack that roster in one spot and Mack did it twice in a year. In 2016, he was the AP Defensive Player of the Year. Mack is the definition of a beast.
The way that Mack plays is incredible. Mack has a deadly speed rush. If you over commit on it, he will make you pay with his counter swim move. He not only has the speed to bend around the tackle, but the power to bull rush right through them. Just look up almost any highlight video and you will see this. If you leave a tackle one on one with Mack, you better have that ball off quick. Mack has a relentless motor that drives him to continue until he hears the whistle.
It was clear months ago that Mack was unhappy in Oakland. When Coach Jon Gruden took over it was months before he met with his defensive superstar. Mack sat out all of OTAs and camp, while he waited to be extended off his rookie contract. He wanted nothing to do with the team, or Gruden, until they paid him the money he deserves. The writing has been on the wall for a while now. When Aaron Donald signed his 6 year 135 million dollar extension, it made it even more clear. Mack was on his way out, the only question was where. Many teams were rumored to have interest in him, why wouldn’t you? One of the top teams to reportedly have the most interest was none other than the Green Bay Packers. The Packers had the ammunition after the trade with the Saints during this year’s draft.
The asking price for #52 was reported to be two 1st round picks plus at least one player. That coupled with the necessary cap space to resign Mack, dropped many suitors out of trade contention as Mack reportedly wants an AAV of over 20 million. The details of the trade boil down to the Bears get: Khalil Mack, a 2020 second-round round pick and a conditional 2020 fifth-round pick. And the Raiders get: 2019 first-round pick, 2020 first-round pick, 2020 third-round pick, 2019 sixth-round pick.
There are many ways you can think about this, the Bears trade a 2020 3rd for the Raiders 2020 2nd. Upgrade. They trade a 2019 6th for 2020 5th. Even trade. That boils down to two 1st rounders for Mack. Looking at the 2019 draft, no prospect is/will be as good as Mack. If he was in the draft he would be the #1 overall selection. So ultimately, the Bears only gave up one 1st round selection for Mack, arguably the most talented defender on our generation. I’m not sure how you all feel about that, but I think that’s a steal for a player who will put consistent pressure on QBs and truly bring The Monster of the Midway back for the next decade.
