Jerrell Freeman named Mid Season All Pro

There hasn’t been much to celebrate with the 2-6 2016 Chicago Bears, and depending on how you feel about mid-season All Pro awards, there still may not be.

But if you’re looking for something positive to hold onto from their first eight games, then the play of inside linebacker Jerrell Freeman may be something.

I recently picked Freeman as my Chicago Bears Defensive Player of the Midseason in my podcast, and now Freeman was named to the Pro Football Focus 2016 Midseason All Pro Team at linebacker. Freeman’s 92.1 PFF grade is the 3rd highest they’ve doled out so far, behind only New England QB Tom Brady (96.4) and Los Angeles DT Aaron Donald (95.6).

“Freeman has continued his excellent play from a year ago, even if he has changed exactly what he is excelling at,” this according to PFF. “Last season, Freeman’s run defense was outstanding, but this year, his best play has come against the pass, where he has made a habit of tackling receivers after short gains and putting the offense behind the eight-ball.”

Freeman leads the Bears in tackles by a wide margin with 72, which is 29 more than Chicago’s 2nd leading tackler Harold Jones-Quartey has.