Twenty-five years of Chicago Bears football are in the books since the turn of the century. Since the calendar turned over to 2000, the Bears have seen some success, but also plenty of woeful stretches. Early on, Chicago became a defensive force, claiming four division titles and reaching only their second Super Bowl in franchise history from 2000 to 2010. Since then, however, a 14-year playoff victory drought that is still ongoing and a one-sided fight with their rival Green Bay Packers have taken the spotlight.
For all the ups and downs the Bears have seen, however, they had plenty of talent over the years across offense and defense. Multiple former Bears players are already in the Hall of Fame, while many more provided years of incredible play in the navy and orange.
Here at Bears Wire, we’re celebrating the best Bears players at each position over the last 25 years. Up next is defensive tackle, a position that has been a catalyst for some of the best Bears defenses in franchise history.
Tommie Harris
The vaunted Bears defense of the mid-2000s had plenty of star power, such as Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, Mike Brown, and Charles Tillman. But none were as important as Tommie Harris, the linchpinof Lovie Smith’s Tampa 2 defense in Chicago. Harris was the first draft pick of the Lovie era, a player the coach compared to Warren Sapp. It was easy to see why.
The first-round pick quickly solidified himself as a force up the middle, bullying guards off their blocks and chasing down running backs or quarterbacks with speed across the sidelines. Harris earned Pro Bowl honors three years in a row and was Second-Team All-Pro in 2005. The only thing that could slow Harris down was injuries, which became prevalent later in his career.
The most consequential injury took place late in the 2006 season, when Harris missed the rest of the year due to a hamstring injury. Had he been healthy, there’s a good shot the Bears would have wound up winning Super Bowl XLI. Regardless, Harris was a menace during the 2000s, and his play was a big reason why those defenses were elite.
Akiem Hicks
There’s an argument to be made that no one embodied what it meant to be a Chicago Bear over the last 25 years more than Akiem Hicks. The talented defensive tackle arrived in Chicago as an intriguing free agent and left as one of the most important players in recent memory.
Hicks joined the Bears in 2016 and easily outperformed his contract with a career year, totaling 8.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss. The Bears signed him to a long-term extension, and Hicks maintained his high level of production that helped vault the defense into a top unit in 2018.
With Hicks’ help, the Bears won the division and gave Chicago one of the best defensive units they had seen. Hicks played with a tenacity while showing passion that fired Bears fans up all across the world. While Hicks’ play started to come back down to earth in part due to injuries, his impact on Vic Fangio’s defense won’t soon be forgotten.
Henry Melton
Near the end of the 2000s, when Harris was on his last legs, the Bears had a hole at the defensive tackle position. Henry Melton stepped up and filled the void. The 2009 fourth-round pick out of Texas, Melton began making an impact in 2010 as a reserve before becoming a full-time starter in 2011.
Melton was an athletic three-technique who took advantage of opportunities on the line thanks to the attention given to Julius Peppers. His best two seasons came in 2011 and 2012, when he totaled 13 sacks and 20 tackles. His Bears career didn’t last too long, as the team placed the franchise tag on him for the 2013 season, where he played just three games due to suffering a season-ending injury. Melton lasted just two more years in the league, but his play in Chicago helped keep the Bears defense a formidable unit.
Ted Washington
Tough decisions were made when it came down to the final spot for the defensive tackles. While Eddie Goldman was an underrated run stuffer for half a decade in the 2010s, he never dominated like Ted Washington did—even if his stint was short-lived. Washington signed with the Bears as a free agent in 2001 after already being a massive human, playing at 6’5″ and 365 pounds, who swallowed double teams like it was nothing during the Bears’ magical 2001 season when they went 13-3 and won the NFC Central.
Washington made everyone’s lives easier by helping stuff the run and creating opportunities for players like Brian Urlacher, Rosevelt Colvin, and Phillip Daniels. His play earned him First-Team All-Pro honors that season. He also brought veteran leadership to the team, one that didn’t have much experience playing winning football prior to his arrival. Washington only played a season and a half due to injury, but his impact on that 2001 team is still talked about to this day.
Honorable mention: Eddie Goldman
Bears All-Quarter Century Team
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears All-Quarter Century Team: Defensive tackles
Reporting by Brendan Sugrue and Alyssa Barbieri, Bears Wire / Bears Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
