Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show
Clay Harbor: Fixing Bears' run defense should be a 'massive' priority
12 Feb 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Rahimi Harrison-Grody.
The great Kevin Harlan.
I just pulled through the Taco Bell drive-thru, and I've got a couple of big, nasty Supreme Burritos right here waiting to be eaten. You know, the first thing they ask you now, are you using the app? The app? No, I just want my burritos. I don't want to use an app. Bring a lot of mild sauce, because I'm going to squirt it all over the place.
put some hot sauce on my burrito baby rahimi harris and grody middays 10 a.m to 2 on the score time consumed only one yard take the snap at 52 and now they've got him it's hendrickson one play after nearly getting to him this time he completes the deal i don't know jim
I got Ray Diaz. You got me. Did you spill your drink?
Almost. A little bit. A little bit worse.
That's CBS, in case you were wondering. That's Jim Nance. This is Rahimi Harrison-Grody on 104.3 The Score. And that is a call of Trey Hendrickson. And I keep laughing the whole time because of Kevin Harlan into the Trey Hendrickson into I don't know, Jim. Story of my life. I want to ask you, Clay Harbor, who is in the studio with us, The reason you picked your top three free agents.
Each time you said something about run fits. How much is fixing the Bears run defense a priority to you this offseason?
Oh, it's massive. I think when you look at the Bears, they're not going to survive another year with the defense they had like they did last year. You can't count on 33 turnovers. As much as you think, yeah, where does a team that gets turnover? Takeaways. Every team I've been on, everybody's saying takeaways, takeaways, takeaways. I know you emphasize it. I know you practice it. Everybody does.
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Chapter 2: What is the primary concern for the Bears' defense this offseason?
Love it. Another early sack, another early sack. And that's what really just impressed me so much about what they did.
And you know what's also interesting when you look at Seattle and you look at Philadelphia, right? I think these two last Super Bowl shows you, you go back and it was the era of Tom Brady, Mahomes, superstar quarterback.
Chapter 3: Why is fixing the Bears' run defense considered a massive priority?
That's how you win the championships, right? Then you see Jalen Hurts. Then you see Sam Darnold win these championships, win these Super Bowls. What does that tell you? These guys, minus the Super Bowl, their performance in the playoffs, both of them maybe in the top 10? I mean, they're not top-level quarterbacks we're talking about here.
So getting a defense like they have, that's becoming a run game. You saw what Kenneth Walker was able to do. Run game and defense matters, and I think the Bears got a good, solid run game. Offensive line, obviously we see left tackle matters too with how Will Campbell was bullied. But defensively, being able to pressure without blitzing is the best way to beat any quarterback.
In Seattle, the stunts, the games they're playing, they have double mug pressures with the linebackers. The linebackers back out. They jump out to their zone coverages. Then you're sending defensive backs. Devin Weatherspoon, Eamon Warrior, blitzing. So there's becoming...
This change, this shift to trying to find a group of guys that can just get pressure, not so much just focus on having the Brady, the Mahomes. Now you're seeing teams win the last two Super Bowls with defensive lines that are just big and can pressure the passer.
Which one was more impressive to you, the defensive performances in the last two Super Bowls? Was it the Eagles or the Seahawks?
I would say probably the Eagles, and I think that was because they didn't blitz Patrick Mahomes one time. They sat back, Vic Fangio in the cover two shell, and just got after Mahomes. And the best quarterback of this generation, they made him look pedestrian. Obviously the Seahawks defense did great, but you look, the Patriots were stumbling into this game.
They played a lot of good defenses, and I'm not going to hate on Drake May. I would still take Caleb over Drake May, thank you very much. But he is not the same caliber guy as Patrick Mahomes, I'm sorry.
I think that's fair, and there's been some talk about whether or not Vic was going to come back. If he wanted to, he could retire comfortably, financially, Vic.
I'm sure.
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Chapter 4: How do takeaways impact a football team's success?
As far as Vic Fangio, his defense isn't really deceptive. That's the thing. He's going to give you a lot of cover, too. He's going to sit back. The problem with his defense is they've got good players, and he knows how to play them. Howie.
Chapter 5: What defensive strategies can help stop the run effectively?
Yeah, Howie drafts good players. You've got Jalen Carter on the inside. You've got Jordan Davis. Jalex Hunt was a guy that came on this year, and obviously they weren't the defense they were last year. But they just do such a good job of playing their roles and their keys, and obviously we saw how the Bears ran on them. That typically doesn't happen. They draft well.
N'Kobe Dean, a guy that's a free agent linebacker this year, if you do get rid of Tremaine Edmonds, he's a guy that you could probably get for less. But they just... did a good job of drafting Jad Campbell. They have players that play well in their system, and they put them in places where they can have success. You're not playing these guys out of place.
It seems like Vic Fangio always has this guy in the right spot where he can make the most plays, and he can get the most out of them.
I think it's a fair assessment.
When you get closer to the draft, and we're just starting, you're going to have narrowed down who you think the Bears can take. But you already have an out-of-the-gate, can we call this? Out-of-the-gate mock draft. 1.0 for Clay Harbor?
Yeah, 25, right? And this is obviously, we haven't seen the combine. We haven't seen the pro days. But from watching tape, from gathering info, I just think these two guys would be really good fits. And these are two options at 25. Some people have this guy mocked before. Some people have this guy mocked after. But I found the left tackle for the Bears. His name is Caden Proctor from Alabama.
This dude is 6'7", 366 pounds. He makes the mountain from Game of Thrones look small. He's got 35 1ā2-inch arms. He can tie his shoes standing up. This guy was a Feldman freak. He's a freak athlete. There's a list that they put out of the best athletes in college football. At 366 pounds, this guy benched over 500 pounds, he power cleaned 450, and he squatted 800 pounds.
I turn on the tape, I go, how can a 6'7", 370-pound man move? He can move. He's not the most fleet of foot, but if you put him... And Darnell Wright, as your left and right tackles, you've got two beasts. This guy's nasty in the run game. He's powerful in the pass game.
I think if you give him an offseason with Dan Rochard, he can turn him into somebody that can just eject players from that line of scrimmage and really build on that run game and is a strong defender as far as pass rush is concerned.
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Chapter 6: Why is Kyler Gordon crucial for the Bears' defensive lineup?
Unless you're Trent Williams, and he is the store.
So are you guys ready for number two? It's got to be quick, but yes. Real quick, Ed Rusher. You guys have seen Miami, Reuben Bain, Ed Rusher. There's another Ed Rusher on this team. His name is Akeem Mezidor. This guy had five and a half sacks in the college football playoffs. He's extremely agile. He's a big guy. He can stop the run, but he's a really good pass rusher.
that just got overshadowed a little bit by Bain. Akeem Azador is a guy to keep your eye on at the combine when you start looking at him. He's a guy that I think would be a really good edge rusher to put on the opposite side of Montez Sweat, and you don't have to give up any draft picks. But if both those guys are there, you're taking the tackle. I'm taking the tackle. We need the left tackle.
Yeah, yeah, I agree with that. Clay Harbor, this is always fun. Thank you for joining us all season long.
We're going to miss you, Clay.
No, let's get together, guys. Let's go out and glitch in the Matrix. Glitch in the Matrix. Yeah, let's do it. Okay.
Glitch in the Matrix is fun.
I'm just going to go ahead and hang in.
It's being at a casino.
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