FOX 32's Chicago Bears Quarter Century Team, the defense edition

There's something about a great Chicago Bears' defense.

It's iconic. The best defenses this city has seen are synonymous with the best football teams that have played in Chicago.

Last week, we curated the Bears offensive quarter century team.

FOX 32 Chicago continues its collection of quarter century teams, moving on to the Chicago Bears. Part two of this two-part series looks at the Bears' best defensive players.

Defensive Line:

Defensive Tackles: Tommie Harris, Akiem Hicks

Edge Rushers: Khalil Mack, Julius Peppers

This list starts with Mack and Peppers, which were the two biggest acquisitions by the Bears defensively. Mack immediately turned the Bears' defense into a playoff team; Peppers supercharged a defense that included experienced starters, and was eventually inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Hicks was an under-the-radar free agent that joined the Bears in 2016, and grew into the soul of the 2018 Bears' defense. He had 31 sacks in six years with the Bears and was a massive locker room presence. Harris was a rare combination of quickness, disruption and strength at the three-technique tackle and was on track to be one of the best defensive players of all-time for the Bears. Injury and tragedy cut his career short. Had Harris played in Super Bowl XLI, it might have been a different outcome.

Linebackers:

Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, Roquan Smith

Urlacher was the first name on this list. You can't talk about the last 25 years of the Bears without him.

When he reached his peak as a defender, Urlacher was the face of the franchise. He was the battery that charged two contending windows of Bears defenses in 2006 and 2010. He was a four-time All-Pro, eight-time Pro Bowler and the 2005 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. It's a shame his Bears' tenure ended the way it did, but that doesn't change the fact Urlacher is now immortalized as a Hall of Fame linebacker.

Briggs wasn't overshadowed by Urlacher. Rather, he was in his own rare air. Briggs made seven straight Pro Bowls and made three All-Pro teams. He hit hard and was the perfect compliment to Urlacher for the better part of a decade.

Smith was on track to be the next great Bears linebacker. He was a rookie during the 2018 season and didn't miss a step in integrating himself into the defense. In his five years as a Bear, Smith amassed 607 tackles, two second-team All-Pro selections, 16.5 sacks, seven interceptions and 47 tackles for loss. Statistically, he had the goods. As the centerpiece of the defense, he was even better.

Cornerbacks:

Charlies Tillman, Jaylon Johnson

There's no debate about the first player on this list. Charles Tillman has a whole play named after him.

The "Peanut Punch" revolutionized how cornerbacks approach tackling ball carriers. With a swift, well-timed punch, Tillman went on to force 42 fumbles in his 12 years with the Bears. He also grabbed 36 interceptions, earned two Pro Bowl nods and a first-team All-Pro honor in 2012.

There's a difficult discussion between Johnson and fellow All-Pro cornerback Kyle Fuller. Fuller has the production on paper with more than double the interceptions Johnson has through the first four years of their Bears' tenure, but they have the same number of All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors. Once defensive coordinator Vic Fangio left for Denver, Fuller's numbers were never the same. It remains to be seen how Dennis Allen can help Johnson, but the Bears' current CB1 is seemingly sustaining his Pro Bowl-level of play entering his sixth year in the NFL. 

Safeties:

Eddie Jackson, Mike Brown

Jackson had perhaps one of the single-best seasons by a Bears' defender in years. He was a first-team All-Pro in 2018 after returning two interceptions and one fumble for touchdowns. He was the kind of playmaker the Bears had been searching for, and he fell into their lap as a fourth-round pick because of a broken leg he suffered in college. Jackson never sustained the All-Pro level of play, but he still finished his Bears' tenure with six turnovers returned for touchdowns, 15 interceptions and 10 forced fumbles.

Brown was a talented playmaker, too. It was a shame injuries derailed his career because he was such a talented safety on the back end. Brown had 17 interceptions in his nine years with the Bears, and made two All-Pro teams in his career. One of the biggest "what ifs" in Bears history has to be: What if Mike Brown and Tommie Harris both played in Super Bowl XLI? We'll never know the answer, but it's easy to argue the outcome would've been different.

Imagine both of these players on the same team.

Special Teams:

Kicker: Robbie Gould

Punter: Brad Maynard

Long Snapper: Pat Mannelly

Punt Returner: Devin Hester

Kick Returner: Cordarrelle Patterson

This is an easy list to compile.

Mannelly and Maynard were the model of consistency with the Bears for the better part of two decades. Gould was an All-Pro kicker and became the Bears' all-time leader in points scored after his 11 years with the team. He remained an honorary Bear after he helped bounce the Green Bay Packers twice during his tenure with the San Francisco 49ers.

Devin Hester is the best return man in NFL history, full stop.

But, we can still make room for Patterson who was an All-Pro with the Bears as a kick returner in 2019 and 2020. 

It was hard to leave out...:

DE: Alex Brown

DE: Adewale Ogunleye

DE: Israel Idonije

DT: Ted Washington

DT: Eddie Goldman

DT: Henry Melton

LB: Roosevelt Colvin

CB: Kyle Fuller

CB: Tim Jennings

CB: Nathan Vasher

S: Adrian Amos

S: Chris Harris

CB / Returnman: R.W. McQuarters

CB / Punt Returner: Jerry Azumah

These guys just missed the cut, but they made it hard to do so.

Brown and Ogunleye were a pass rush tag team that enforced the Bears' run in the 2000s to the Super Bowl. Idonije went from being a reserve in the early 2000s to becoming a player who recorded 20.5 sacks between 2010 and 2012.

Melton was a running back-turned-defensive lineman and made a Pro Bowl with the Bears in the 2010s. Washington and Colvin weren't with the Bears long in the 2000s, but they still have standout seasons with the Bears. 

The Bears have been blessed with great cornerback play. Fuller, Vasher and Jennings were all playmakers, especially considering Fuller and Jennings both led the league in interceptions for a season. 

Amos is most remembered for leaving Chicago for a payday in Green Bay, but he was still a talented safety when he came out of Penn State. Harris was an underrated safety who had two stints with the Bears, and made an All-Pro team in 2010. 

Before Devin Hester arrived, the Bears had Azumah and McQuarters. Those two were solid cornerbacks and dangerous return men.

FOX 32's Quarter Century Team List

• FOX 32’s Chicago Bulls Quarter Century Team, from Rose to Taj
• FOX 32’s Chicago Blackhawks Quarter Century Team, from Kane to Crawford
• FOX 32’s Chicago White Sox Quarter Century Team, from Pierzynski to Jenks
• FOX 32’s Chicago Cubs Quarter Century Team, from Contreras to Marmol
• FOX 32's Chicago Bears Quarter Century Team, the offense edition