Bears' Adrian Amos recognized as best free safety in NFL

Bears’ Adrian Amos recognized as best free safety in NFL

By Dan Cahill

Football insiders have taken notice of Bears free safety Adrian Amos. (Getty Images)

If you asked Bears fans to name the best players on the team, some might get a handful deep before the name Adrian Amos came up.

Not so for football insiders. Amos’ play has been receiving high grades in various offseason ratings.

Pro Football Focus named Amos a starting safety on its All-Pro team, grading out just behind Harrison Smith of the Vikings. No Bears made the actual Pro Bowl team.

Bleacher Report went one step farther, ranking Amos the No. 1 safety in the NFL.

Amos was followed by Devin McCourty of the Patriots, Kevin Byard of the Titans, Glover Quin of the Lions and Andrew Sendejo of the Vikings.

Here’s what Kyle Posey, an NFL-1000 DB scout, wrote about Amos for BR:

The Bears have one of the NFL’s better up-and-coming safety duos, and Adrian Amos has a lot to do with that. Smash rightfully earned his nickname. Amos had a phenomenal 2017. He was outstanding against the run and a sure tackler. In coverage, he showed the kind of awareness that can make him a league-wide star.

The Bears drafted Amos out of Penn State in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. The 24-year-old has averaged 57 tackles per season during his three years in Chicago.

Here’s what PFF wrote about Amos:

Chicago’s Adrian Amos is seen by many as just another guy, but his ability to simply make the plays you expect a safety to make is not to be underestimated. Safeties by their nature are almost contingency players, coming downhill to add to run fits and adding coverage help on the back end to shore up the cornerbacks. Amos notched 26 defensive stops, just two fewer than Smith managed on almost 300 fewer snaps. He may not make as many splash plays as other players at the position, but he makes all the expected plays without making mistakes.

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