Chick’s exit completes youth movement for Esks’ D-line

EDMONTON — The retirement of one of the league’s all-time sack masters in John Chick made headlines across the CFL last month.

It also completed an off-season youth movement for the Edmonton Eskimos and their defensive line.

Chick joins Odell Willis, Marcus Howard, Phillip Hunt and Euclid Cummings as key off-season departures on Edmonton’s front four, leaving a much younger group heading into 2018.

That leaves the average age of the Esks’ defensive lineman at 25.1, with returning veteran Almondo Sewell the only one older than 30. Da’Quan Bowers, 28, and Alex Bazzie, 27, are the next oldest, giving the Eskimos a much different look on that side of the football.

DEFENSIVE ENDS

DEFENSIVE TACKLES

Despite flying under the radar in 2017, the Eskimos’ defensive line was a driving force in the team’s success, assisting in a 12-win season and a trip to the Western Final.

Most Outstanding Player Mike Reilly made all the headlines for the Green and Gold, but the Eskimos’ defence led by Mike Benevides allowed the third-fewest net yards in the league (341.6 per game) and the second-fewest passing yards (264.1 per game).

The Eskimos’ veteran front-seven, meanwhile, generated the second-most pressures in the CFL (121) and tied for the fourth-most sacks with 44.

The question will be whether the Eskimos can carry that forward with two key starters off the roster. While Hunt and Howard failed to produce in 2017 (a single sack in 12 games between them), Willis and Cummings had eight sacks each, combining for more than a third of the team’s quarterback takedowns.

General Manager Brock Sunderland is entrusting a Canadian at defensive end, with 22-year-old Kwaku Boateng coming off a promising rookie season and helping the Eskimos’ ratio. Boateng was a highly-regarded prospect before falling in the draft last year, but demonstrated he can get to the quarterback with four sacks in a rotational role.

In the middle, the Esks extended 28-year-old Da’Quan Bowers with a year left on his contract. The former second round NFL draft pick is not short on talent and could combine with Sewell to form a dominating presence on the interior.

Former NFL draft pick Da’Quan Bowers had seven sacks in his first CFL season in Edmonton (Jimmy Jeong/CFL.ca)

Opposite of Boateng, Bazzie comes to the Eskimos with a boatload of hype. He’s considered one of the most talented pure pass rushers in the CFL, and comes from the BC Lions with 32 sacks in 56 career games. His rate of 0.57 sacks per game puts him on par with the best, including the departed Willis (0.55 career sacks per game).

Bazzie’s ability as a rush end made him a top target for Sunderland going into free agency a couple of months ago.

“One thing that really sold me and (Head Coach Jason Maas) on him was we watched four consecutive plays and he had a different move on four in a row, and he won on each one,” Sunderland told Esks.com. “And the other thing was pulling up the NFL Hall of Fame Game . . . He was walking back NFL offensive linemen — he had seven solo tackles, he had multiple pressures.

“We think we got a dynamic pass rusher who’s 27 and we think his arrow is still up.”

Mark Mackie, Kalonji Kashama and Mike Moore provide national depth for the Esks’ D-line while 23-year-old Jake Ceresna was impressive for the REDBLACKS in his rookie season last year (he arrived in the Willis trade before Willis was sent to BC). Darius Allen, Devonte Fields and Nick Usher will be in the mix to back up Alex Bazzie.

After coming within four points of returning to the Grey Cup in 2017, the Eskimos are ready to wrestle for the West again this year. Their D-line will play an important role in just how far they can go.

It’ll be hard to stay afloat in the high-octane West without making things uncomfortable for Bo Levi Mitchell, Matt Nichols, Zach Collaros and Jonathon Jennings on a weekly basis.