Each year before I hunker down to write my 10 Most Important Bears series, I always take some time to really give the placement of everyone some thought. My list always goes through some changes before I publish, as my process is to jot down a group of players and coaches that I feel will be critical to the team’s success before I even get around to ranking them. Then once I have a solid list down I’ll start to move players up or down depending on my own subjective idea for importance.
“What potential impact they may have, how much the team will look to the individual for guidance or leadership, how badly the team would suffer if they lost the player to injury, and other intangible attributes.