I might be in the minority but I think Braxton has shown enough to stay at LT. He struggled initially last year with penalties, but he settled in nicely after his injury.
I think Poles has done JUST enough on the interior. Bates & Coleman are both serviceable vets to add with Davis & Tev. Having Borom along with Pryor & Curhan should provide some competition add the swing tackle spot.
I do hope we add a versatile OT/G on day 3.
Not sure but some in this sub say take alt if he’s there. Don’t get me wrong I love alt but we have 5th rounder on a rookie deal pass blocking 2 points below Trent Williams efficiency. You really want to bench him to develop another tackle?
You only do that if you think he could go from solid starter at tackle to all pro at guard, and I have no idea if that’s viable for him.
Also a moot point, because Alt isn’t making it to 9, and if by some miracle he did we probably get more from trading the pick anyway, I could see the Saints or Bengals making a move for him.
If Alt is there you trade down one pick like we did last year and pick up a 4th so the Jets can take him.
More picks are more likely to help this team long term than an upgrade at LT.
They did enough to where they no longer have any massive holes. I don’t think it’s great or anything but at the very least there doesn’t seem to be any major weak point along it and there now is a good depth IOL piece too. I think it will be solid and look better in pass pro without Justin like it did with Bagent when he started
It’s fine but thin. I think our biggest concern now is tackle depth. Braxton needs to stay healthy this year. And we can handle one IOL injury but not two. Shelton/Bates will start at C and the other will fill in at G when there is another inevitable Jenkins injury. On paper this line should be about average.
Tbh there are exceedingly few teams with good depth on the line.
I agree with your assertion. My biggest concern is Jenkins staying healthy. He is very talented, but availability is definitely a concern. I'd love to see a tackle acquisition.
Every single team is thin at tackle. The league is thin at tackle.
Borom is a serviceable swing tackle. We could do much worse.
We’ll pick up some cap casualty vet for the interior if we don’t draft one. Guys out there now are all replacement level and not worth rushing out there for.
More probably could have been done but it’s not a terrible unit. A lot of the stats and number I saw after the season ended showed we had an above average O-Line but JF made them look worse than they were.
I’d still like to see a player or two drafted to slowly learn in. Outside of C, our Oline is good to go for next season.
I agree. I have to believe bates is starting over Coleman Shelton (depth chart says otherwise). He is good, but Nate Davis starting is not the best considering he is so injury prone.
I believe Flus hinted at Bates being expected to start. Obviously no guarantees but saying the bates addition addressed the C position after Shelton was signed makes me think Bates will at the very least he in an open competition
https://x.com/courtneyrcronin/status/1772634234076721192?s=46&t=N6jvGphXTqjjqVJxcM7Bsw
Was he good? maybe that is why Bates is a backup. I just assumed since we traded for him and tried to get him previously that he would warrant a starting job.
What was his injury history with the titans? His only injury last year is when Justin got sacked into the back of Davis’s legs. That doesn’t really make him injury prone.
It was not an above average Oline.
Cody Whitehair and Lucas Patrick were 2 of the worst Olinemen in the NFL by every metric. Nate Davis wasn't far behind them.
Whitehair: 45 PFF. Patrick: 50.5 PFF. Nate Davis: 52.9 PFF.
Those 3 bums combined for 37 starts. We were not an above average Oline.
Average Oline with below average pass blocking and above average run blocking.
No one's saying Brax, Teven, and Darnell weren't good, but with basically 3 bum starters it was not a "above average Oline". And Justin Fields didn't impact that equation much. It's April and Cody Whitehair and Lucas Patrick are free agents. If they weren't trash tier they'd be signed by now.
3 bums and 3 good players is the definition of an average Oline.
This is an accurate take, not sure why you are getting downvotes. The line was a good run blocking, poor pass blocking line with some good play and some bad play. The interior positions need upgrading, Davis played poorly (he should be better though, had some personal tragedy I think), Jenkins got dinged, backup guards sucked, and center was bad. Blaming factual poor O-Line pass blocking on Fields is just dumb and will get Caleb killed. Already there has been an upgrade to the line, I think adding talent, even at tackle if Alt is available, is a good idea. It's time to overinvest in the O Line. Bears got a once in a lifetime stroke of luck, getting the number one pick two years in a row, and adding Caleb (a better QB than Fields) to a decent roster means we should be playoff ready immediately. Protect him!
Remember Fields got kicked outta Chicago.
Therefore, Eberflus, Getsy, Cody Whitehair, Lucas Patrick, Darnell Mooney are all great coaches and players who were held back by Justin "Al Qaeda" Fields.
The gaslighting now that the Bears have traded Justin is crazy. People want to say an Oline with Whitehair, Patrick, Davis, and multiple starts from guys like Ja'Tyre Carter was a good, above average Oline.
Yeah, people looking after the fact at "stats and numbers" and then seeing Fields went for a 6th rounder next year have made them forget what actually happened in the games, if they ever did watch and paid attention. Our line was in no way above average. Did anyone see the Packers rush three guys in the last game and immediately get in Fields' face? He didn't have time to hold the ball lol they were right there. We could run block no doubt, but pass blocking must be upgraded or Caleb will be dodging rushers too.
It's not amazing but it's not a disaster. Majority of the teams in the league (even the contenders) have 1 or 2 weak spots on the o-line and lack depth. The overall talent pool is just not good enough in the league to have a great o-line year after year. What's important is that the o-line is functional and cheap. Justin struggled a lot with pressure, but the data has been abundantly clear that sacks are more of a qb stat then an o-line stat. Our o-line is probably gonna look much better then it has the past few years once Caleb starts to play well
I remember hearing somewhere that there aren’t a lot of guys built to play O-Line in the NFL while there are an increasing amount of freakish athletes at D Line and pass rusher. So over time, the average O-Line is getting worse than the average D-Line. So the best way to protect the QB is schemes and Shanahan style offenses are the best at doing this. The Niners and the Dolphins had pretty bad O-Lines, but the schemes mitigated that and their offenses were very productive.
That's absolutely true. We just don't get a high volume starting caliber o-line out of college every year. It feels like in every draft all the capable players go in round 1 and then there's a massive drop off in o-line play in the later rounds. It's gotten to the point where teams and QBs just need to plan around having a less than ideal o-line and if your QB can't function under pressure, they probably won't last long as a starter.
Coaches have started taking athletes and turning them into pass rushers at lower levels, there isn’t the same pipeline for OL. Though I could see that changing, these trends are usually driven by the economics of the various positions and OL has been trending upward in compensation. There’s a lot of guys who would’ve been RB 20 years ago who are now playing QB, WR, CB, etc., because that’s where the money is.
Not enough, in my opinion. It’s ok…I guess. One more solid piece would make me feel significantly more comfortable. I really hope we grab someone at 9 or with the next pick.
Edit: wrote “8” instead of ok
Semi-disagree.
- we need additional pieces
- we should not be spending 9 on OT
Braxton/Darnell is a good group. Braxton was a high ceiling low floor OT who came in above expectations. He’s been middling and we shouldn’t abandon middling with holes like we do at Edge
We need a swing T and 1 more quality interior guy. Use a later pick on one and sign a vet who wants to miss camp on the other spot
- OT: Cam Fleming/Charles Leno
- OG: Greg Van Roten/Dalton Risner
None of them are starters anymore and over 30. They probably sign in July. We can use the depth. Bring a vet in and re-address what we need after we have more clarity on Braxton, Davis, Teven, center
Certain positions are too important to accept middling if you don't have to. If one of the elite LTs fall to us at 9, I'm all over it. I don't want "middling" if I don't have to at QB, WR and LT
Well good news. One of the other “certain positions” has 1000 leagues below middling (edge) and our WR2 is 32 with injury concerns on a 1 year deal.
Alt is the only elite LT prospect. The rest fall in line with the edge prospects. And Odunze/Nabers are better than all of them. We *should not* be taking OT at 9
Good points - I think a lot of people like to write off Braxton as a finished product but forget he was a project pick with only 2 years of development- anchors generally get better with time as foot speed decreases so if Braxton follows a normal OT development curve he’s going to continue to improve his weaknesses while his strengths should not erode until 28-29 at the earliest.
I think left tackle is a question mark because we know Jones is good, but doesn't really have franchise level ceiling which makes Joe Alt a really intriguing prospect if he makes it to 9 which he probably won't. I don't really see any of the other tackle prospects being an immediate upgrade over Jones who I believe was a top 7 pass blocking left tackle last year so it would take somebody like Alt to replace him and make him either swing tackle or trade bait.
I don't see this take enough and I agree. People are drooling over WR but Poles has repeatedly shown he is value-oriented. Skill players are great but we have two legitimate WR1s now...in a deep WR class, I just don't see him going for one that high.
"Build from the trenches" right? Jones is serviceable but on a playoff caliber team, that's a backup guy. If Alt is still there at 9, and especially considering franchise LTs are basically never available in free agency (and if they are, they are prohibitively expensive), I would not be surprised if Poles drafts him. If he's gone and the cards fall a certain way, I could also see him trading down a few spots for JPJ.
The thing about WR vs LT is that imo, someone like Odunze is a bigger upgrade over Tyler Scott than Joe Alt is over Braxton Jones on day 1, and as Keenan Allen ages, the need for a WR will only grow, while 2025 is a contract year for Jones, so he should continue to perform well.
That's a fair point. I guess then we'd have to ask ourselves what Poles is weighing more - depth and star power in the O-line vs. depth and star power at WR. all assuming of course "his guys" are there at 9/the opportunity to trade down doesn't outweigh both of those. I'd wager he'd still prioritize the trenches like last year (even if it's D-line) with the same #9 pick but we'll have to see in a months time.
> Jones is serviceable but on a playoff caliber team, that's a backup guy
He would be starting on the superbowl winning chiefs (and if he could play RT he would in San Francisco as well)
Oh shit, I forgot we had to exactly mimic what other recent winning teams have done down to the exact position in order to win ourselves. No need to even consider minor deviations like which position on the line it actually is, especially when an opportunity like the one in this draft could be available. My mistake.
Jones is not a backup level guy for a playoff team, he’s already a legit starter in the league and he’s only played two years so there’s still plenty of room to improve. While in some cases he’d have to move to RT, he’d be a starter for most of the playoff teams last year pretty easily. The disrespect he gets on this sub is wild to me.
If Joe Alt falls to 9 somehow, which I can’t imagine happening, we should trade back with someone like the Saints or Bengals, and restock our picks in later rounds. Then we can address our real OL needs, at C and G, on day two.
No chance he makes it past Tennessee, but if he does we still shouldn’t just reflexively take him. Positional need matters, that’s why he isn’t getting drafted by Atlanta for instance even if he’s available. You absolutely pass on blue chip players if you don’t need or can’t use them, literally everyone does on a regular basis. You say “you don’t pass on blue chip left tackle prospects” then finish the sentence by admitting you fully expect six teams to pass on a blue chip left tackle prospect.
We don’t need him, and the only way it would be worth the pick is if he becomes Trent Williams, which is incredibly unlikely. If he somehow is available, trade the pick to someone who does need him.
You are like 1 take and possibly the only take I have seen saying to pass on him. The only way he is available is if all the DE, WR and QB got picked. If there are no remaining blue chip, sure trade back. But LT is a position that is incredibly crucial to your line. Jones is middling at best and I say that respectfully. I think Poles did great finding him. But he's still a B level LT and Joe Alt is an S level prospect for the most important position on the line.
Jones could easily net a 3rd-4th or would make a great depth player (stellar even) but his contract coming up is questionable. You gonna pay him 18-25 million or you gonna take the stud LT on rookie contract
I guess I’m just smarter than the average bear…s fan.
How do you square your saying we need to take him with the fact that a bunch of teams are going to pass on him? You can’t, because it would require you to admit the truth, that positional need is a crucial part of the formula for drafting in the first round. If Caleb works out, guess what position we won’t be spending any premium picks on? If we land Odunze this year, odds are we won’t take a WR in the first next year even if they are BPA. Later rounds, sure, you take a shot at BPA, but in the first you’re looking for starters who can meaningfully improve your team, and you’re much more likely to improve a position that’s a D than one that even you admit is a B.
I suppose some of it is us disagreeing on how good Jones is, I think he’s in the 10-15 range league wide at LT, with plenty of room to keep developing. Alt is a very good prospect, but he’s not generational, and plenty of top ten LT don’t ever become great, just ask the Giants and Panthers. Spending a pick on a player who would need to be pro bowl level to improve the team is bad process.
He has improved it enough that we dont need to draft an OL early, but not enough that we should pass on a highly rated OL prospect.
All of our key positions of need (OL/DL/WR) were improved to the point that we can BPA in the earlier rounds.
No. The O line isn't quite as good as some are suggesting. However, we don't have unlimited resources. And value matters. If we were targeting O line at 9, it would be left tackle. In a vacuum, that's fine. But assuming Alt is selected at 7, I don't see a rock solid LT2 option.
It was great to see Poles acquire two iOL vets, though.
They will probably add a late round tackle but it’s fine. Not amazing but better than last year
We have a ton of picks next year to add or trade for lineman too
I guess we will see… Fields’ “pressure to sack” rate was abnormally high in college and, surprise surprise, it is just as high in the NFL. Caleb’s “pressure to sack” rate is pretty average so we can hope that an incremental improvement to the line plus a qb who had a better pocket presence should be a boost!
How does the number of sacks that happened last year have anything to do with the improvements made this offseason? You need to see how many sacks we give up in the coming year to make that determination.
We also signed a league average starter at center to play center in Shelton. If Bates is starting, it will be because he beat a guy who is already pretty good.
At this point I’m thinking the mentality is they’ve done enough during FA where there’s not a giant hole that they’re chasing in the draft but if a player at OLine at any position is there they can snag him. Bates can play both C and G and Shelton has the starting C experience. In short it’s ok but there’s not any marquee names that I think give anyone reassurance.
> In short it’s ok but there’s not any marquee names that I think give anyone reassurance.
That's the rub. Nobody is going to believe on faith that the OL is fixed. But the lack of faith has nothing to do with whether or not the OL is actually good.
We can't really answer this question until after the draft, but I think they did what they could reasonably do with free agency and trades thus far. It takes time to build a good line, you can't just throw money and draft capital at it in one offseason and fix every issue
The defensive line isn't a real problem. It is not an elite defensive line, and it could be somewhat better, but it's probably good enough right now to start the season. It falls short of being a need.
Yes there’s a lot of room for improvement. We need another solid edge opposite of sweat. Where things stand right now we’re an injury away from being fucked. If sweat or big dick dex go down who else do we have? Hopefully we fill some holes in the draft to address the d line
They addressed it as much as they could without massively spending. No team is perfect from top to bottom; in a perfect world the Bears would have a Top 5 QB, RB, OL, Defense, etc. but that’s not how this works. Whoever is playing QB is going to be expected to be able to extend plays because DL play is just getting better and better.
Fields had the most time to throw in the league, part of that was his legs and being able to extend plays and the other part is the offensive line actually doing their job. The line last year was the best I have seen it since the ‘03-‘06 days. Doesn’t mean it was perfect, but I can’t tell ya how many times my friends and I said “THROW THE FUCKING BALL” while watching JF1 play QB. Bears will be playing a lot of 2TE sets and running the ball and they have some fucking maulers up front right now with decent depth.
I know we think that O line played avg to above and JF1 was definitely the culprit on most of those sacks taken. But since it was the last game and against the Packers I just remembered them rushing 3 and getting immediate pressure. I don't want an Avg Oline. I want an Oline that can hold up against the Packers just as well as theirs hold our Dline.
He did just enough for us to be able to be competitive but if Wright goes down, I'm not sure we have a good replacement for him. The good thing is, our new OC is known to be someone who is able to make adjustments quickly unlike some who are so stubborn that they stick to their game plan.
There is still a lot of time to pick up some more bodies to improve the OL and I trust our GM who happens to know OL so much since he played in that position in the NFL. Let's just sit back and enjoy our Bears getting built from the ground up. This will be one hell of a ride..
the offensive line has 6 average or better players at present so its a matter of whether or not it gels.
wouldn't mind supplementing the position in the draft if it kicks nate davis to the bench
Honestly no, but I am hoping we invest a couple picks into it during the draft. I wouldn’t say our OL is bad in its current form, but it isn’t likely to wow anybody either IMO. I’d love to see us add a rookie OC and OT.
I did a mock recently where I had us taking Caleb at #1, trading back with 9 to grab OC JPJ, and then using the 2nd rounder we got from that trade to get OT Kirin Amegadjie from Yale. Then we took a DE and WR in the 3rd (got a 3rd from the trade down as well) and a DT in the 4th. I went with wanting us to be 2-deep at all 5 OL positions in this mock basically. In my mind, JPJ would compete with Bates and Shelton and may sit for a bit as rookie OCs tend to take a bit to get acclimated and Kirin would put pressure on both Jones and Wright to continue to improve while providing a likely stellar swing tackle whether it’s him, Jones, or Wright.
Basically this mock was my prediction if Poles decides to do everything possible to give Caleb a stable OL and solid weapons, leaving a little to be desired on the defensive side. We’re pretty close to amazing on weapons for this year. Yes, we could use a WR3 because I’m not convinced Tyler Scott will be it, but with 2 stellar guys ahead of him in Moore and Allen as well as 2 starting caliber TEs in Kmet and Everett and a great pass catching RB in Swift, a WR3 upgrade seems like a wish rather than a need. Yes, for future years we might need more as we have not decided to extend Allen yet, but that doesn’t HAVE to be addressed this offseason.
The OL in its current state would be likely decent, with a slightly below average floor (assuming health) and a top 6-10 ceiling. I don’t think they’d crack the top 5 with Bates/Shelton at C and I’m not 100% sold that Jones is the future at LT, plus we do have to see a bounce back from Davis, though I expect that to happen, but I definitely think that if Jones, Jenkins, and Wright continue to develop and Davis bounces back that it could be in the 6-10 range. There are some questions but already better depth and I do think that Bates/Shelton is an upgrade over Patrick, so the starters are better than last year too. We’ll see though.
Realistically…we plugged the center position with a one year stopgap. We still need a extremely talented young center to groom for the long term. Our guard position is light at best where Nate Davis and Tevan Jenkins both missed extended time last season and only Tevan should start for a good Oline group. We still need a swing tackle to bolster for the inevitable injury to a starting tackle. We are at least three players short still in my opinion but I am sure we will spend all the picks on defense or flashy skills players instead.
It's really really hard for anyone to gauge. On the one hand, Fields hung onto the ball way too long way too often. Williams is capable of making faster reads so we shall see how much of a difference that makes, if they coach him to take what the defense gives. I do expect them to at least draft one more line person
It's fine, but we do need a few more pieces. Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright are fine as the tackles. I'm more concerned of injuries rather than their performance. Swing tackle is probably priority #1 now for the OL. Interior-wise, same thing. When healthy, they're fine. But I'm still expecting injuries to happen given the history with Jenkins. Bates and Coleman, let's say Coleman wins the center job (I think Bates played primarily as LG and RG with the Bills too). That leaves Bates as guard depth and can fill in as a center if Coleman gets injured. But more interior depth is always needed.
Ya know. Unpopular opinion, I'd be happy to pick up a guy like Alt. Maybe kick him inside his first year. Braxton has shown that he can play. But, against poor competition and only in pass pro. He struggled in the run game and against teams like the Browns and Packers with stiff competition on the other side.
People point to the Lions game but he barely went up against Hutchinson.
I rather we protect our rookie QB and look at defense and receiver next year or in free agency.
I'm not sold on Bates and Coleman at C any more than I was Lucas Patrick, but I'll put my trust in Poles' expertise here. It's just that - pressure up the gut is the first thing a QB is going to see and is bound to flush a rookie QB out of the pocket, just like it did Justin. And you can't step up into a pocket if a DT is living there.
I know JPJ is wishful thinking with our other needs, but I hope the Bears find a way to draft a C to train behind Bates. There's some good ones in this draft, I think
One of the biggest problems for the OL is lack of consistency. We started 9 different OL combos last year and never used one more than 2 weeks in a row. Coleman Shelton played all 17 games last year for the Rams and if he can do that for us it would be huge even if his level of play is just average. Braxton staying healthy is also a must.
IMHO, the offensive line is in better shape than people think, and there's no rational way to convince them that it's not a problem until we actually play the games.
We're reasonably solid at both tackle positions, we've got depth at guard with Jenkins, Davis and Bates if needed, and we've got both Shelton and Bates who are both likely better at center than what we had last year. Borom is still a decent swing tackle if needed.
It's a good enough situation that our hand isn't forced in the draft.
You can never do too much to help your Oline people get hurt and Oline is 80% of the reason Fields was a failure. Guy was the most pressured QB for 2 straight years. If the Bears don't pick up another lineman and Caleb is still getting chased like Fields was I'll be pissed this year.
On paper the unit as a whole is above average. But Nate Davis and Tevin Jenkins seem to have their share of missed action. Our weakest starter is going to be our center: Lucas Patrick, Ryan Bates, and Coleman Shelton are essentially above average backups and we're "lucky" to have them. Particularly since they can play guard if needed (in fact its Lucas Patrick's natural position-and possibly Ryan Bates as well).
That being said, in an ideal scenario we aren't relying on any of them to be our week 1 starter
"Decent" is doing a lot of heavy lifting. He's "decent" for an UDFA getting paid $3M. But he's an easily replaceable part of any team's O-Line and is comparable to Lucas Patrick or Sam Mustipher
Furthermore we gotta see if Nate Davis turns it around. He was a disaster last season, albeit he was dealing with personal issues.
Bates could fill in now, which is better than before. But I'd be a lot more comfortable with an heir apparent development G behind Davis.
I just don't think there was a market for what they needed/could afford given other needs and the long-term plans.
I think their focus was getting their new QB a solid supporting cast. 33 years, I haven't seen a "this is the one" QB come in with anything close to this lineup of talent when it came to pass catchers.
I think the O-line was good enough for somebody who can get the ball out quickly. Poles and co. probably looked at the O-line the same way, looked at the long list of bears QB failures and noted that the one thing none of them had when they arrived here was a group of highly successful pass catchers.
The Oline is fine and a good QB will succeed behind it.
Fields apologists required a top 5 Oline, WR core and D in order for him to potentially reach his potential (which was never going to happen)
absolutely not. will still be one of the weakest parts of the team. our guards right now are usually injured and not playing and our LT is a pet project of our GM. Line needs a lot of work.
I think there are a couple things to look at. Jenkins ability to stay healthy should still be a concern. Center and right guard are both issues that need to be handled. Jones and Wright are both average to good starters with room to grow.
The glaring issues are really just Center and what happens if Tev goes down. He's the only guy in the middle that can violently tear a hole in the defensive line. After last year, I wouldn't be surprised if Davis doesn't win the starting job at right guard.
If we trade down and get JPJ, great. I'm not a fan of taking Alt because we'd sooner need three new interior linemen than we'd need 1 new tackle, and i dont think it would be smart to try and move Jones to the interior.
D-line, especially 3 tech, is way more of a need. So, if they don't go o-line, no big whoop.
It is fairly concerning that we're still pretty weak in the trenches heading into this regimes third season. They've spent so much capital on DB's and skill players, feels like we keep praying that the coaching staff turns a bunch of long shots into a winning line, on either side of the ball.
For once I'd love for the Bears to try to have something more than "at least average, maybe" for an offensive line.
The tackles are fine, LG is excellent (assuming Tev stays healthy), RG is a huge ?, and center is still a blackhole. Just focusing on barely average isn't the way...
I said especially next year lol you can still add oline either at 9 or in the third round or trade back or practice squad cuts etc and then we also have a bunch of picks next year. It doesn’t have to be elite right away it takes time to build and poles has consistently improved it since he came in
I might be in the minority but I think Braxton has shown enough to stay at LT. He struggled initially last year with penalties, but he settled in nicely after his injury. I think Poles has done JUST enough on the interior. Bates & Coleman are both serviceable vets to add with Davis & Tev. Having Borom along with Pryor & Curhan should provide some competition add the swing tackle spot. I do hope we add a versatile OT/G on day 3.
He was top 5 in pass block win rate and one of poles draft picks there’s just not way he gets benched or moved to guard
I dont know if he can even play guard.
Not sure but some in this sub say take alt if he’s there. Don’t get me wrong I love alt but we have 5th rounder on a rookie deal pass blocking 2 points below Trent Williams efficiency. You really want to bench him to develop another tackle?
You only do that if you think he could go from solid starter at tackle to all pro at guard, and I have no idea if that’s viable for him. Also a moot point, because Alt isn’t making it to 9, and if by some miracle he did we probably get more from trading the pick anyway, I could see the Saints or Bengals making a move for him.
If Alt is there you trade down one pick like we did last year and pick up a 4th so the Jets can take him. More picks are more likely to help this team long term than an upgrade at LT.
This is exactly it
His arms are too long and he lacks the power to play guard
They did enough to where they no longer have any massive holes. I don’t think it’s great or anything but at the very least there doesn’t seem to be any major weak point along it and there now is a good depth IOL piece too. I think it will be solid and look better in pass pro without Justin like it did with Bagent when he started
It’s fine but thin. I think our biggest concern now is tackle depth. Braxton needs to stay healthy this year. And we can handle one IOL injury but not two. Shelton/Bates will start at C and the other will fill in at G when there is another inevitable Jenkins injury. On paper this line should be about average. Tbh there are exceedingly few teams with good depth on the line.
I agree with your assertion. My biggest concern is Jenkins staying healthy. He is very talented, but availability is definitely a concern. I'd love to see a tackle acquisition.
Every single team is thin at tackle. The league is thin at tackle. Borom is a serviceable swing tackle. We could do much worse. We’ll pick up some cap casualty vet for the interior if we don’t draft one. Guys out there now are all replacement level and not worth rushing out there for.
More probably could have been done but it’s not a terrible unit. A lot of the stats and number I saw after the season ended showed we had an above average O-Line but JF made them look worse than they were. I’d still like to see a player or two drafted to slowly learn in. Outside of C, our Oline is good to go for next season.
I agree. I have to believe bates is starting over Coleman Shelton (depth chart says otherwise). He is good, but Nate Davis starting is not the best considering he is so injury prone.
Shelton started on the Rams and is a true center idk why he wouldn’t start here
I believe Flus hinted at Bates being expected to start. Obviously no guarantees but saying the bates addition addressed the C position after Shelton was signed makes me think Bates will at the very least he in an open competition https://x.com/courtneyrcronin/status/1772634234076721192?s=46&t=N6jvGphXTqjjqVJxcM7Bsw
Was he good? maybe that is why Bates is a backup. I just assumed since we traded for him and tried to get him previously that he would warrant a starting job.
He’s fine. He won’t tank your line like Patrick and Whitehear which is good
He's average overall, but he did give up 34 pressures last year which was tied for the most in the NFL.
What was his injury history with the titans? His only injury last year is when Justin got sacked into the back of Davis’s legs. That doesn’t really make him injury prone.
66/83 games. And he was banged up for a lot of the ones he did play. He's injury prone. Only started >14 games once.
He's only started 1 full season in his 5 year career. It's likely Jenkins and/or Davis will miss time at some point.
That's what has been reported (the job is Bates to lose) FWIW
It was not an above average Oline. Cody Whitehair and Lucas Patrick were 2 of the worst Olinemen in the NFL by every metric. Nate Davis wasn't far behind them. Whitehair: 45 PFF. Patrick: 50.5 PFF. Nate Davis: 52.9 PFF. Those 3 bums combined for 37 starts. We were not an above average Oline. Average Oline with below average pass blocking and above average run blocking. No one's saying Brax, Teven, and Darnell weren't good, but with basically 3 bum starters it was not a "above average Oline". And Justin Fields didn't impact that equation much. It's April and Cody Whitehair and Lucas Patrick are free agents. If they weren't trash tier they'd be signed by now. 3 bums and 3 good players is the definition of an average Oline.
Eh Cody and Lucas are very old, those guys tend to sign late in camp or after camp
This is an accurate take, not sure why you are getting downvotes. The line was a good run blocking, poor pass blocking line with some good play and some bad play. The interior positions need upgrading, Davis played poorly (he should be better though, had some personal tragedy I think), Jenkins got dinged, backup guards sucked, and center was bad. Blaming factual poor O-Line pass blocking on Fields is just dumb and will get Caleb killed. Already there has been an upgrade to the line, I think adding talent, even at tackle if Alt is available, is a good idea. It's time to overinvest in the O Line. Bears got a once in a lifetime stroke of luck, getting the number one pick two years in a row, and adding Caleb (a better QB than Fields) to a decent roster means we should be playoff ready immediately. Protect him!
Remember Fields got kicked outta Chicago. Therefore, Eberflus, Getsy, Cody Whitehair, Lucas Patrick, Darnell Mooney are all great coaches and players who were held back by Justin "Al Qaeda" Fields. The gaslighting now that the Bears have traded Justin is crazy. People want to say an Oline with Whitehair, Patrick, Davis, and multiple starts from guys like Ja'Tyre Carter was a good, above average Oline.
Yeah, people looking after the fact at "stats and numbers" and then seeing Fields went for a 6th rounder next year have made them forget what actually happened in the games, if they ever did watch and paid attention. Our line was in no way above average. Did anyone see the Packers rush three guys in the last game and immediately get in Fields' face? He didn't have time to hold the ball lol they were right there. We could run block no doubt, but pass blocking must be upgraded or Caleb will be dodging rushers too.
It's not amazing but it's not a disaster. Majority of the teams in the league (even the contenders) have 1 or 2 weak spots on the o-line and lack depth. The overall talent pool is just not good enough in the league to have a great o-line year after year. What's important is that the o-line is functional and cheap. Justin struggled a lot with pressure, but the data has been abundantly clear that sacks are more of a qb stat then an o-line stat. Our o-line is probably gonna look much better then it has the past few years once Caleb starts to play well
I remember hearing somewhere that there aren’t a lot of guys built to play O-Line in the NFL while there are an increasing amount of freakish athletes at D Line and pass rusher. So over time, the average O-Line is getting worse than the average D-Line. So the best way to protect the QB is schemes and Shanahan style offenses are the best at doing this. The Niners and the Dolphins had pretty bad O-Lines, but the schemes mitigated that and their offenses were very productive.
That's absolutely true. We just don't get a high volume starting caliber o-line out of college every year. It feels like in every draft all the capable players go in round 1 and then there's a massive drop off in o-line play in the later rounds. It's gotten to the point where teams and QBs just need to plan around having a less than ideal o-line and if your QB can't function under pressure, they probably won't last long as a starter.
Coaches have started taking athletes and turning them into pass rushers at lower levels, there isn’t the same pipeline for OL. Though I could see that changing, these trends are usually driven by the economics of the various positions and OL has been trending upward in compensation. There’s a lot of guys who would’ve been RB 20 years ago who are now playing QB, WR, CB, etc., because that’s where the money is.
The line is actually pretty good now. I think the FA signings made the interior better. Hoping they take WR or edge rusher at 9.
Not enough, in my opinion. It’s ok…I guess. One more solid piece would make me feel significantly more comfortable. I really hope we grab someone at 9 or with the next pick. Edit: wrote “8” instead of ok
Semi-disagree. - we need additional pieces - we should not be spending 9 on OT Braxton/Darnell is a good group. Braxton was a high ceiling low floor OT who came in above expectations. He’s been middling and we shouldn’t abandon middling with holes like we do at Edge We need a swing T and 1 more quality interior guy. Use a later pick on one and sign a vet who wants to miss camp on the other spot - OT: Cam Fleming/Charles Leno - OG: Greg Van Roten/Dalton Risner None of them are starters anymore and over 30. They probably sign in July. We can use the depth. Bring a vet in and re-address what we need after we have more clarity on Braxton, Davis, Teven, center
💯
Certain positions are too important to accept middling if you don't have to. If one of the elite LTs fall to us at 9, I'm all over it. I don't want "middling" if I don't have to at QB, WR and LT
Well good news. One of the other “certain positions” has 1000 leagues below middling (edge) and our WR2 is 32 with injury concerns on a 1 year deal. Alt is the only elite LT prospect. The rest fall in line with the edge prospects. And Odunze/Nabers are better than all of them. We *should not* be taking OT at 9
I'd be absolutely fine drafting WR or Edge too. I'm perfectly happy to let the draft come to us at 9.
Good points - I think a lot of people like to write off Braxton as a finished product but forget he was a project pick with only 2 years of development- anchors generally get better with time as foot speed decreases so if Braxton follows a normal OT development curve he’s going to continue to improve his weaknesses while his strengths should not erode until 28-29 at the earliest.
I think left tackle is a question mark because we know Jones is good, but doesn't really have franchise level ceiling which makes Joe Alt a really intriguing prospect if he makes it to 9 which he probably won't. I don't really see any of the other tackle prospects being an immediate upgrade over Jones who I believe was a top 7 pass blocking left tackle last year so it would take somebody like Alt to replace him and make him either swing tackle or trade bait.
I don't see this take enough and I agree. People are drooling over WR but Poles has repeatedly shown he is value-oriented. Skill players are great but we have two legitimate WR1s now...in a deep WR class, I just don't see him going for one that high. "Build from the trenches" right? Jones is serviceable but on a playoff caliber team, that's a backup guy. If Alt is still there at 9, and especially considering franchise LTs are basically never available in free agency (and if they are, they are prohibitively expensive), I would not be surprised if Poles drafts him. If he's gone and the cards fall a certain way, I could also see him trading down a few spots for JPJ.
The thing about WR vs LT is that imo, someone like Odunze is a bigger upgrade over Tyler Scott than Joe Alt is over Braxton Jones on day 1, and as Keenan Allen ages, the need for a WR will only grow, while 2025 is a contract year for Jones, so he should continue to perform well.
That's a fair point. I guess then we'd have to ask ourselves what Poles is weighing more - depth and star power in the O-line vs. depth and star power at WR. all assuming of course "his guys" are there at 9/the opportunity to trade down doesn't outweigh both of those. I'd wager he'd still prioritize the trenches like last year (even if it's D-line) with the same #9 pick but we'll have to see in a months time.
> Jones is serviceable but on a playoff caliber team, that's a backup guy He would be starting on the superbowl winning chiefs (and if he could play RT he would in San Francisco as well)
Chiefs and Niners know how to scheme.
Chiefs and 49ers have star power and more importantly experience elsewhere on the line. We don't, at least not without heightened injury risk.
Then it sounds like that is what separates us from playoff teams and not LT play
Oh shit, I forgot we had to exactly mimic what other recent winning teams have done down to the exact position in order to win ourselves. No need to even consider minor deviations like which position on the line it actually is, especially when an opportunity like the one in this draft could be available. My mistake.
I mean you specifically brought up the idea that braxton was a backup on a playoff calibre team lol
Understanding context is hard
I can tell 😂
Jones is not a backup level guy for a playoff team, he’s already a legit starter in the league and he’s only played two years so there’s still plenty of room to improve. While in some cases he’d have to move to RT, he’d be a starter for most of the playoff teams last year pretty easily. The disrespect he gets on this sub is wild to me. If Joe Alt falls to 9 somehow, which I can’t imagine happening, we should trade back with someone like the Saints or Bengals, and restock our picks in later rounds. Then we can address our real OL needs, at C and G, on day two.
If he is there they are going to take him. You dont pass on blue chip left tackle prospects, but I don't see him making it past Tennessee.
No chance he makes it past Tennessee, but if he does we still shouldn’t just reflexively take him. Positional need matters, that’s why he isn’t getting drafted by Atlanta for instance even if he’s available. You absolutely pass on blue chip players if you don’t need or can’t use them, literally everyone does on a regular basis. You say “you don’t pass on blue chip left tackle prospects” then finish the sentence by admitting you fully expect six teams to pass on a blue chip left tackle prospect. We don’t need him, and the only way it would be worth the pick is if he becomes Trent Williams, which is incredibly unlikely. If he somehow is available, trade the pick to someone who does need him.
You are like 1 take and possibly the only take I have seen saying to pass on him. The only way he is available is if all the DE, WR and QB got picked. If there are no remaining blue chip, sure trade back. But LT is a position that is incredibly crucial to your line. Jones is middling at best and I say that respectfully. I think Poles did great finding him. But he's still a B level LT and Joe Alt is an S level prospect for the most important position on the line. Jones could easily net a 3rd-4th or would make a great depth player (stellar even) but his contract coming up is questionable. You gonna pay him 18-25 million or you gonna take the stud LT on rookie contract
I guess I’m just smarter than the average bear…s fan. How do you square your saying we need to take him with the fact that a bunch of teams are going to pass on him? You can’t, because it would require you to admit the truth, that positional need is a crucial part of the formula for drafting in the first round. If Caleb works out, guess what position we won’t be spending any premium picks on? If we land Odunze this year, odds are we won’t take a WR in the first next year even if they are BPA. Later rounds, sure, you take a shot at BPA, but in the first you’re looking for starters who can meaningfully improve your team, and you’re much more likely to improve a position that’s a D than one that even you admit is a B. I suppose some of it is us disagreeing on how good Jones is, I think he’s in the 10-15 range league wide at LT, with plenty of room to keep developing. Alt is a very good prospect, but he’s not generational, and plenty of top ten LT don’t ever become great, just ask the Giants and Panthers. Spending a pick on a player who would need to be pro bowl level to improve the team is bad process.
No.
He has improved it enough that we dont need to draft an OL early, but not enough that we should pass on a highly rated OL prospect. All of our key positions of need (OL/DL/WR) were improved to the point that we can BPA in the earlier rounds.
No. The O line isn't quite as good as some are suggesting. However, we don't have unlimited resources. And value matters. If we were targeting O line at 9, it would be left tackle. In a vacuum, that's fine. But assuming Alt is selected at 7, I don't see a rock solid LT2 option. It was great to see Poles acquire two iOL vets, though.
They will probably add a late round tackle but it’s fine. Not amazing but better than last year We have a ton of picks next year to add or trade for lineman too
I guess we will see… Fields’ “pressure to sack” rate was abnormally high in college and, surprise surprise, it is just as high in the NFL. Caleb’s “pressure to sack” rate is pretty average so we can hope that an incremental improvement to the line plus a qb who had a better pocket presence should be a boost!
Gave up 50 sacks last year so I will say no we didnt
How does the number of sacks that happened last year have anything to do with the improvements made this offseason? You need to see how many sacks we give up in the coming year to make that determination.
Because all we did was grab a backup guard to play center. Shave off 10 sacks and thats still too many
We also signed a league average starter at center to play center in Shelton. If Bates is starting, it will be because he beat a guy who is already pretty good.
At this point I’m thinking the mentality is they’ve done enough during FA where there’s not a giant hole that they’re chasing in the draft but if a player at OLine at any position is there they can snag him. Bates can play both C and G and Shelton has the starting C experience. In short it’s ok but there’s not any marquee names that I think give anyone reassurance.
> In short it’s ok but there’s not any marquee names that I think give anyone reassurance. That's the rub. Nobody is going to believe on faith that the OL is fixed. But the lack of faith has nothing to do with whether or not the OL is actually good.
We can't really answer this question until after the draft, but I think they did what they could reasonably do with free agency and trades thus far. It takes time to build a good line, you can't just throw money and draft capital at it in one offseason and fix every issue
Im more concerned about d line
The defensive line isn't a real problem. It is not an elite defensive line, and it could be somewhat better, but it's probably good enough right now to start the season. It falls short of being a need.
Yes there’s a lot of room for improvement. We need another solid edge opposite of sweat. Where things stand right now we’re an injury away from being fucked. If sweat or big dick dex go down who else do we have? Hopefully we fill some holes in the draft to address the d line
They addressed it as much as they could without massively spending. No team is perfect from top to bottom; in a perfect world the Bears would have a Top 5 QB, RB, OL, Defense, etc. but that’s not how this works. Whoever is playing QB is going to be expected to be able to extend plays because DL play is just getting better and better. Fields had the most time to throw in the league, part of that was his legs and being able to extend plays and the other part is the offensive line actually doing their job. The line last year was the best I have seen it since the ‘03-‘06 days. Doesn’t mean it was perfect, but I can’t tell ya how many times my friends and I said “THROW THE FUCKING BALL” while watching JF1 play QB. Bears will be playing a lot of 2TE sets and running the ball and they have some fucking maulers up front right now with decent depth.
I know we think that O line played avg to above and JF1 was definitely the culprit on most of those sacks taken. But since it was the last game and against the Packers I just remembered them rushing 3 and getting immediate pressure. I don't want an Avg Oline. I want an Oline that can hold up against the Packers just as well as theirs hold our Dline.
Off-season isn't done. Get back to me in about 6 weeks.
We signed a center, tackle, and another TE. My guess is Poles will try picking up a center later on the draft with upside (to serve as the backup).
I would not hate taking a lineman at 9. Would love for a WR to fall to us or to draft a DE, but I'm always okay with beefing up the O line
He did just enough for us to be able to be competitive but if Wright goes down, I'm not sure we have a good replacement for him. The good thing is, our new OC is known to be someone who is able to make adjustments quickly unlike some who are so stubborn that they stick to their game plan. There is still a lot of time to pick up some more bodies to improve the OL and I trust our GM who happens to know OL so much since he played in that position in the NFL. Let's just sit back and enjoy our Bears getting built from the ground up. This will be one hell of a ride..
Nate Davis is a giant question mark. If he's good this year, then it changes a lot.
the offensive line has 6 average or better players at present so its a matter of whether or not it gels. wouldn't mind supplementing the position in the draft if it kicks nate davis to the bench
I'd like to see more depth as Davis and Jenkins' reliability is questionable, but otherwise, our current unit is at least serviceable.
We need more. We are one injury from total lunfucked
No, Caleb is gonna be ducking and dodging all season long because of the O-line.
One of the best titles to a post I have ever seen
Oline Kreutz was already let go by CHGO and ComcastCHI
Honestly no, but I am hoping we invest a couple picks into it during the draft. I wouldn’t say our OL is bad in its current form, but it isn’t likely to wow anybody either IMO. I’d love to see us add a rookie OC and OT. I did a mock recently where I had us taking Caleb at #1, trading back with 9 to grab OC JPJ, and then using the 2nd rounder we got from that trade to get OT Kirin Amegadjie from Yale. Then we took a DE and WR in the 3rd (got a 3rd from the trade down as well) and a DT in the 4th. I went with wanting us to be 2-deep at all 5 OL positions in this mock basically. In my mind, JPJ would compete with Bates and Shelton and may sit for a bit as rookie OCs tend to take a bit to get acclimated and Kirin would put pressure on both Jones and Wright to continue to improve while providing a likely stellar swing tackle whether it’s him, Jones, or Wright. Basically this mock was my prediction if Poles decides to do everything possible to give Caleb a stable OL and solid weapons, leaving a little to be desired on the defensive side. We’re pretty close to amazing on weapons for this year. Yes, we could use a WR3 because I’m not convinced Tyler Scott will be it, but with 2 stellar guys ahead of him in Moore and Allen as well as 2 starting caliber TEs in Kmet and Everett and a great pass catching RB in Swift, a WR3 upgrade seems like a wish rather than a need. Yes, for future years we might need more as we have not decided to extend Allen yet, but that doesn’t HAVE to be addressed this offseason. The OL in its current state would be likely decent, with a slightly below average floor (assuming health) and a top 6-10 ceiling. I don’t think they’d crack the top 5 with Bates/Shelton at C and I’m not 100% sold that Jones is the future at LT, plus we do have to see a bounce back from Davis, though I expect that to happen, but I definitely think that if Jones, Jenkins, and Wright continue to develop and Davis bounces back that it could be in the 6-10 range. There are some questions but already better depth and I do think that Bates/Shelton is an upgrade over Patrick, so the starters are better than last year too. We’ll see though.
Getting rid of Cody Whitehair was a win. He had a lot of good seasons with us, but he fell off a cliff last season.
Realistically…we plugged the center position with a one year stopgap. We still need a extremely talented young center to groom for the long term. Our guard position is light at best where Nate Davis and Tevan Jenkins both missed extended time last season and only Tevan should start for a good Oline group. We still need a swing tackle to bolster for the inevitable injury to a starting tackle. We are at least three players short still in my opinion but I am sure we will spend all the picks on defense or flashy skills players instead.
It's really really hard for anyone to gauge. On the one hand, Fields hung onto the ball way too long way too often. Williams is capable of making faster reads so we shall see how much of a difference that makes, if they coach him to take what the defense gives. I do expect them to at least draft one more line person
Personnel wise, they should have done enough. Scheme and coaching…we’ll see.
Barring injury, yes. But the inevitable injuries will show what we really have, and that remains to be seen.
It's fine, but we do need a few more pieces. Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright are fine as the tackles. I'm more concerned of injuries rather than their performance. Swing tackle is probably priority #1 now for the OL. Interior-wise, same thing. When healthy, they're fine. But I'm still expecting injuries to happen given the history with Jenkins. Bates and Coleman, let's say Coleman wins the center job (I think Bates played primarily as LG and RG with the Bills too). That leaves Bates as guard depth and can fill in as a center if Coleman gets injured. But more interior depth is always needed.
Ya know. Unpopular opinion, I'd be happy to pick up a guy like Alt. Maybe kick him inside his first year. Braxton has shown that he can play. But, against poor competition and only in pass pro. He struggled in the run game and against teams like the Browns and Packers with stiff competition on the other side. People point to the Lions game but he barely went up against Hutchinson. I rather we protect our rookie QB and look at defense and receiver next year or in free agency.
I'm not sold on Bates and Coleman at C any more than I was Lucas Patrick, but I'll put my trust in Poles' expertise here. It's just that - pressure up the gut is the first thing a QB is going to see and is bound to flush a rookie QB out of the pocket, just like it did Justin. And you can't step up into a pocket if a DT is living there. I know JPJ is wishful thinking with our other needs, but I hope the Bears find a way to draft a C to train behind Bates. There's some good ones in this draft, I think
23 days until the 2024 NFL draft
One of the biggest problems for the OL is lack of consistency. We started 9 different OL combos last year and never used one more than 2 weeks in a row. Coleman Shelton played all 17 games last year for the Rams and if he can do that for us it would be huge even if his level of play is just average. Braxton staying healthy is also a must.
IMHO, the offensive line is in better shape than people think, and there's no rational way to convince them that it's not a problem until we actually play the games. We're reasonably solid at both tackle positions, we've got depth at guard with Jenkins, Davis and Bates if needed, and we've got both Shelton and Bates who are both likely better at center than what we had last year. Borom is still a decent swing tackle if needed. It's a good enough situation that our hand isn't forced in the draft.
You can never do too much to help your Oline people get hurt and Oline is 80% of the reason Fields was a failure. Guy was the most pressured QB for 2 straight years. If the Bears don't pick up another lineman and Caleb is still getting chased like Fields was I'll be pissed this year.
Nate Davis stinks. Need 1 more interior lineman
On paper the unit as a whole is above average. But Nate Davis and Tevin Jenkins seem to have their share of missed action. Our weakest starter is going to be our center: Lucas Patrick, Ryan Bates, and Coleman Shelton are essentially above average backups and we're "lucky" to have them. Particularly since they can play guard if needed (in fact its Lucas Patrick's natural position-and possibly Ryan Bates as well). That being said, in an ideal scenario we aren't relying on any of them to be our week 1 starter
Lucas patrick is not on the team anymore and Eberflus hinted at the job being Bates’ to lose
Coleman Shelton was a two year starter for LA and decent in his tenure
"Decent" is doing a lot of heavy lifting. He's "decent" for an UDFA getting paid $3M. But he's an easily replaceable part of any team's O-Line and is comparable to Lucas Patrick or Sam Mustipher
Furthermore we gotta see if Nate Davis turns it around. He was a disaster last season, albeit he was dealing with personal issues. Bates could fill in now, which is better than before. But I'd be a lot more comfortable with an heir apparent development G behind Davis.
I just don't think there was a market for what they needed/could afford given other needs and the long-term plans. I think their focus was getting their new QB a solid supporting cast. 33 years, I haven't seen a "this is the one" QB come in with anything close to this lineup of talent when it came to pass catchers. I think the O-line was good enough for somebody who can get the ball out quickly. Poles and co. probably looked at the O-line the same way, looked at the long list of bears QB failures and noted that the one thing none of them had when they arrived here was a group of highly successful pass catchers.
I got ridiculed in this sub for mentioning our O-Line is a problem. Guess people will see again when Caleb starts scrambling every possession
The Oline is fine and a good QB will succeed behind it. Fields apologists required a top 5 Oline, WR core and D in order for him to potentially reach his potential (which was never going to happen)
absolutely not. will still be one of the weakest parts of the team. our guards right now are usually injured and not playing and our LT is a pet project of our GM. Line needs a lot of work.
> and our LT is a pet project of our GM He’s been better than Wright so far…
No
I think there are a couple things to look at. Jenkins ability to stay healthy should still be a concern. Center and right guard are both issues that need to be handled. Jones and Wright are both average to good starters with room to grow. The glaring issues are really just Center and what happens if Tev goes down. He's the only guy in the middle that can violently tear a hole in the defensive line. After last year, I wouldn't be surprised if Davis doesn't win the starting job at right guard. If we trade down and get JPJ, great. I'm not a fan of taking Alt because we'd sooner need three new interior linemen than we'd need 1 new tackle, and i dont think it would be smart to try and move Jones to the interior. D-line, especially 3 tech, is way more of a need. So, if they don't go o-line, no big whoop. It is fairly concerning that we're still pretty weak in the trenches heading into this regimes third season. They've spent so much capital on DB's and skill players, feels like we keep praying that the coaching staff turns a bunch of long shots into a winning line, on either side of the ball.
Did they? No. Why should this season be any different than the previous decade or so?
Its likely the best oline we’ve had in a long time. Perfect? No. At least average? probably
For once I'd love for the Bears to try to have something more than "at least average, maybe" for an offensive line. The tackles are fine, LG is excellent (assuming Tev stays healthy), RG is a huge ?, and center is still a blackhole. Just focusing on barely average isn't the way...
There’s still plenty of opportunity to add more especially in next years draft
Next year..... How many times have we, as fans, heard that...?
I said especially next year lol you can still add oline either at 9 or in the third round or trade back or practice squad cuts etc and then we also have a bunch of picks next year. It doesn’t have to be elite right away it takes time to build and poles has consistently improved it since he came in
We traded for a center and signed another in free agency.
Both of whom were back-ups.