Some options for Bears and their o-line.
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The 2017 Chicago Bears were, in a word, messy. They had problems at nearly every position on the team. They had no number one wide receiver, their quarterback play was inconsistent, and their defense was racked by injuries. Now, they are poised to hire a coach we hope will help turn them into winners in short order. It can be done. A new head coach can make a world of difference. Just look at what happened with the Los Angeles Rams. They turned it around in one season and maybe the Bears can too.
But of course, there is a talent gap that the Bears must deal with. They have a lot of areas on the team that need help. Chicago may not be able to get them all taken care of in one season so don’t expect a big turnaround from them unless a huge talent overhaul can be done. And that’s not likely to happen. But the Bears can start to do some rebuilding and fixing to help themselves get into a better position. But where should they start?
We all know that the success of any team begins and ends with their offensive line. It’s those guys in the trenches who should take the credit for what success a football team can have. If a quarterback gets good protection and has time to get the ball out to his receivers, a lot of great things can happen. If you give Mitchell Trubisky time, he could be dangerous.
The Bears have the basis for a good offensive line but lack some depth. Injuries hit them hard this year and their depth wasn’t as strong as it should have been. That and there were some problems with the starters that they had. Cody Whitehair struggled at center and when he had to move to guard, his replacement, Hroniss Grasu, was less than adequate. Both Kyle Long and Josh Sitton spent time on the sidelines missing significant time.
While Bobby Massie has been able to stay healthy, right up until the end of the season, the Bears could use a right tackle that is more dynamic and a little more of a better pass protector. He will need to be replaced soon so Chicago should look towards doing that.
The Bears need to do something to shore up the line. But what can they do?
The Bears need to look at some draft prospects on the offensive line as well as some free agents to help them shore up the group. Someone to replace, eventually, Sitton would work as well as someone to replace Massie. Perhaps what could happen is Whitehair could replace Sitton and someone could be drafted, or a free agent could be brought in to play center. That’s not out of the question.
Let’s take a look at a few solutions that the Bears could use to help fix their problems on the offensive line. They could use free agency or the draft to fill their holes and make improvements. We will spend two slides looking at draft prospects and two slides looking at free agent prospects. We will look at starting center, starting right tackle and backup guard prospects.
The 2018 NFL Draft is not that far away and teams are already starting to get some idea of their needs and who they would like to look at further. The Bears should be looking at offensive linemen in this draft and could easily take one in the second to middle rounds. I doubt that they would take one with their first-round selection because they are going to want to take an impact player there.
So who are some of the second to mid-round prospects the Bears might be interested in at the right tackle position? College tackles can play either right or left tackle but are better suited for one side or the other. They might be relegated to playing guard in the NFL as well. The Bears don’t need a left tackle because of Charles Leno Jr., is adequate and he did sign that big contract. They need a right tackle though and could think about taking one in the second or later rounds.
Three of the potential prospects, with middle round grades at the time that this was written include Georgia’s Isaiah Wynn, Ohio State’s Jamarco Jones, and Oregon’s Tyrell Crosby. The Bears could take any one of these guys and either plug them in at right tackle or sign Massie to another contract and let them learn from him. That’s a very likely scenario. The Bears need to start doing something for the future at this position. They cannot let it wait another year.
Depending on what happens with Eric Kush’s injury and Jordan Morgan’s development, the Bears may want to look at adding some developmental depth at the guard position. They wouldn’t need to look at drafting a guy early but could, instead, try to get a guy later on.
Some of the later round prospects that they may be interested in include Tyrone Crowder of Clemson, Idaho State’s Skyler Phillips and Stanford’s David Bright. These players need some development but could eventually be decent backups or short-term starters at the guard position.
I am going to spend this whole slide on centers. I think that Bears’ fans can relate to what they saw out of the center position this season. Quite often, there were miscues by Bears’ centers, which included Cody Whitehair and Hroniss Grasu, that gave the Bears’ offensive line some problems. It was strange because after playing center well the previous season, Whitehair seemed to fall apart and not play nearly as well in 2017. When he was forced to move to guard because of injuries, he played good. If he plays well at guard, then that’s where he needs to stay.
Grasu is undersized at center and hasn’t played well. Granted, he has been hurt but when he’s been in the lineup, he has struggled. He may not be around when the smoke clears and training camp is over this coming season. Chicago needs to plan for the center position because it affects the offense much more than anyone realizes. We saw what it did in 2017 and we don’t want the same thing to happen in 2018.
Should the Bears want to draft a center, which is possible, then they might let Grasu walk. What they might be able to do is sign a center in free agency and then draft one to develop and replace the player they sign. We will look more at free agent possibilities in another slide but for now, let’s think about who the Bears could draft at center to help themselves out.
The 2018 NFL Draft has some decent center prospects in it and one of these prospects may work out well for the Bears. You wouldn’t expect them to draft a center in the first couple rounds, but they might think of taking someone with a later round pick to develop. This player wouldn’t be a starter right away, so the Bears don’t want to have that big of an investment through the draft in him. After looking at some of the centers available, there have been three identified as possible fits for the Bears. They include Auburn’s Austin Golson, Iowa’s Sean Welsh (a guard who could convert to center) and Washington’s Coleman Shelton.
Any of these three guys would help the Bears out, but not right away.
If Chicago were smart, they would draft a center and find a free agent to have the rookie learn from. Moving Whitehair to one of the guard spots should Sitton retire would work. They might also want to keep Whitehair as the center then have a draftee learn behind him while we wait for Sitton to retire. And it’s always a good idea to have some extra depth in case of an injury.
If Ryan Pace has had some weakness, it’s been with free agents. He has swung and missed on guys like Pernell McPhee and Markus Wheaton. He has hit on others, like Prince Amukamara and Akiem Hicks so his choices aren’t all that bad.
The Bears must get some help on the offensive line through free agency this coming offseason. The center position is a must and they could use some help at right tackle. Getting a free agent or two to help them than drafting to fill the positions for the future would be their best move. But first, let’s look at the depth players that the Bears currently have on the roster and see if they might be worth keeping.
We all remember what happened to Eric Kush in training camp. He tore his hamstring and spent the season on injured reserve. He is poised to be back and is under contract. Look for him to compete for a backup guard spot and quite possibly make the team. Then you have guys like Tom Compton and Bradley Sowell who are both under a one-year contract. What the Bears decide to do with them, before free agency, will dictate what they do in the draft.
Let’s take a quick look at right tackle prospects in free agency this offseason. The Bears could decide to let Massie go and bring someone else in. If they do that, they will have a choice of a few right tackles in this draft.
Some of the bigger names on the list of free agent right tackles include Cincinnati’s Eric Winston, Denver’s Allen Barbre, and Houston’s Breno Giacomini. The problem with these guys is they are all over 30 years old and don’t have a lot left in them. But if any one of them could prove themselves better than Massie then the Bears might need to go with one of those guys at least for a year.
I have talked a lot about what to do at center in the draft. Now it’s time to look at what to do in free agency. The Bears could let Grasu go and move Whitehair thus paving the way for someone to take over at center. They won’t want to put a rookie in at center but could decide to get a free agent.
There are 15 free agents that the Bears could consider at the center position. Guys like Tampa Bay’s Evan Smith, Baltimore’s Ryan Jensen or Washington’s Tony Bergstrom may be of some interest to the Bears. Or they could go after one of the younger guys who have the experience to help them get by at center.
The guard position may need some attention and there will be some solid free agent guards available in free agency. The Bears might show some interest in the likes of former Chicago Bear Matt Slauson, Cincinnati’s Andre Smith or Arizona’s Alex Boone. Any of these three could help the Bears add some depth at the guard position. The Bears will need it as injuries have struck both Sitton and Long. Long has missed the better part of the past two seasons. Sitton is good to miss a game or two every season and may be close to retirement.
If the Bears don’t bring back the guys they used for depth this year then they will need to look at some of the guys above to help them fill some backup roles.
