Roster Projection: OL

[WindyCity]

OL [9]

LT: Jenkins, Hambright
LG: Whithair, Bars
C: Mustipher
RG: Daniels, Wilkerson
RT: Ifedi/Borom

I think you need to keep 9 guys on the line, with 8 active on game day, because you have a bunch of ? marks on the line and thus way you have enough guys to weather it.

The starting 5 seem locked in. I think you let Borom compete with Ifedi, but my guess is the experience wins out.

Bars showed enough last year that I think you keep him.

Hambright, may not make it, but he is the one backup with significant LT experience in case Jenkins falters or gets injured.

Short Term: This is the most enthused I have been with a group the Bears have had in a long time.
Long Term: Daniels is a free agent, we need Mustipher to continue to show improvement, and then it is all about RT. Are Ifedi or Borom the RT for the next 3-4 years?

 

[Pegger]

Doesn't look too bad. No glaring holes, but depth will be an issue. I'd say you are 1-2 injuries away from things potentially coming off the rails real quickly.

Daniels and Whitehair is the strongest part of the line and neither is probowl caliber. If I was giving a letter grade I'd do a C+. Middle of the pack with some upside.

 

[WindyCity]

Doesn't look too bad. No glaring holes, but depth will be an issue. I'd say you are 1-2 injuries away from things potentially coming off the rails real quickly.

Daniels and Whitehair is the strongest part of the line and neither is probowl caliber. If I was giving a letter grade I'd do a C+. Middle of the pack with some upside.

Any chance at being a top 10-12 line will come from what they get at Jenkins and if Ifedi can play well.

I agree, the interior is solid, but not special.

 

[Pittston Bear Fan]

LT: Jenkins, Hambright
LG: Whithair, Bars
C: Daniels Mustipher
RG: Ifedi, Wilkerson
RT: Wilkerson/Borom

 

[SlickWilly]

Doesn't look too bad. No glaring holes, but depth will be an issue. I'd say you are 1-2 injuries away from things potentially coming off the rails real quickly.

Daniels and Whitehair is the strongest part of the line and neither is probowl caliber. If I was giving a letter grade I'd do a C+. Middle of the pack with some upside.

Which is about 90% of NFL teams.

 

[legendxofxlink]

LT: Jenkins, Hambright
LG: Whithair, Bars
C: Daniels Mustipher
RG: Ifedi, Wilkerson
RT: Wilkerson/Borom

Ifedi at OG was an Ifailed experiment. He's done there barring multiple injuries..

Jenkins
Whitehair
Mustipher
Daniels
Ifedi

 

[mattb78]

I have some physical concerns about Jenkins at LT (footspeed & arm length), but this may have been our best option to get rid of Leno after we used our 1st round pick on a QB. He may not see his entire career at LT though and that would not be a failure.

I think the interior of the line is capable and better QB play should help.

Kmet was more physical run blocking that many thought he would be and can help the weakest tackle.

 

[Mighty Joe Young]

One thing I see left off - I could see Dieter Eiselen coming off the practice squad for this year and competing for a backup C/G role

 

[discplayer]

OL [9]

LT: Jenkins, Hambright
LG: Whithair, Bars
C: Mustipher
RG: Daniels, Wilkerson
RT: Ifedi/Borom

I think Daniels should be LG, Cody on right. Cody has more experience and might be bigger help to rookie LT than Daniels.

That said, Daniels is more athletic than Whitehair, so guess I’ll trust Juan and his staff to work out who’s best where.

 

[rawdawg]

Bars and Wilkerson will play LT before Hambright would. Could see them bringing back Jason Spriggs too if they feel tackle depth isn't good enough.

You don't cut Leno if the plan is to play Ifedi at guard.

 

[greg23]

I think Daniels should be LG, Cody on right. Cody has more experience and might be bigger help to rookie LT than Daniels.

That said, Daniels is more athletic than Whitehair, so guess I’ll trust Juan and his staff to work out who’s best where.

Pretty sure they've already said Whitehair is best at LG and he shined there (again) when they moved him there last year.

Part of the problem with the oline has been talent and not putting players in their best spots.....plug him at lg and go from there....hopefully they're not doing the same with Jenkins as I don't think I read anywhere prior to the draft that had him projected as a NFL LT...but bears gonna bears

 

[DB012031]

Pretty sure they've already said Whitehair is best at LG and he shined there (again) when they moved him there last year.

Part of the problem with the oline has been talent and not putting players in their best spots.....plug him at lg and go from there....hopefully they're not doing the same with Jenkins as I don't think I read anywhere prior to the draft that had him projected as a NFL LT...but bears gonna bears

In fairness to Jenkins though, he was Okie States starting Left Tackle 2 seasons ago and was penciled in as the starting left tackle this past season but when there was an injury to the starting RT, Jenkins moved over because Okie states best backup only had experience on the left side.

Point is, its not like Jenkins never played LT before and was a pretty solid LT in college before the switch due to necessity.

 

[ThatGuyRyan]

I think whichever side of the line Jenkins ends up playing, you put Daniels at that guard spot. Cody's good enough but an upgrade would be nice next year. I'd like to see a veteran center be brought in for competition and push Sam. Ifedi was better at RT, but he's still trash.

The floor for this group is last years starting group's ceiling, so there's that. Rashaad Coward was awful.

 

[Pittston Bear Fan]

Ifedi at OG was an Ifailed experiment. He's done there barring multiple injuries..

Jenkins
Whitehair
Mustipher
Daniels
Ifedi

He only moved to RT , because of the injury to Massie. He played well @ OG

 

[Pegger]

Any chance at being a top 10-12 line will come from what they get at Jenkins and if Ifedi can play well.

I agree, the interior is solid, but not special.

The tackles are a huge question mark. I love Jenkins as a prospect. His feet are really impressive, so there's a chance he can stick at LT. I felt he's more of a RT that has a backup position at guard. Maybe the largest of all is the current 'plan' has a rookie being given a starting spot right out the gates. This is a problem because it doesn't really foster a culture of 'constant competition' while the player will be trying to transition to a far higher level of competition.

It's also tough for me to get behind Ifedi. I watched a lot of Seattle, so I've seen him underwhelm at both guard and tackle for a while. Just to set accurate expectations, recently cut Leno has typically outperformed Ifedi per PFF. So for me it's fine Bears fans to be upset at Massie and Leno for what they've done over the years, but I'd also say Ifedi will probably give the same level of production, so set expectations accurately.

 

[legendxofxlink]

He only moved to RT , because of the injury to Massie. He played well @ OG

Aaron Donald was looking forward to eating Germain Ifedi’s lunch on Monday night.

Donald spoke with ESPN’s announcers before “Monday Night Football” between his Los Angeles Rams and the Chicago Bears at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. Donald apparently shared with the announcers that he was eager for his matchup with Ifedi. The offensive lineman switched positions from tackle with Seattle to guard with Chicago, and Donald thinks that has hurt Ifedi.

“We asked Aaron Donald about [the switch] and he said ‘he just looks uncomfortable in there at guard.’ He’s like, ‘quite honestly, I’m looking forward to the opportunity,'” ESPN’s announcers shared during the game.

 

[kg1187]

It all comes down to Jenkins. If he can play LT at NFL an level the line should be fine. If not that unit faces huge question marks at LT.

This is why a lot of people lamented the loss of Leno. You can never have too much depth.

 

[greg23]

In fairness to Jenkins though, he was Okie States starting Left Tackle 2 seasons ago and was penciled in as the starting left tackle this past season but when there was an injury to the starting RT, Jenkins moved over because Okie states best backup only had experience on the left side.

Point is, its not like Jenkins never played LT before and was a pretty solid LT in college before the switch due to necessity.

Pretty sure he got about an 80-20 split rt vs lt in college

It's definitely a projection by the staff that he can handle lt in the nfl

 

[gallagher]

Pretty sure he got about an 80-20 split rt vs lt in college

It's definitely a projection by the staff that he can handle lt in the nfl

If he puts in the work in the off-season, he's gonna do well. He has the traits, just not the starts to give confidence that he'll make the transition.

And hey, if Jenkins doesn't play well at LT move him back to the right side and draft another tackle. I won't complain about drafting more OL with any pick.

 

[dabears70]

Any chance at being a top 10-12 line will come from what they get at Jenkins and if Ifedi can play well.

I agree, the interior is solid, but not special.

Our o-line was top 3rd in the league last year. I don't know what she was going off of but this is what Cynthia Frelund from NFL Network said and she's known for being a numbers person. Take that for what you will but i just think because of the years of dealing with Leno and Massie and how they both became pretty much hated by all of us that some don't give enough credit to the o-line we had last year that wasn't that bad for all the changes that were made throughout the year because of injuries or average play by some like Coward. Getting Daniels back and adding Jenkins and Borom should only help. I could see a slow start and mistakes being made early in the season with players getting used to playing with the guy on each side of them and Jenkins taking over at LT at the next level of football but it hopefully will come together pretty quickly.