So what are some legitimate o-line options? A list of some dudes.

[Shepard]

Already been said, but focus on IOL. Center and Guard. Live with Jones for now.

I'd rather Bears sign Alaric Jackson than live with Braxton.

 

[cwcwcwcw1]

With the exception of Simmons ( ACL Injury ) from Ohio State all the top tackle options in the draft seem to really be guards at the NFL level. When you add that to an already deep guard class I think it makes more sense to get 1 or 2 of them with the 2nd rounders. At #10 a DE or DL looks to be the best value. Of course during the lead up to the draft this could change but it looks to me that more DL's will climb then the OL's.

DE/DL @ 10 and OT/G @39 looks to be better then OT/G @ 10 and DE/DL @ 39.

 

[jsu34]

I'd rather Bears sign Alaric Jackson than live with Braxton.

Of course, but the interior is worse off than tackle. Bears should spend on interior before anything else. Braxton Jones is passable. The interior is not.

 

[Mighty Joe Young]

If Trey Smith hit's FA you throw everything you got at him. It's time to invest in the damn o-line the right way and stop being cheap asses about it. I don't care how much it costs. Then you go and draft the top LT in the draft. You have LT, RT and RG solidified for the next several years.

No dominant LTs worth a first round pick in this draft, supposedly.

 

[Mighty Joe Young]

Of course, but the interior is worse off than tackle. Bears should spend on interior before anything else. Braxton Jones is passable. The interior is not.

Plus if you fix the interior, you can give Braxton help for a season.

 

[TL1961]

2025 NFL Free Agent Rankings: Top 75 players set to enter free agency

From some marquee receivers to ageless impact veterans, here are PFF's top 75 free agents for 2025.

www.pff.com

I started reading and saw top 10 players described as having poor 2024 seasons. How bad are 11-75?

"He's 37 and lost a leg two years ago in a farm accident, but he's getting comfortable with that prosthetic, and if he can reclaim his 2017 form....."

And then I saw it was PFF and it all made sense.

 

[bearsfan1977]

FA
-Trey Smith is obviously the guy to go after if he hits FA
-Zeitler would be a great temporary RG acquisition as a 2nd option
-I know many will not like it, but honestly bringing back Teven would not be a bad move on a reasonable deal; he is very solid when healthy, but as we all know, he has had his injury issues

Draft
-Josh Simmons at 10 I could live with because I think he has a high ceiling at LT; Campbell will most likely play G, and I am not at all a fan of Banks
-guys like Milum or Donovan Jackson in the 2nd to pair with the G we get in FA

 

[HearshotKDS]

ATL is capfucked thanks to our dear friend and colleague Kirk Cousins - Drew Dalman is almost certain to test FA because of that. He's not the best C in the NFL but he's a much better option than what the Bears have trotted out at the position for the last X years. He'll be 26 going into '25 season so thats a potential multi-year answer to C. Speilberger thinks he'll get $11.5M so if you were gonna throw a ton of money at a Stanley or a Smith then Dalman fits pretty comfortably in your budget/still gives you big dosh to throw at a DL solution.

Another iOL guy I really like is Patrick Mekari - undersized technician thats probably best suited for iOL but has succeeded as a swing tackle for BAL in the past. I suspect BALs cap situation means they have to choose 1 of Stanley or Mekari - I would guess they keep Stanley because its harder to find good LTs. Mekari is a true swiss army knife on the OL having played snaps at every position in his 5 year career, he was their LG for all but 3 games this season and gave up 0 sacks, 0 QB hits in the 14+2 postseason games. Hopefully the BJ Bears are passed old habits, but for a team like the Bears that have historically liked to play musical chairs with their OLmen Mekari has the skillset to actually thrive when bumped around due to injury.

Ideally the Bears dont start 2 rookies next to each other, rookie GC combo to me is an unacceptable gamble.

 

[IBleedBearsBlood]

Plus if you fix the interior, you can give Braxton help for a season.

I agree. Fix the 3 guys in the middle first. Get a beefy tough athletic center too. Damn it, we need dogs out there. Not some pussy ass bitches.

 

[playthrough2001]

This sounds good to me:

“According to ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler, the chatter around the league hints that starting right guard Trey Smith could become that key departure in 2025. Fowler relayed “predictions” from various anonymous executives and talent evaluators on January 21, and one of them involved Smith and the Chiefs.

“[The Chicago] Bears will sign Trey Smith in free agency,” the prediction read. Along with the following explanation from Fowler:

Chicago is all-in on improving its offense with the hiring of Ben Johnson as head coach. High on general manger Ryan Poles’ list of improvements will be an underachieving offensive line. Chiefs free agent guard Trey Smith could be an immediate fit.
“They need help there at guard after the Nate Davis fiasco, and Trey is far and away the best option,” an NFL personnel evaluator said. “And they probably need more than him.”
Johnson’s offense is well assembled at the skill positions with tight end Cole Kmet, running back D’Andre Swift and wide receivers DJ Moore and Rome Odunze. But the offensive line was a major problem and will be addressed.

Fowler failed to mention the connection between Poles and the KC organization, but many diehard supporters will remember that the former Chiefs front office executive…”

Continued at…

Chiefs Predicted to Lose Top Free Agent to Franchise With KC Ties: Insider

An NFL insider relayed a league rumor that the Kansas City Chiefs will lose an integral starter to the Chicago Bears in 2025 free agency.

heavy.com

 

[Szlachcic]

LSU offensive lineman Will Campbell

 

[msadows]

LSU offensive lineman Will Campbell

I've been off his bandwagon after I saw how he played vs. Jared Verse last year.

 

[dreadpirateroberts]

I want Josh Conerly Jr. at OT, Armand Membou at G, and Marcus Mbow at C

 

[hyatt151]

All in on Ryan Kelly and Trey Smith (thinking avg around 17MM per at 4/yrs each); and/or if reasonable $ (less than them) bringing back James Daniels.

Yes on drafting OL with at least 2 of first 4 selections. Also need 1 DL/Edge; LEANING Nolan as he may be great and can play inside or outside in certain sets, (I also think, a full NFL offseason of conditioning and nutrition will vault Booker into a solid rotational edge with Walker and Sweat.)

Pending above results might, just might, use 72 on a LB if one of either Barrett Carter or Danny Stutsman are sitting there.

what about Safety

 

[hyatt151]

I've been off his bandwagon after I saw how he played vs. Jared Verse last year.

newsflash- none of the OL in this class would have fared any better against Verse, in fact NFL starters struggled against him this past year

 

[Mighty Joe Young]

I think the Bears have to go all in on Trey Smith, honestly. Why is KC moving on from a 25 year old starter? Is it just the money?

Either way, the draft has an abundance of LG and a severe shortage of everything else. Bears probably should grab 3 guards this draft; let them battle it out in camp while learning all 3 interior positions. Best one able to convert to center starts there, then most talented after that starts at LG, and then the last one becomes depth for all 3 interior positions.

Honestly, even better if the Bears can grab a decent FA center and LG on short term deals, and still draft 3 LGs - it buys you time to convert 2 of them, and also get everyone up to NFL standards. Bears need depth in a bad way.

 

[DB012031]

No dominant LTs worth a first round pick in this draft, supposedly.

Of all the LT's in this draft, if he is healthy, the LT out of Ohio State probably would be the first one off the board (over Campbell from LSU and Banks from Texas)

I still think way too many "scouts" obsess over this arm length issue. I mean look at Rashawn Slater, LT for the Chargers. 4 years age everyone said "Really athletic but will need to move inside due to length concerns" yet here he is, one of the best LT's in football. Infact, did so well they were forced to move Joe Alt to RT and he was supposed to be the best LT in the draft last year...

1 inch, give or take, on the arm length is the dumbest reason not to draft a good linemen

 

[Toast88]

Needed:
Starting Center
Starting RG
Starting LG
OT depth or new LT

I think Chicago really needs to come out of free-agency with at least two new starting IOL. A veteran like Scherff at RG makes sense, but man would I really like to see Mekhi Becton in a Bears uniform.

Center is tough. Dalman is obviously the top free-agent IF Atlanta lets him hit the open market. After that the pickings are slim. Robert Hainsey from TB might be a guy worth taking a flyer on. The guy has almost 40 starts at Center in his career.

Poles has his work cut out for him.

Yeah, he's going to really need to go against his nature and overpay if he's serious about upgrading the line.

To this point, the Bears have just bowed out when multiple teams show interest in a free agent, harping on value and sticking to a number.

If you're going to fix this o-line, though, and not make it a 10-year project, you're going to have to just bite the bullet and pay more than you'd like.

 

[Toast88]

in Madden I re-signed tev jenkins to a 1 year deal, signed Ryan Kelly to a 2 year deal, and then drafted guard/center in the 2nd/3rd

Im pretty sure tev will get a multi year deal for 10m+ somewhere tho. Just not too many great FA options that are young and talented.

Someone will pay Jenkins, even if it's a short-term deal. Doubt it's the Bears, though. You just really can't count on him. Someone who hasn't seen it firsthand will take a chance, though. Good luck to them and him.

 

[Toast88]

I didn't think Trey Smith would even hit the open market but it's possible? Option 1A clearly.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1881787466572832864

But I was told it's a foregone conclusion and that Bears fans shouldn't even consider that an option!?