The Chicago Bears were ranked as one of the worst offenses last season according to FOX Sports with the only silver lining coming with the Bears ranking eighth in red zone offense at 62.2%.
The Bears have a deficiency on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball that they urgently need to address.
Holding the tenth pick in this year’s NFL Draft, the Bears, and General Manager Ryan Poles will face a critical decision come draft day: who will they pick and what side of the ball will they address with it?
The Chicago Bears’ poor offensive line
The Bear’s lack of offensive success didn’t come from their star quarterback Caleb Williams playing badly, on the contrary, Williams was phenomenal in his rookie season. Starting in all 17 of the Bears games Williams threw for 20 touchdowns with only 6 interceptions, with a completion percentage of 62.5%, with also leading the league in sacks with 68 due to a poor offensive line. Williams also managed to throw for 3,541 yards which is a Chicago Bears rookie quarterback record.
One of the main reasons the Bears were so bad offensively and helped contribute to their 5-12 record was their poor offensive line play which according to Pro Football Focus ranked them 24th out of 32 teams. According to Senior Analyst at PPF Zoltán Buday, he said the Bear’s line was:
“While Chicago’s offensive line failed to reach the potential many saw in it in the preseason, the unit was better than many people gave it credit for. Four of the Bears’ five projected starters earned PFF overall grades above 70.0, and all five topped 65.0. However, injuries and Caleb Williams’ pocket movement and awareness did the group no favors, resulting in the line allowing the most sacks in the NFL (37).
The Bears may have surrendered the most sacks in the league, but they were “only” the 12th-worst offensive line in PFF pass-blocking efficiency rating (84.1). The unit allowed 180 total pressures on 682 pass plays.“
The Bears will urgently need to address the problems on the offensive side of the trenches if they are to flip their 5-12 record to 12-5 and provide better protection for Caleb Williams so he can be even more productive next season.
Who will the Bears take with the tenth pick?
It’s being widely speculated the Bears are focusing their sights on two offensive linemen to address these needs with LSU’s OT/Guard Will Campbell and Texas Longhorns OT Kelvin Banks Jr. being the top two names being tied to the Bears.
The Bears could certainly use another tackle to pair with their other tackle Darnell Wright who will be the only starter from last year guaranteed a spot on next year’s line. Both would provide excellent protection with Will Campbell being slightly more advanced in his abilities than Kelvin Banks Jr. with some scouts referring to him as the most “polished” lineman in this year’s draft.
According to Campbell’s scouting report on Bleacher Report, they give the All-SEC and All-Americans solid remarks.
Positives
-Plays with excellent balance, weight distribution, and leverage.
— Very good play strength with a consistently strong base to absorb and dish out force on command.
— Quickly and efficiently transitions into his anchor to brace and dissipate the bull rush.
— Fluidly navigates combo blocks and double-teams to feed/secure the first-level and timely release to intersect second-level targets.
— Outstanding blend of body control and physicality to sustain, drive, and finish blocks at a high level.
— Renowned leadership skills and football character.
Negatives
— Will occasionally drift and overset when on an island and threatened with speed to the corner.
— Mediocre arm length and a tendency to punch down the middle with his outside hand on an island create short corners, leaving him vulnerable to the cross-chop technique.
And for Banks Jr. Bleacher Reports gives his positives and negatives as:
Positives
— Smooth footwork in his pass set with his inside foot vertical to reach his spot on time, square, and under control.
— Refined use of hands in pass protection.
— Potent bait technique to disrupt the rusher’s timing with a firm understanding of high-low hands to clamp up outside moves and slow down inside moves.
— Gets into fits with proper timing and pad level on double-teams and combo blocks to arrive in contact with pop before driving and generating displacement.
— Has the wheels and agility to stride out, close space, and intersect targets on lead pulls and screens.
Negatives
— During the second and third phases of base/angle-drive blocks he struggles to keep defenders clenched/tight to his frame resulting in a wide base, leaning, and falling off of too many blocks.
— Feet can cross over on backside cut-offs leading to a compromised base and quick penetration.
Either would be beneficial
Adding either Campbell or Banks Jr. would vastly improve the offensive line and protection for Williams.
With the draft set to take place on April 26, it will be interesting to see who the Bears take and which side of the ball they choose to address.
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1 Comment
perhaps the issue is poor line coaching ??