ESPN:
Among the first declarations made by coach Ben Johnson after being hired by the Bears two months ago was the need for improved play along Chicago’s offensive line.
The opportunity to achieve that feat early in Johnson’s tenure would present itself naturally with three of Chicago’s primary starters — left guard Teven Jenkins, center Coleman Shelton and right guard Matt Pryor — headed for free agency. But would the Bears realistically be able to flip nearly an entire position group in one offseason?
Johnson welcomed the challenge.
“There are a number of teams that did that last year,” Johnson said last week at the NFL combine. “The Panthers come to mind, when they went out in free agency and got a couple of top guards, really changed the dynamic of their offense. You saw them clicking there in the second half of the season once they really started to gel. There’s no question that you can change the dynamic of the room just like that.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean we need five new starters, because all it takes is one individual to blow up a play. And so we’re just identifying where we can get a little bit better, and we’re going to continue to raise that floor, and we’ll find the right mix of five to eight, nine, 10 guys.”
Chicago is sparing no expense when it comes to protecting quarterback Caleb Williams, who was sacked a league-high 68 times during his rookie season. Within a 24-hour stretch less than a week before the start of free agency, the Bears agreed to trade a 2026 fourth-round pick to the Kansas City Chiefs for guard Joe Thuney and are sending a 2025 sixth-round pick to the Los Angeles Rams for guard Jonah Jackson.
The Bears enter free agency with nearly $79 million in salary cap space, according to NFLPA records. The team is taking on the $17.5 million that Jackson is set to earn and the $16 million Thuney is due in 2025.
General manager Ryan Poles was asked at the combine whether the Bears would be willing to be more aggressive at the top of the free agent market, given that the vision he talked about was to upgrade the offensive line substantially.
“I think the clearer the vision, the more aggressive you can be, and that’s important. You want to be selective in free agency because, historically, if you look at it, it can tell you and you can learn from that. But if there are certain players that kind of hit all the checked boxes that you need, there’s really no reason to hold back. I feel like you can be aggressive in those situations.”
The Bears followed the aforementioned model the Panthers executed during free agency in March 2024 when they signed left guard Damien Lewis, center Austin Corbett and right guard Robert Hunt to reshape their offensive line. As a result, Carolina quarterback Bryce Young saw his sack numbers decrease from 62 as a rookie to 29 in his second season.
Chicago’s aggressive pursuit to flip the offensive line stresses the team’s understanding that this unit can no longer be piecemealed together with inexpensive trades and free agents on bargain contracts. Outside of using the No. 10 pick on right tackle Darnell Wright in 2023, the Bears have not used a first-round pick on an offensive lineman since 2013. Thuney and Jackson are the biggest offensive line trades pulled off by Poles since he arrived in 2022.
Now the Bears have upgrades at both guard positions. According to ESPN Research, 94 players had at least 60 pass block plays with a win or loss at guard last season. Jackson (98.5%) and Thuney (98.2%) had the two highest pass block win rates at guard of that group.
And the overhaul may not be done just yet.
The Bears are in the market for a new center and could look to add the top free agent available next week. Atlanta’s Drew Dalman had a pass block win rate of 95.1% in the nine games he played for the Falcons last season (before missing time with an ankle injury), which ranked ninth among centers who played at least 500 snaps.
The trades executed by Chicago are indicative of how the Bears view this class of free agent offensive linemen. By utilizing draft capital, Chicago can preserve resources to spend elsewhere in free agency, like landing a starting pass rusher to play opposite defensive end Montez Sweat.
Beyond the No. 10 pick, they also have four selections in the top 72. In all three of their most recent mock drafts, ESPN draft analysts Mel Kiper Jr., Field Yates and Jordan Reid project the Bears to take an offensive lineman in the first round. Being able to draft a left tackle of the future, whether it’s Ohio State’s Josh Simmons or Missouri’s Armand Membou, could create competition with veteran Braxton Jones and further improve the pass protection around Williams.
The interior of Chicago’s defensive line also needs work. The Bears allowed 136.3 rushing yards last season (28th) with most of that production coming before contact (their 2.94 yards before contact ranked 25th). Chicago allowed 5.1 yards per rush on runs between the tackles, which was worst in the NFL.
ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller has 30 defensive tackles with draftable grades, marking one of the deepest classes at the position in recent years. The draft could also be where the Bears begin to fill this void.
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