Interest in Center Shows Bears' Concern Over Line Situation

The Bears met at the Senior Bowl with Temple center Matt Hennessy, whose brother is the New York Jets' long snapper

One player who the Bears have shown interest in has seen an uptick in his predraft stock of late.

The Bears spoke at the Senior Bowl with Temple center Matt Hennessy, who had been projected by many analysts as a Day 3 pick.

The Senior Bowl seemed to change some minds because Hennessy had several strong practices when he kept rushers at bay.

That should have come as no surprise. Bleacher Report's Matt Miller had called Hennessy an "excellent pass blocker." However, he saw a need for Hennessy's run blocking to improve.

Hennessy is the brother of New York Jets long snapper Thomas Hennessy, who played at Duke.

The Bears could be fighting off the Jets if they have an interest in Matt Hennessy because the Jets are looking for a center.

Asked by reporters at the Senior Bowl if he'd like to play with his brother, Hennessy said, "Oh, that'd be incredible, that'd be incredible. We never got the chance to play together. He's always been a bunch of years ahead of me."

If it seems like the Bears have been collecting centers lately, it should. The Bears definitely aren't in the market for a center, but if they drafted one with enough talent to start they could convert Cody Whitehair back to guard and also keep James Daniels at guard.

They are still trying to fill the starting right guard position after Kyle Long retired. Rashaad Coward finished the season there, but he was a tackle by trade and played there only after a knee injury to backup Ted Larsen.

Hennessy is a bit small for an NFL center and may need to bulk up a bit. He is 6-foot-4, but 295 pounds. He was recruited to Temple out of high school by new Carolina Panthers coach Matt Ruhle.

Bears GM Ryan Pace hasn't had extraordinary success drafting centers. His third-round pick in 2015 was Hroniss Grasu, and Grasu was gone from Chicago before the 2018 season after a knee injury and ineffective play.

Whitehair made the Pro Bowl at center in 2018 but wasn't even supposed to play the position. He had to learn shotgun snapping because he hadn't been a college center. It led to some problems as he adjusted.

Then Pace drafted Iowa's James Daniels and it seemed a solid pick. Daniels played guard when pressed into service in 2018 but was then moved to center at what was perceived as his natural position from his days at Iowa. He struggled and partly because Coward needed someone with more experience playing next to him, the Bears moved Daniels back to left guard.

It's unclear who will be at center and left guard next season, as Pace punted on the question when asked at the season-ending press conference.

The Bears also have Sam Mustipher on their roster, a center from Notre Dame who was undrafted and was on their practice squad all last year.

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