Buckeyes' Jonah Jackson Meets Eye Test for Bears at Guard

The Bears have a need at right guard even with two veterans in the fold to compete for the spot and Pro Football Focus was among those who saw a perfect fit at Ohio State

Throughout last season the analytic experts at Pro Football Focus and Football Outsiders slammed Chicago Bears blockers for an inability to reach the second level of defenders.

In essence, linebackers were running free to pound on running back David Montgomery.

There's a possible answer for the Bears to this in the NFL Draft and they may not have to devote even a second-round pick to get him. 

Ohio State guard Jonah Jackson has been projected by many mock drafters and draft analysts as a mid-round pick despite being lauded for an ability to reach the second level with his run blocking, while pass protecting at an elite level.

Pro Football Focus calls him the second-best player at his position in the draft and had him ranked the 38th best prospect regardless of position, largely because of his technique and athleticism.

Pro Football Focus also posted another article calling Jackson the ideal offensive line answer for the Bears. They compared him to former Packers and Bears guard Josh Sitton, while Jackson himself looks for comparisons on the Eagles' line.

"I like to compare myself to Jason Kelce," Jackson told reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine. "He's a little shorter guy like myself, not the biggest of the bunch, but once he gets to that second level and gets out in space there's nobody better than him

"Then my finishing ability and just overall nastiness, I like to compare myself to Big Q, (Colts guard) Quenton Nelson. I like him a lot. So I like to try and mold my game after him a little."

There are plenty of bigger guards than Jackson, who is 6-foot-3, 306 pounds. PFF saw few better with his hand usage against defenders rushing the pass or even trying to stop the run.

Jackson is hardly a system product. He didn't even play at Ohio State until his final year. 

Prior to that he established a name as a lineman at Rutgers, but transferred to Ohio State after getting his degree because he felt playing there would benefit his drive to get into the NFL.

"I definitely feel like I'm a better player just because of maturity and better understanding of the game and just constantly working on different things that I needed to improve from 2018 to 2019," Jackson said. "That's a whole year of work to help me get better."

Going from a struggling program to a successful one taught Jackson a few things, as well.

"Just be able to persevere, push through different things and handling adversity," he said, and added, "Going to Ohio State I tell a lot of people that could have been one of the best decisions I made in my 23 years of being alive. I wouldn't change a thing."

Although Jackson has pluses as a technician and with maturity, he's not going too overboard on the cerebral aspect of line play.

When asked what offensive line coaches liked about what he did, he focused on his sour disposition and added, "...being a prick."

"I mean, you're going head-to-head every play so you've got to be nasty," Jackson said. "You've got to have a little something off in you. 

"It's definitely vital to being an interior offensive lineman."

Technically sound, mature yet mean—it all sounds like a checklist for the ideal offensive lineman, one who's been called a perfect Bears fit. 

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