Bear Digest

Next Chicago Bears steps after Joe Thuney can take one of two paths

The next direction for this Chicago Bears offensive line rehab project appears to be right down the middle but they have two well defined options for addressing it.

Gene Chamberlain

Former Lions center/guard Evan Brown checks the defensive alignment during a game in 2022. Brown is a Cardinals free agent.
Former Lions center/guard Evan Brown checks the defensive alignment during a game in 2022. Brown is a Cardinals free agent. / Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
In this story:

The Bears are at it again.

The team that wins every offseason looks like a favorite to win another NFL offseason by rapidly addressing what is far and away their greatest weakness with Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson. They have the jump on everyone else, still, with plenty of ways to make it even more interesting.

The Bears would have no room in their trophy case if they gave away team awards for the offseason.

This only figures to get better and it's going to branch out in different directions soon but before it goes in the direction of the defensive line there is one big hole to plug.

This, of course, is center. Although both Thuney and Jackson have played some center in the NFL at times, they did it only to assist the team in emergency situations.

There are two paths the Bears can go by now and it can lead to the stairway to NFL heaven if they take either, but one will take longer. The other might not take as long as expected, though.

Bears center path No. 1

Sign veteran free agent center

The obvious possible targets here are Falcons free agent center Drew Dalman or Colts free agent Ryan Kelly.

It's going to cost more to take this route and Dalman is by far the highest graded center, according to Pro Football Focus at least.

Tom Pelissero said the cost could be between $13 million and $14 million a year for Dalman. It might not seem likely the Bears can afford this after adding two veteran linemen to the bankroll, but the cost of both Jackson and Thuney isn't as great as their total contract figures reflect, as their prorated signing bonuses to their current contracts count against the trading teams' cap figures.
Still, they've spent a lot on those two and might want to use a good deal of remaining money on defensive improvement.

Kelly could be slightly less, between $10 million and $11 million according to Pro Football Focus and Spotrac.com projections.

Matt Bowen of ESPN has both Kelly and Dalman in the top 50 free agents, about 20 places apart.

Kelly also is much older and coming off a season-ending knee injury, but still younger at 31 than even Thuney. What Kelly also has over Dalman is he's consistent as a run and pass blocker. He isn't considered far better at one over the other. He usually comes in grade-wise for PFF close in both areas. Dalman, on the other hand, is a much better run blocker than pass blocker.

The Bears' own free agent, Coleman Shelton, is considered the third-best free agent center option and they know plenty about his weaknesses.

However, there is one other scheduled free agent and it's someone Jackson played alongside in Detroit in Ben Johnson's offense. That's Cardinals free agent center/guard Evan Brown. Brown is low budget at a projected $5.5 million a year.

Brown has never been a player graded particularly high but has never been a player focused entirely on one  position over the other. Last year he played a full season as a Cardinals left guard, the previous year nearly a full season as Seahawks center, and in Detroit almost all of his playing time came at center, 851 snaps to 16 at guard.

Brown looks like a viable option if they want to keep the costs down but this has been a real problem the Bears had over the last few years at the position. They are always settling for someone of lesser ability or production.

What Brown did well in Detroit, though, was pass block as a starting center in 2021 when Johnson wasn't the coordinator. He was a better run blocker in Johnson's offense as a right guard.

Another option is thought to be Packers center Josh Meyers and he has had injury issues in the past but performs when healthy.

Bears center path No. 2

With Thuney and Jackson at the guard spots, and two veteran tackles, the Bears offensive line can actually get away with using a center who is a rookie or at least selecting one early who would eventually be the starter. They've surrounded him with veterans.

This is considered a poor year in the draft at center, just like it is for free agency.  

Jared Wilson from Georgia is considered the top center. He might not fit into the Bears' plans. 

"Man, I love the inside zone scheme, close quarters, pass protection," Wilson said at last week's combine. "I feel like I can block anybody that's out there, like I'm one of the best path protectors here, often development and stratified left guard, center and right."

The Bears have been a wide zone team but Johnson's approach is multiple with offensive lines and that would play more to Wilson's strength.

However, Wilson, who is 6-3, 310 ran the fastest 40-yard time of all offensive linemen at the combine at 4.84 seconds. 

There might be a better option that would require the Bears to use their first draft pick and that's North Dakota State's Grey Zabel, the lineman who took both the combine and Senior Bowl by storm. He'd be converting to center because he didn't play there and played all five positions at the Senior Bowl.

However, a player like Zabel or Wilson combined with a lower-cost veteran center who knows the offense well like Brown might be the best option for the line if they want to preserve some of their remaining cap space for pass rush help.

More Chicago Bears News

X: BearsOnSI

Published
Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.