Bear Digest

Why Ashton Jeanty and top pass rushers can't be dismissed for Bears

Failures by the Bears offensive line in 2024 might not mean the draft becomes totally about blockers for Caleb Williams, so other positions can come into play.

Gene Chamberlain

Center Coleman Shelton and guard Teven Jenkins are Bears free agents who could soon be out of Halas Hall's door, but were they and the line really that bad in 2024?
Center Coleman Shelton and guard Teven Jenkins are Bears free agents who could soon be out of Halas Hall's door, but were they and the line really that bad in 2024? / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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What's going to be going on at Halas Hall over the next week or so, and then again after the NFL scouting combine, will be critical to what the team does moving forward on March 10 when the legalized tampering period begins for free agency.

What's going on is evaluation of talent already on the roster.

The results of the signing period in free agency then can determine what they subsequently do in the draft.

All assumptions so far are GM Ryan Poles and coach Ben Johnson need offensive line help. The offensive line is often predicted for a massive overhaul.

In fact, it's what Johnson said when he came to Halas Hall to take the job.

Or was it?

“Yeah, I think offensive line is certainly an area that we need to get better play from going forward, something that Ryan and I have already talked about," Johnson said. "We will develop a plan of attack for how to get that done, but I'm looking forward to getting an excellent offensive line coach in the building to help develop the young talent that we already have on the roster, and we will certainly talk about acquiring talent to bolster that unit as well."

That was more non-committal than anything else. Maybe it's only the coach and better play they need over a massive infusion of talent.

It's possible, even probable that there will be a focus on offensive line of some sort. Whether it's the massive overhaul many expect depends then on an interpretation of the word massive.

There is also the chance that the new line coach they did hire, Dan Roushar, offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, Johnson and the personnel department have arrived at the conclusion some of these linemen are not really as bad as everyone believes.

This could limit the extent of line help needed and that, in turn, frees up Poles to draft other positions.

If you don't think the Bears would draft running back Ashton Jeanty at No. 10 because of their need for line help, or wouldn't move up in the draft to take Michigan defensive lineman Mason Graham, then ponder whether this would be the case if they determined the talent on their line is actually not so bad.

Roushar might look at some of these blockers and think they can easily be coached up. No one can really gauge the extent of the poor coaching they had in the last regime, or whether it was actually more the lack of talent or coaching causing issues.

That possibility is going to keep intrigue involved in this draft for the Bears.

If this all seems unlikely, and that it's probable Johnson, Poles and Co. will want to jettison the bulk of their offensive line, then sort through the following chart from Pro Football Focus.

These are the highest grades for Bears starters on the 2024 season according to PFF.

Highest Bears Grades in 2024

Per Pro Football Focus

1. T. Darnell Wright 79.3

2. T Braxton Jones 77.4

3. CB Jaylon Johnson 76.2

4. CB Kyler Gordon 76.0

5. G Teven Jenkins 75.4

6. WR DJ Moore 73.5

7. S Kevin Byard 72.0

8. S Elijah Hicks 71.8

9. DT Gervon Dexter 70.3

10. G Matt Pryor 69.9

Hicks and Pryor started the majority of the games so they are classified as starters.

What you'll see is that out of 23 starters counting both slot cornerback and strong side linebacker, the top 10 Bears grades for 2024 included four of their five starting offensive linemen.

If they're so bad, how are these grades even possible?

Even if you factor into it some sort of bias for one reason or other, or some incompetency by the graders, the Bears offensive line still doesn't come out looking like last week's garbage as many have called them.

Of all guards and centers regardless of position, Bears center Coleman Shelton rated 15th in the NFL for pass block win rate according to ESPN analytics. He has a better pass block win rate (95%) than Chiefs guard Trey Smith, who is being mentioned as the lineman everyone wants in free agency. Shelton had a better pass block win rate than any player at guard or center from any team in the NFC North.

Yet, everyone wants to assume they need a new center.

Braxton Jones gets mentioned as being highly replaceable but he had the fourth-best run block win rate among tackles in the league. Only Tyron Smith with the Jets, Baltimore's Roger Rosengarten and Cleveland's Jack Conklin were better.

ESPN also had full line win rates for run blocking and pass blocking. The Bears ranked eighth best for run block win rate at 73%. They were 15th best for pass block win rate (60%).

They had the best run block win rate of any offensive line in the NFC North, and although they were last in the division for pass block win rate they were in the top half of the league.

Pro Football Network ranked the Bears offensive line 17th at season's end. Pro Football Focus had them 24th, but 21st in pass-blocking efficiency with 180 pressures allowed on 682 pass plays.

The website NFL Lines.com graded them 16th for overall blocking win rate.

If they're not horribly incompetent then why the need for three or four offensive linemen?  Both Teven Jenkins and Shelton are free agents but this doesn't necessarily mean they have to move on from both. There are alternatives. In Shelton's case, a shorter-term contract is one if they decided they want to draft a center to be groomed.

Maybe their line just didn't function together well but the individual talent is there. In that case, better coaching and better health could make all the difference in the world.

It could be that one or two line changes drastically improve their blocking and they add those in free agency well before the draft.

In that case, it means they could use draft picks for numerous positions and when they're on the clock, as they say, it's going to be the best available player.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher 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.