Head coach Matt Nagy seemed rather confident when he met the media following the end of roster cutdowns. It’s not hard to see why. Every single position seems set in stone, having at least one solid starter in place. Where the questions linger is the team’s depth. Obviously it’s nearly impossible to be strong everywhere. No team is perfect but that doesn’t mean the Chicago Bears should stop trying to improve where they’re clearly weak.
It’s a matter of determining where that attention is needed most. The Bears can be considered strong at a number of positions. The defensive line is probably their deepest spot with running back, wide receiver, and inside linebacker also looking stable as well. Where things start to get dicey is outside linebacker, where they have just two reserves on the current roster who combined for four sacks total in 2018. Then there are the tight ends where Ben Braunecker and Bradley Sowell are their options. Not inspiring.
However, those aren’t the spots that many around the league would be concerned most about. Dan Pompei of The Athletic was warned by a number of scouts that the Bears are taking a remarkable risk with their backups at offensive tackle.
The good news for the Bears: the starting five is above average.
The bad news: they might not be able to withstand a long-term injury without a debilitating drop-off.
“They have very questionable depth on the offensive line,” Scout C said. “I’m not sure they would feel great about putting any of those guys in.”
The depth is especially questionable at tackle, the scouts agreed.
“(Rashaad) Coward is a project and it shows in his play,” Scout B said. “(Cornelius) Lucas is a very average athlete with average strength.”
Chicago Bears best pray their tackles don’t get hurt
The Bears were a fortunate team in 2018. Both their starting tackles in Charles Leno Jr. and Bobby Massie didn’t miss a game. One can imagine this made the team a bit complacent in addressing their depth at the position this year. Right now it looks bad. Rashaad Coward is a former defensive lineman they converted to tackle last year. After a poor start to his preseason (2 sacks and 2 QB hits allowed), he sustained an elbow injury that he still hasn’t fully recovered from.
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Cornelius Lucas? He’s been no better. A veteran in the league since 2014, he failed after three years in Detroit and lasted only one season in Los Angeles. In 617 total pass blocking snaps for his career to date, he’s allowed eight sacks and seven hits on his quarterback. Considering he allowed two sacks in the preseason, it’s hard to imagine he’s suddenly turned a corner in his career. All it would take is one ill-fated dog pile during a game that sees Leno or Massie have an ankle rolled.
Then one of these guys will be tasked with protecting Mitch Trubisky from the best pass rushers the NFL has to offer. One can understand why scouts are fearful of such a scenario.
