People will point to the quarterback position. That is fine. They should. It’s been an issue for the Chicago Bears going back decades. However, GM Ryan Poles looked at the roster and immediately understood something. This team was frightfully weak in the trenches. It would take time to fix it. Since he took over, the Bears have drafted five offensive linemen and four defensive linemen. Darnell Wright became the first 1st round pick they put on the offensive line since Kyle Long way back in 2013.
Then you take a look at the Green Bay Packers. Their defensive line alone had three 1st round picks in Kenny Clark, Devonte Wyatt, and now Kyle Van Ness. That doesn’t include quality veteran Preston Smith, whom they picked up in free agency a few years ago. Offensively, they have two 2nd round picks up front and got a stroke of good fortune with David Bakhtiari in the 4th round. This team has done a smart job of constantly investing draft resources in the trenches.
The Bears have not.
Ryan Poles is playing catch-up right now.
His chances of completely overhauling both lines into formidable units in two off-seasons were always remote. This was something that needed time. Obviously, patience is running eternally low with Bears fans, having endured this misery against the Packers for decades. People will shower praise on Jordan Love as the next heir to the throne. In truth, that victory was bought by his blocking. Chicago got whipped on both sides of the line of scrimmage. This is something the Bears GM is working to correct.
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Glaring holes remain across the board. Their interior offensive line is still a mess. They remain weak at center, and Teven Jenkins can’t stay healthy at guard. Braxton Jones looked like a former 5th round pick at left tackle, so his status is up in the air. Defensively, only Yannick Ngakoue impacted the game. Andrew Billings, Justin Jones, and DeMarcus Walker were utterly ineffective.
Chicago has three picks in the first two rounds of the next two off-seasons. Ryan Poles is almost guaranteed to use two or three of them to keep feeding the trenches. He knows they won’t win any games until the Bears start controlling the line of scrimmage.
