People weren’t comfortable with the idea of Ryan Bates being the only option for the Chicago Bears at center going into this season. Well, that won’t be the case. The team has signed another. This time it is Coleman Shelton, who started several games in Los Angeles for the Rams under Sean McVay. He has experience in the type of wide-zone system new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron wants to run. While nobody would confuse him for a star, he was a big part of helping L.A. get back to the playoffs last season.
Across the past two years, Shelton has logged over 1,000 pass-blocking snaps. In that time, he allowed 47 pressures and six sacks. Not too bad for somebody with his limited experience. However, he truly shined last year in the running game, earning a 74.6 grade from Pro Football Focus. He was a big reason L.A. ranked a respectable 11th in rushing and running back Kyren Williams made the Pro Bowl. At the very least, he can be a dependable short-term option for the Bears until they’re in a better spot to find an answer in the draft.
It also should allow Bates to fulfill his ideal purpose as a primary backup.
The Chicago Bears continue to narrow their focus ahead of the draft.
This move doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t draft a center, but it’s like an assurance they won’t take one in the 1st round. As of now, the Bears have addressed several key roster needs, including running back, tight end, and free safety. Shelton takes care of the center spot as well. That leaves three primary positions left to tackle: quarterback, wide receiver, and edge rusher. Two of those will be addressed with their two picks in the 1st round next month. One of them is almost guaranteed to be a quarterback at #1, meaning Poles must determine if it will be an edge rusher or wide receiver at #9.
Subscribe to the BFR podcast and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
There is still time for that decision to become an easy one. It remains possible the Chicago Bears add a receiver or pass rusher at some point in the near future. They’re meeting with defensive end D.J. Wonnum today. Word is they’re exploring the receiver market. How each of those ventures go will steer their decision next month. Either way, Shelton’s arrival eases some of their burden. He may not be the stud everybody wanted, but he should be able to hold down the fort for a year.
@mbearest I wonder, you might be right. My biggest concern is whether Williams even took the time to look at ways to make a meeting work and just found his schedule didn’t permit it. That’s a viable response for anyone. Some things in life need to be attended to for all of us. Or, did he just deny it out of hand to take control? He’s the future employee, not the employer. At best, you try to work with your employer to control things for the best result on both ends. Maybe in his mind, that’s what he did. I… Read more »
@BAN#_CO, Boom, Howell trade is Great news. All points to the Bears trading #1 to Washington. We won’t have to deal with any attitudes and come away with some great players at positions of need. Likely get a quarterback, also.
Let’s face it guys, if Bears players fart too often it’s because Poles doesn’t manage their diets properly, right TGena?
Poles seems to have kept JF1 and Eberflus and rebuilt including a new center. So now its fish or cut bait for JF1. Can he get out of the pocket quick enough before the opposition addresses this for Poles. A little worried we are going to get Caleb and stick him as a backuup to JF1. Poles is not wanting to give up on either JF1 or Eberflus for some reason.
@TGena Just for perspective. Love the cherry-picking once again. So what was the comparison of actual sacks allowed? Team wise: Rams 34, Bears 50, Detroit 31(Ragnow). I cherry-picked a stat too. So, of the six fewer pressures, how many of those affected the 63.5 QBR for Stafford compared to the 46.1 for Fields. 6 TGena and 109 more snaps. That’s the difference, screw pct. Look at the raw numbers. And look at the difference Ragnow (3.13) vs Shelton(5.07) had on the QBR of Stafford 63.5 vs Goff 60.3. I know the stats are different because one is for a QB.… Read more »