The Chicago Bears have lots of work left to do before they’re a team that can make a serious run at the current hierarchy in the NFC. They’re nowhere close to teams like Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Dallas. GM Ryan Poles is trying to take steps in that direction. It hasn’t always been pretty. After a 3-4 start to his tenure, the team went on a historic 14-game losing streak. Thankfully, they’ve steadied themselves with two wins in the past three games. A lot of the young talent he acquired is improving. Hope for the future is rising.
That said, this is far from a complete team. There are still glaring holes across the roster. Rushing the passer remains an issue. Depth at wide receiver behind D.J. Moore is a question mark. However, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune stated undoubtedly there is at least one position they already have circled as a priority.
“The center position is going to be a priority in the offseason. The 2023 draft was not a good one for centers. Three were drafted in the second round — Joe Tippmann (Wisconsin, New York Jets), Homewood-Flossmoor product John Michael Schmitz (Minnesota, New York Giants) and Juice Scruggs (Penn State, Houston Texans). Tippmann has played guard for the Jets. Ricky Stromberg (Arkansas, Washington Commanders) went in Round 3. That’s it for the top four rounds. It’s still early — and scouts really prefer to lean on late-season evaluations for picks in the top of the draft — but the April draft projects to be stronger for centers.”
This isn’t a surprise.
Center has been a sore spot for the Bears going back years. Cody Whitehair had some good moments since arriving in 2016, but inconsistency has plagued him most of his career. Sam Mustipher didn’t have the athletic traits needed. Lucas Patrick remains a liability in pass protection. They sorely need someone reliable in that spot.
The Chicago Bears finally understand how neglected center is.
They’ve tried twice to seriously fix the position in the draft over the past nine drafts. They took Hroniss Grasu in the 3rd round in 2015. He sadly tore his ACL during training camp in his second season and was never the same. The other was James Daniels, a 2nd round pick in 2018. His attempt at center didn’t go well, forcing the Bears to shift back to Whitehair. Since then, their only center selected in the draft was Doug Kramer in the 6th round last year. Poles has to get serious about that position. It’s not a coincidence most top teams in the league right now have good centers.
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There will be some quality options in the 2024 draft. Sedrick Van Pran of Georgia, Matt Lee of Miami, Zach Frazier of West Virginia, and Bryce Foster of Texas A&M all look like future top-100 picks. It wouldn’t be a surprise if one of them ended up on a Chicago Bears draft card next April. Poles has already made solid additions at both tackle and guard. Center is the only one left he hasn’t addressed. If he makes the right choice, this offensive line could become a force in the near future.
