The Chicago Bears had a great 2018 draft, at least on paper. Most experts believe they landed three potential front line starters in the first two rounds. There’s linebacker Roquan Smith and wide receiver Anthony Miller. However, the one who created a somewhat different feel was Iowa offensive lineman James Daniels. It wasn’t because he’s a bad player. Quite the opposite. The problem lay at the position he plays, which is center. Drafting him created a potentially awkward situation for starter Cody Whitehair.
The third-year veteran has endured a tough situation to this point. He was originally slotted to play left guard when he was drafted in 2016. That changed when starting center Hroniss Grasu tore his ACL. Since then Whitehair has primarily played center. Yet the Bears continued to hamper his progress by moving him in and out of that position on occasion.
His hope was that a new coaching staff led by the offensive-minded Matt Nagy might finally let just settle on one spot and play there. Those hopes were dashed for a brief instant when the Bears drafted Daniels. Did this mean he would have to switch positions yet again?
Bears called Cody Whitehair right after drafting Daniels
If people need further confirmation of how adept Nagy is as a leader, his handling of the Whitehair-Daniels situation is a perfect example. Rather than let the situation fester as other coaches might he placed a phone call to the Bears starter with total assurance that nothing would change for him. Daniels would be solving a problem elsewhere.
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Whitehair, the starting center the last two years, said he’ll line up wherever the Bears want him. He was nonetheless happy for the over-the-phone clarification, the idea of new head coach Matt Nagy.
“They called me, just talked to me,” he said. “Told me not to worry, all’s good, and he’s going to help us.”
This was later reinforced when the Bears announced that Daniels would be moving to left guard as minicamps and OTAs began. It came as a shock initially but has since settled in. Daniels played left guard at Iowa during his early run. He only switched to center later on. So he’s capable of playing either position.
It seems the team feels it’s better to keep Whitehair in place and let the 20-year old rookie endure the position switch. Time is on his side after all and the more comfortable they can make Whitehair, the better he’s bound to play. Credit the Bears for never letting the situation get out of hand, on or off the field.
