One of the bigger surprises of this wild Chicago Bears offseason came following the NFL draft. GM Ryan Pace explained how the team was quite excited that they were able to land Teven Jenkins at 39th overall. The Oklahoma State tackle was a 1st round player on their board. When it became clear he was within reach, they felt compelled to go up and get him. Yet it was what he stated next that took many aback.
Not only did they view him as a 1st round guy. They also felt he was capable of playing left tackle. Remember that Jenkins spent his entire college career almost exclusively on the right side. This led many evaluators to assume that is where he must stay once he got to the NFL. Clearly, the Bears think differently. So much so that they ended up cutting longtime left tackle Charles Leno just days after Jenkins was selected. There would be no competition.
Barring another move, this rookie is their guy moving forward.
Some see this as reckless. Jenkins is totally unproven on the left side. There are questions about his athleticism and foot speed to handle the type of pass rushers he’ll see in the NFL. Is this valid or just classic pre-draft overthinking. Sean Hammond of Shaw Media spoke to Jenkins’ offensive line coach at Oklahoma State Charles Dickey about the idea. He explained the initial plan in 2020 was to have Jenkins at left tackle. However, injuries struck almost immediately in the first game.
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The primary backup Jake Springfield was more comfortable on the left side. So they asked Jenkins to move back to right tackle.
“I was just running out of guys and the guy that was a younger guy just felt more comfortable playing that position,” Dickey said in an interview with Shaw Local. “That’s just how that played itself out.”
So it wasn’t about the coaches believing he couldn’t play left tackle. Just a series of circumstances that led them to keep him on the right side. If not for injuries, Jenkins would’ve played all of last season at left tackle. That might’ve assuaged some fears about whether he could do it or not.
As far as Jenkins’ ability to play left tackle, that’s not a problem.
“Oh yeah, he won’t have any issues with that,” Dickey said…
..“It was one of those things where it wasn’t a big adjustment,” Dickey said. “To me, in my opinion, he didn’t have to go take a ton of reps at one spot. You could move him over there and he could do it. It was a very natural thing for him to do.”
Teven Jenkins has everything required to anchor the left side
His power is what everybody talks about. No doubt it’s impressive. He smothers defensive linemen into the turf with frightening frequency. Couple that with a violent streak that would make Vlad The Impaler blush? It is easy to fall in love with the guy. However, that makes it easy to miss the other things he does well. Namely his ability to consistently time the snap to jump into his pass protection stance and using his hand technique to wall off rushers.
His 5.01 in the 40-yard dash this year was one of the best among tackles in the 2021 class. The 32.5-inch vertical jump was also high. A surefire sign he’s more athletic than he gets credit for at 6’5, 317 lbs. Combine that with intelligence and solid technique? There is no reason to think he can’t handle playing left tackle in the NFL. He’ll be in good hands. Offensive line coach Juan Castillo is one of the best in the business.
If this works out? The Bears front could be in great shape for years to come.
Try to imagine it. Chicago landing their quarterback and left tackle of the future in the same draft. Such a thing is totally unheard of. It will be fascinating to see Teven Jenkins embark on this quest. The Bears have a ton of confidence in him. If he lives up to this potential, he and Cody Whitehair could make a vicious combination on the left side.