The Chicago Bears had been surprisingly quiet for the past week despite the scouting combine being over. Usually, around this time, reports start surfacing about them bringing in prospects for private visits. Yet nothing for the past several days. That silence was finally broken when Kentucky center Jager Burton revealed on his Instagram that he was visiting Halas Hall. Of all the names that could’ve popped up first, this was a surprise. Burton is considered by many as a likely day three draft pick, of which the Bears don’t have many.
Still, upon looking into the young man, you start to see why the Bears like him. We’ve learned over the past years what head coach Ben Johnson’s preferences are at center. They must be athletic, strong run blockers, and intelligent. Burton started over 40 games for the Wildcats. He has good size at 6’4″, 312 lbs, and lots of mobility, making him a great fit for a zone-running scheme like the one the Bears have. He also has a strong anchor in pass protection, which was a weakness of the recently retired Drew Dalman.
Jager Burton being a Bears target is hardly surprising.
Even before Johnson arrived as head coach, general manager Ryan Poles seemed to have a preference for athletic interior offensive linemen. Zachary Thomas, Doug Kramer, Ja’Tyre Carter, and Luke Newman all displayed that same quality, in addition to being experienced starters. So the question is, why is Burton lower on draft boards? The simplest answer is his technique. While a standout run-blocker, there are considerable holes in his pass protection that interior rushers frequently exploit.
He gets caught ducking his helmet too much, doesn’t always use his full length properly, and doesn’t have consistent posture from down to down. The fact that he hasn’t fixed this after playing for so long has some wondering whether he can handle more advanced defenders in the pros. That is where having a proven offensive line coach can be the difference. Chicago certainly can boast that with Dan Roushar. If he could get Dalman to a Pro Bowl with his protection issues, polishing up Burton isn’t an impossible task.
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The Bears have been making their center plans pretty clear.
Trading for Garrett Bradbury wasn’t meant to be a long-term solution. They saw a capable veteran with lots of starting experience who fit their offensive system. He could start this season, giving the coaching staff time to bring in a younger option they can develop. Jager Burton is one such example. He could spend his rookie year learning the offense and cleaning up his fundamentals. The same goes for other center prospects they’ve been meeting, such as Sam Hecht and Keyland Rutledge.
It feels like the Bears will go after a center somewhere in the 3rd or 4th round. That feels like the sweet spot for most players at the position in this class. The good news is that there are multiple names who have the desired traits the team looks for. Burton is one of them. The hope for the Bears is that they don’t get shafted like last season with the running backs, where every time they were ready to take one, there’d be a run on the position that robbed them of an opportunity.
