Nobody thought poorly of the Chicago Bears when they drafted Teven Jenkins. On the surface, it looked like a strong pick. He was a big, powerful offensive tackle with a serious mauler mentality. The offensive line needed more of that. With some cultivation of his technique, he could be a long-term starter. Then he missed more than half his rookie season in 2021 with a back injury requiring surgery.
Here, details about why he fell out of the 1st round, where many projected him to go, began surfacing. It turns out Jenkins was already nursing a back problem even before the Bears traded up to get him. A significant red flag that GM Ryan Pace ignored. The craziest part is that it might’ve not been the only one. This was made clear over the past week when Jenkins was a no-show to start his second training camp.
People couldn’t understand why.
He’d been there for OTAs and minicamps. There were no signs he had suffered another injury. The Bears were tight-lipped on what the issue was. Then David Kaplan reported on his YouTube page that the second-year tackle was at odds with the coaching staff. Maturity issues were mentioned as the primary reason for his absence. Barely 24 hours later, news dropped that Jenkins was on the trade block.
More details have surfaced, courtesy of Jeff Hughes of Da Bears Blog. His connections inside the organization have always appeared strong. He provided an update on Jenkins. It seems several NFL teams had serious concerns about his mental stability. They weren’t sure he’d be able to handle the grind of the pro level. That was especially true if the coaches were willing to push him hard like Matt Eberflus and Chris Morgan apparently were.
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And while that is a serious concern, most teams didn’t see it as a deal breaker & had Jenkins on their boards as a 2nd/3rd round prospect.
2. Personality.
This is not “character”. This is personality. Jenkins is supposedly a very good guy and teams liked him.
(2/4)
— DaBearsBlog (@dabearsblog) August 2, 2022
But there were multiple stories of Jenkins having emotional breakdowns when practices were too hard prior to his senior year.
One area scout was so adamant that Jenkins wasn’t worth the risk, he convinced his team to pull the kid off their board entirely.
(3/4)
— DaBearsBlog (@dabearsblog) August 2, 2022
One friend told me IN THE SPRING, that the combination of Poles-Flus-Morgan would seriously test Jenkins’ resolve.
Since that note I have constantly repeated the question, “How does this leadership view Jenkins?” Not where. How.
I think we have our answer.
(4/4)
— DaBearsBlog (@dabearsblog) August 2, 2022
Teven Jenkins has talent, but it matters little without drive.
It is becoming clear why GM Ryan Poles didn’t like the Bears’ offensive line when he took over. The issue wasn’t so much ability in his mind. It was the willingness to play with a mean streak and be the aggressor. Too often, the group came across as passive. They weren’t willing to fight for each other or their quarterback. That is why James Daniels was allowed to leave in free agency.
It appears this problem has haunted Pace’s legacy throughout his GM tenure. Go back and look at the entire slate of linemen he drafted. Only one of them managed to reach a second contract with the team. Most of the failures could be chalked up to guys lacking durability or mental stability. Teven Jenkins makes for a horribly fitting exclamation point.
The Ryan Pace era drafting offensive linemen:
Hroniss Grasu
Tayo Fabuluje
Cody Whitehair
Jordan Morgan
James Daniels
Arlington Hambright
Lachavious Simmons
Teven Jenkins
Larry Borom#Bears— Erik Lambert (@ErikLambert1) August 1, 2022
Torn ACL
Cut as a rookie
Good
Cut as a rookie
No second contract
Nope
Nope
Trade candidate
Average starter (maybe)— Erik Lambert (@ErikLambert1) August 1, 2022
Now Poles has to undo all that damage.
He signed Lucas Patrick, Michael Schofield, and Riley Reiff in free agency. Braxton Jones, Zachary Thomas, Doug Kramer, and Ja’Tyre Carter all arrived via the draft. The Bears are desperately searching for solutions up front, trying to fix a situation that started going sideways six years ago. Early reports out of training camp suggest Justin Fields is in for a difficult season. Unfortunately, Jenkins ended up being the pick despite other much better choices being available.
Can’t imagine what they could get for a guy whose head isn’t right…I would think that a conditional pick is probably what they can hope for. Maybe a 4th at best? Ryan Pace’s gifts just keep on giving, don’t they? I was for drafting him last year as most fans were, but none of us were privy to his medical and psych evals. Pace was. We coulda had Creed Humphrey.
The one possible facet of this situation being downplayed and un-spoken: Braxton Jones is not only the superior athlete but is also the superior LG and T Jenkins can’t handle the fact he is now 2nd best at LG, but also at RG where L Borom has outplayed him consistently. Hard for an “immature” player to accept he is less than what he thought.
What astonishes me is that NONE of this stuff was looked into/reported on/ even noted in passing while Ryan Pace was still GM. That means, that if it is all true, either the sources, or the media – or both – weren’t bringing it up while Pace was still GM. Because all of this info was supposedly KNOWN long before Poles/Flus/ new coaches got to Chicago. I guess keeping things quiet is a requirement if people want access to Halas Hall. That’s the only answer I can think of. Don’t make the people presently in power uncomfortable. And we wonder… Read more »
If the guy has a poor attitude or work ethic test him out in pads. My guess is he had words with a coach and didn’t back down. Now the bears are making an example out of him no matter how much it might hurt them.
Erik Lambert reporting on “soft” offensive linemen, is definitely the pussy calling the cats black.
Yeah, sure Erik. James Daniels and Jason Peters are so inferior to Ryan Poles’ recent selections of Dakota Dozier and Julie’n Davenport.
How do you get the taste of Ryan Poles’ ass, off your tongue?