One of the bigger mysteries of the off-season is the Chicago Bears’ approach to their offensive line. Thus far, GM Ryan Poles has only made one significant move up front. That was signing veteran guard Nate Davis in free agency. Expectations are he will take over at right guard while Teven Jenkins moves to the left side. That means he will either compete with Cody Whitehair for the job or Whitehair will move back to center. Most believe the latter is more likely. However, this may be only the beginning of the changes.
Nicholas Moreano of CHGO caught up with Brandon Thorn of Trench Warfare in a recent interview. Thorn is widely considered among the best offensive line experts in the business. While he doesn’t think this upcoming draft class is special, he believes he has some good players, particularly at the tackle position. Several believe the Bears will take one at #9 overall. This creates a problem, though. What happens with Braxton Jones if they do? Thorn didn’t hold back in his assessment there. He believes the former 5th round pick is a liability in pass protection. Not ideal for a left tackle.
That means the Bears’ next decision is obvious.
“I mean if he gets moved to right tackle that means that he’s now going to get more help in pass protection, then maybe because he is a good run blocker. But the pass protection thing to me, I think ideally he is your backup. You know he’s the swing tackle, but if we are not speaking ideally with the Bears’ offensive line. In their situation specifically where they have essentially nobody at tackle, he’s probably going to play next year as well even if they draft somebody. That could be at right tackle.
I mean you could do worse, I guess, but there is kind of a fatal flaw in his pass protection that is going to be tough to overcome. With that said, I like his play strength. I like him as a run blocker. I think he adds value there for sure. So if you could have a really high end tackle opposite of him, somebody who is a very good pass protector, then you can funnel a majority of the help towards his side when you do pass the ball. Then he could probably start for a while and I think be functional.”
Thorn hammered the point home when asked if he thinks that is the likely move if the Bears go with a tackle at 9th overall.
“Yeah, I think you definitely put the guy you draft top 10 at his position as opposed to the fifth rounder. I think that is a no-brainer.”
The Chicago Bears know Jones better than anybody.
They had a front-row seat for his entire rookie campaign. What Thorn says is fair. His run-blocking was the best on the team and among the best in the NFL towards the end of last season. Pass protection was a different story. He suffered from technique issues and clearly lacked the necessary anchor to handle bull rushes. Smart edge defenders quickly figured this out and worked to exploit it. Go back and watch Bradley Chubb in the game against Miami. Jones had no answers.
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To his credit, the young tackle didn’t hide from those struggles. He stated his goal was to correct those issues this off-season by getting stronger and honing his technique. He’s even getting lessons from Chicago Bears’ great Olin Kreutz. That said, the wise decision for any team is to put your best pass protector on the blind side of your quarterback. If the Bears draft Paris Johnson or Broderick Jones, they will hold the advantage over Braxton. That could mean his ultimate fate is on the right side.
