The Chicago Bears did their due diligence in considering finding Braxton Jones’ replacement with the No. 9 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. However, the Bears chose to address their need at wide receiver to aid in rookie quarterback Caleb Williams’ progression. Pro Football Focus‘ recent rankings on offensive tackles appear to back up that decision.
However, the Bears could consider bringing in a veteran offensive tackle to compete with Jones in training camp. Since the Bears drafted injured offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie, he won’t be available until at least training camp and the team should consider other “swing” tackle options if they want to save $3.1 million by cutting Larry Borom.
PFF: Braxton Jones is the 31st-ranked OT
Per PFF, the Bears’ offensive tackles are in the middle of the pack of 64 NFL starters. Jones, in his third year in the league, is ranked 31st. In his second year, Darnell Wright is ranked 32nd. Jones has earned solid pass-blocking grades:
A fifth-round pick out of Southern Utah in 2022, Jones proved in 2023 that his impressive rookie season was not a fluke. Although he was slowed down by an injury and had a bit of a decline from his 2022 season, he is still one of 24 offensive tackles to have earned pass-blocking grades over 70.0 in each of the last two seasons.
PFF: Darnell Wright is the 32nd-ranked OT
Wright needs to improve in pass-blocking, but he was one of the better run-blockers in his draft class:
The only second-year player on this list, Wright’s 66.0 run-blocking grade ranked first among his rookie class. In addition, he was also promising in pass protection toward the second half of the season after going through some growing pains in the first month. After giving up one sack in each of his first five games in the NFL, the former Tennessee Volunteer allowed just three sacks in his final 12 games.
Both players are good enough to get the Bears to a Super Bowl. While San Francisco 49ers LT Trent Williams tops PFF’s list, 2023 Kansas City Chiefs LT Donovan Smith isn’t in the top 32 (and he’s someone who ESPN thinks the Bears should sign to replace Jones).
Should the Chicago Bears go after David Bakhtiari?
The Bears could look to improve their LT position by taking a risk on former Green Bay Packers All-Pro David Bakhtiari. The Packers released Bakhtiari this offseason because they didn’t want to continue paying the gigantic contract he signed right before suffering a career-changing ACL injury in 2020.
Bahtiari has seen sporadic action and several surgeries for his knee since. But he’s consistently been the Packers’ best player on offense when he’s been on the field. Bahktiari is on pace to return to play in the 2024 season.
Because of his injury history, the Bears could get a bargain signing him this offseason. He could compete for the starting job in training camp. Having Jones or Bakhtiari as a swing tackle would be a luxury.
There’s one reason the Bears might not want to do that. They still need to use their remaining cap space to improve their defensive line, which is still the team’s weak spot. As PFF notes, the Bears have one of the better offensive tackle situations in the league. Jones and Wright could climb up the rankings as they mature in the NFL.
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