MOBILE, Ala. — One of the Bears’ most glaring flaws this season was a roster built from the outside in, and what they lacked on the offensive line undercut what they believed to be a strong cast of skill players. What good are flashy wide receivers without a sturdy offensive line to give them time to get downfield?
It’s no surprise, then, that Bears general manager Ryan Poles appeared to pay particularly close attention to offensive and defensive line drills during Senior Bowl practices on Wednesday.
Those aren’t as fun to watch as the cornerbacks and wide receivers going head-to-head, but that’s precisely where he should have been. Regardless of how enticing some other prospects might be, he and coach Ben Johnson must be disciplined in fortifying both lines of scrimmage.
The alarms are going off loudest on the offensive line, where they’re likely looking for four new starters, with only right tackle Darnell Wright a certainty to return.
The Bears’ fastest path to win next season is for quarterback Caleb Williams to improve, and they’ve already helped him by hiring a competent coach in Johnson. The next step is rebuilding an offensive line after a rookie season in which Williams was sacked an NFL-high 68 times and the Bears finished 25th in rushing.
The o-line is such an obvious issue that the Bears apparently have talked openly about it while meeting with prospects this week.
“I had a wonderful meeting with those guys, and they expressed that o-line is a spot where they need help — that was clear,” said Minnesota offensive tackle Aireonte Ersery, who is projected by some analysts to be a second-round pick. “Their expectations are high. They want a guy to come in and contribute right away and set the bar high.”
Even with other needs, the Bears could conceivably use their first three draft picks — No. 10 in the first round and Nos. 39 and 41 in the second — on the offensive line, depending on what they do in free agency first.
That might seem heavy handed, but it’s that big of a problem and quality offensive lines almost always require a team to invest premium resources.
The Bears have tried to do it cheaply and cleverly, which hasn’t worked. Their starting offensive line at the end of this season included just one first-round pick (Wright) and one second-rounder pick (left guard Teven Jenkins) and no major free-agent signing. The only offensive lineman Poles has paid significant money to was guard Nate Davis, who signed for $30 million over three years, but started just 13 games and was cut in November.
If the Bears opted for a pass rusher in the first round, still a reasonable choice, their scouting at the Senior Bowl could pay off in the second.
Oregon tackle Josh Conerly could be available early in the second, as well as West Virginia tackle Wyatt Milum, who is working at guard and center this week after hearing from some teams that they envision him as an interior lineman.
“I have no game time at the interior o-line positions, but it gives me the best opportunity to get on the field,” Milum said. “I want to play, so it doesn’t matter to me if they put me at tackle, guard or center.”
More frequently, top tackles say they’re fine playing left or right and have experience at both. That was the case for Wright at Tennessee, too, and a source said the Bears have long talked about moving him to left tackle in place of Braxton Jones next season if they add a starter who is better suited for right tackle than left.
It’s not as thrilling as drafting a wide receiver high, as they did with Rome Odunze last year, but it’s necessary. They won’t get the most out of Williams, or Johnson and his offense, without drastic upgrades to the offensive line.