Free agency is right around the corner, and the Bears have money to spend. In order to best understand which positions they need to prioritize, it helps to examine who they have coming back. I already did that at both defensive end and defensive tackle, and this week the focus shifts to the offensive line. That starts today with a look at the tackles.

Pass Blocking

The Bears had three offensive tackles play meaningful snaps last year, and the table below shows how they held up in pass protection compared to the 79 tackles around the NFL who had at least 200 pass blocking snaps. All data is from Pro Football Focus (PFF), and true pass sets are intended to remove plays designed to minimize the pass rush, such as screens, play action, and rollout. Cells highlighted in green indicate they ranked in the top 25%, while red indicates the bottom 25%.

A few thoughts:

• The first thing to notice is that the Bears utilized true pass sets at among the lowest rate of any NFL team last year. This indicates the lack of trust they had in their offensive line. To think of it another way, the Bears helped their offensive line in pass protection more than pretty much any NFL team.
• The rest of the data makes it pretty clear why the Bears didn’t trust their tackles to hold up in pass protection. All three of them ranked below average in pretty much every category.
• This data is especially concerning for Braxton Jones, who graded the worst of the three but is generally expected to be Chicago’s starting left tackle in 2023. However, he was a rookie in 2022, so perhaps he showed growth throughout the season. To check that hypothesis, the table below shows how he graded if you split the season into four-game samples. (Five games at the end of the year. Curse you, 17th game for messing up the easy sample breakdown!)

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Team Need Score: 10/10. Is McGlinchey a great tackle? No. But he’s a solid, professional starter and this offensive line could desperately use his reliability and leadership.

2022 Highlights on YouTube: #49ers RT Mike McGlinchey vs Raiders Maxx Crosby (Week 17) – YouTube

PFF Contract Projection: “On its list of the top unrestricted free agents available this offseason, Pro Football Focus ranks McGlinchey as No. 10 with a projected four-year contract worth $62 million.”

Analysis: “Losing McGlinchey, despite his inefficiencies, would be huge for the 49ers if they don’t have an apparent replacement of his caliber, given what he does in the running game and that pass protection has already been an issue at times this season, especially in the playoffs.” Read the entire piece HERE.

Team Need Score: 5/10. Schultz is not a great blocker, so it’s unlikely he’ll have much appeal to this run-first coaching staff. But the Bears need to keep adding weapons in the passing attack and Schultz has shown an ability to find holes in defensive zones. He’s an incredibly productive pass-catching tight end.

2022 Highlights on YouTube: Dalton Schultz 2022-23 Full Season Highlights – YouTube

Draft Network Contract Projection: “The deal will be for four years and worth somewhere in the range of $57.5-58 million for an average annual value between $14.375-14.5 million, making him the second highest-paid tight end in the NFL.”

Analysis: “The question now becomes who among this group becomes the main security blanket for Dak Prescott in 2023? While Schultz has not put up numbers resembling the likes of Travis Kelce or George Kittle, he has become a reliable target in the passing game. Since he arrived in Dallas as a fourth round pick out of Stanford, Schultz has quietly become one of the Cowboys’ biggest weapons on offense.” Read the whole story HERE.

With the first pick and the possibility of getting more selections, all eyes are going to be on the Chicago Bears in Indianapolis this weekend.

In the second year of the Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus regime, we have a better idea of what kind of players the team is looking to add. Beyond just the standard answer they give regarding players who fit the mental makeup they want, the Bears brass reiterated some of the physical attributes for which they are looking.

Here are four things to look for:

Quarterbacks

The Bears once again refused to offer unwavering commitment to Justin Fields as their quarterback and on Tuesday morning Poles made it sound as if the team is keeping its options open.

The door might only be open a crack, but if the Bears weren’t at least considering drafting a quarterback with the first overall pick, there would be no reason not to slam it shut. The idea that they need to make teams think they’re going draft a quarterback simply for leverage doesn’t make any sense. The only team that might panic is Houston, which would be more nervous about the idea the Colts are going to take a quarterback.

Compare it to the Eagles last year who, when rumor about interest in Russell Wilson or drafting a quarterback surfaced, said “there’s no doubt about it” when asked if Jalen Hurts was the team’s future at the position.

Nobody honestly expects the Bears to take a quarterback, but their refusal to say “this is Fields’ team” is weird. When teams are confident in their quarterback, they are almost always willing to broadcast that to the world.

The most likely explanation is that the Bears would be happy going forward with Fields as the quarterback, but would like to see if they can upgrade. There’s nothing wrong with that.

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Team Need Score: 10/10. Hargrave will be 30 years old this season, so he’s not an ideal fit for a young, rebuilding Bears team. But he also had 11 sacks from an interior DL position and if the Bears hope to climb into respectability next season, Hargrave would be a huge step in that direction.

2022 Highlights on YouTube: Javon Hargrave 2022-23 Highlights || HD – YouTube

B/R Contract Projection: “Three years, $61.2 million, $40.25 million guaranteed”

Analysis: “Eagles All-22 Film Review: Javon Hargrave will be greatly missed if he’s not back.” Read the full report HERE.

Team Need Score: 10/10. There is no bigger need for the 2023 Chicago Bears than along the defensive line. They were pushed around weekly in the interior and displayed no pass rush on the outside.

2022 Highlights on YouTube: Daron Payne FULL 2022-23 Season Highlights | PRO BOWLER| 2023 NFL Free Agent |Washington Commanders – YouTube

PFF Contract Projection: “Four years, $80 million ($20M per year), $55 million total guaranteed.”

Analysis: “The cost may be high, but losing defensive tackle Daron Payne is something the Washington Commanders can’t afford.” Read the entire piece HERE.

[Note: Rumors out of D.C. are that the Commanders will tag Payne, making him only available to the Bears via trade.]

Team Need Score: 8/10. The Bears need to make additions at wide receiver, either through free agency or the draft, and Meyers would give them a steady, professional presence in the slot/outside.

2022 Highlights on YouTube: Jakobi Meyers 2022-23 Highlights || HD – YouTube

PFF Contract Projection: “Four years, $64 million ($16M per year), $40 million total guaranteed.”

Analysis: “To Re-Sign Jakobi Meyers, New England Patriots Will Need to Place Priority on Proven Production.” Read the full article HERE.

Team Need Score: 7/10. The Bears need to add an offensive tackle in free agency, and expectations are they will leave Braxton Jones on the left side to develop. If they focus on the right side, McGary should be their primary target. McGary will only be 27 to start the season.

2022 Highlights on YouTube:

• Kaleb McGary SHUTS DOWN T.J. Watt | Kaleb McGary (RT – 76) Week 13 Highlights vs PIT – YouTube
• He’s getting PAID this offseason | Kaleb McGary (RT – 76) Week 17 Highlights vs ARZ – YouTube

PFF Contract Projection: “Four years, $52 million ($13M per year); $31 million total guaranteed.”

Analysis: “Ranking the Falcons’ top 10 free agents: Kaleb McGary in line for a big raise.” Read the rest from The Athletic HERE.

In part one, we found that the Bears actually had a respectable pass rush for the first part of the year, but trading Robert Quinn had a profound impact, leaving them with the worst pass rush of any NFL team in the last five years post-trade.

In part two, we found that Trevis Gipson is a quality second defensive end, but only if there is a quality starter opposite him, which the Bears will need to find this offseason.

The Inside Men

The Bears had four defensive tackles with at least 150 pass rush snaps in 2022, and three of them – Armon Watts, Angelo Blackson, and Mike Pennel Jr. – are free agents, so it will be very easy to remake this position substantially if they want to.

The table below shows how those four performed in a variety of per-snap metrics, including how they ranked compared to the 104 defensive tackles league-wide who had at least 150 pass rush snaps. All data comes from Pro Football Focus (PFF). (Side note: Pass Rush Productivity is a unique PFF stat that accounts for all sacks, QB hits, and pressures on a per-snap basis, with an added weight given to sacks; a higher value is better.) Values in the top 25% are highlighted in green, while those in the bottom 25% are highlighted in red.

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In part one, we found that the Bears actually had a respectable pass rush for the first part of the year, but trading Robert Quinn had a profound impact, leaving them with the worst pass rush of any NFL team in the last five years post-trade. Since their pass rush after the trade was so bad, it stands to reason that they need a whole host of new pass rushers. To figure that out a little more clearly, let’s start by looking at who they have returning from last year.

Individual pass rush data is going to come from Pro Football Focus (PFF). They track pressures quite differently than Pro Football Reference, but I think the data is of better quality, so I’m going to use it. PFF doesn’t provide team-wide data, so that is why I used Pro Football Reference data in part one.

What They Have

The Bears had three defensive ends who played meaningful snaps in 2022, and all but the recently cut Al-Quadin Muhammad are under contract for 2023. The table below shows how they performed in a variety of per-snap metrics, including how they ranked compared to the 117 edge rushers league-wide who had at least 150 pass rush snaps. (Side note: Pass Rush Productivity is a unique PFF stat that accounts for all sacks, QB hits, and pressures on a per-snap basis, with an added weight given to sacks; a higher value is better.) Values in the top 25% are highlighted in green, while those in the bottom 25% are highlighted in red.

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