Bear Digest

Biggest Chicago Bears Snub Wasn't at Quarterback or Tight End

Forget Caleb Williams and Colston Loveland being overlooked for honors. One Bears player who does rank among the league's elite simply wasn't shown enough respect.
Gene Chamberlain|
Bears offensive linemen come out together during pregame introductions.
Bears offensive linemen come out together during pregame introductions. | David Banks-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

While everyone is pouting about Colston Loveland not being a finalist for rookie of the year or Caleb Williams not being on the top 100 list of ESPN's Seth Walder, the real snub goes totally unmentioned.

Loveland's overall numbers for the regular season weren't even better Tyler Warren's or Harold Fannin's at his own position, let alone when compared to rookies at other spots, anyway. He had a tremendous postseason with 12 catches for 193 yards, but that doesn't get taken into account as only the regular season dictates awards.

Williams' statistics for the regular season were great for a second-year QB coming into his own but probably not quite top 100 status for all the players in the NFL. It's debatable at best. His completion percentage as worst for a QB since Andrew Luck (2012) to lead a team into the playoffs figures prominently (58.1%). He wasn't top 10 in EPA according to Sumer Sports analytics (13th, 49.36) or passing EPA (12th, 43.96), wasn't top 10 and was below the league average of 91.4 in passer rating (90.1) and for yards per pass attempt of 7.0 (6.9).

Williams improved enough and won games to stir excitement, but statistically looked inferior to half the league's quarterbacks. When you're talking top 100 at any position this really matters.

No, the player who really was snubbed was a first-team All-Pro and was included on Walder's list.

It's a complete snub for Joe Thuney to be rated No. 44 on Walder's top 100, a total joke, really.

Walder's own company puts great stock in its pass block and pass rush win rates/run block and run stop win rates. Thuney was a monster at those and given little respect anyway by this ESPN writer.

Thuney was the only offensive lineman at tackle, center or guard who rated top three both in pass block win rate and run block win rate. Yet, Walder had him rated worse than tackle Trent Williams (32nd), tackle Dion Dawkins (30th), tackle Penei Sewell (28th), tackle Laremy Tunsil (24th) and tackle Garrett Bolles (16th).

Biggest snub of all

In fact, Walder didn't even have Thuney rated as the best offensive lineman on his own team. Darnell Wright was 41st, three ahead of Thuney.

The Bears slid Thuney out to tackle and the two Rams pass rushing edges, combined for one quarterback hit, that one by Byron Young and not even credited to Thuney. Jared Verse couldn't get a glimpse of Caleb Williams with Thuney blocking at tackle. When Verse went against all-world Trent Williams in their first game with the 49ers, he had five quarterback hits.

The fact Walder rated six tackles ahead of the best guard shows he doesn't really know what he's doing, anyway, so there's no sense worrying about it.

Thuney definitely wouldn't have cared. He keeps his eyes on what's important, which is the defensive lineman he needs to block on the next play.

The one thing Walder did get right after leaving Thuney ranked below so many offensive linemen and also below the turnover machine, C.J. Stroud (37th), was his description.

"In Thuney, the Bears landed not just a great guard but a Protector of the Year candidate," Walder wrote.

Thuney being ranked 44th only means Walder's list will be worth even less if the Protector of the Year turns out to be a lineman rated below so many other blockers.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.