Bears Tackle the Inexperience Issue

When the first Bears training camp with Matt Eberflus as coach started, one of the last additions was tackle Riley Reiff.

The Bears couldn't be sure where their attempt to use fifth-round pick Braxton Jones at starting left tackle would go, and as it turned out they needed Reiff. Except they needed him at right tackle as the rookie worked out just fine, better than they could have imagined with first-team all-rookie status and 17 starts.

Now it's back to Square One at the tackle position, but on the right side.

With a rookie tackle helping protect Justin Fields on the right side, there must be concern. Reiff left in free agency, so it's up to first-round rookie Darnell Wright to produce.

"Athletic player, big, strong guy," center Cody Whitehair said of the Tennesee All-American. "Very good in the run and pass."

Whether he can translate that athletic ability quickly to a difficult position at a rapid pace as a pass blocker can determine how quickly the Bears offense advances from one based almost entirely on the run to greater balance.

"I think things move fast for everybody but he's done a really good job up to this point, a really good job," line coach Chris Morgan said.

The NFL regular season is no place for experimenting. The Bears need to make sure in preseason Wright can handle it from the start like, Jones last year.

As for Jones, he wasn't content with his success and sought to improve his strength because one glaring weakness all year was an ability to consistently handle bull rushes.

"Over the break, he worked hard," Morgan said. "We all saw a difference when he came back in the building, whether it was strength or whether it was bend."

These are not the only question mark at tackle, but obviously the biggest.

Reiff's departure for New England leaves Larry Borom as swing tackle for either position. They have one more experienced tackle in Alex Leatherwood. Both backups have started 17 NFL games, although neither has enjoyed great success to this point.

Beyond them are undrafted free agents, so depth could become an issue. If quality, experienced depth becomes available through cuts, a Bears tackle signing would shock no one.

The Starters

Braxton Jones: The 6-foot-5, 310-pound left tackle allowed seven sacks and committed 12 penalties in 2022. He was graded 19th among all NFL tackles by Pro Football Focus overal, 11th at blocking the run.

Darnell Wright: A 6-5, 333-pounder chosen 10th in the draft after the Bears moved down from first, to ninth and then one more spot. He improved greatly as a pass blocker by his final year, allowing no sacks, two QB hits and what PFF reported as six hurries after eight sacks, six QB hits and 22 hurries the previous two years combined. He allowed the third-fewest hurries on a percentage basis among all tackles in college last year. At the combine, he ran a 5.01-second 40-yard dash.

The Backups

Larry Borom: At 6-5, 333 pounds, he made nine starts as a rookie, eight last year and gave up five sacks in each season. Borom's asset as swing tackle is versatility. Besides starting eight games at right tackle last year, he played 42 snaps at left guard and 20 at right guard. He had 85 snaps at left tackle and 546 at right tackle as a fifth-round rookie in 2022. He was benched in favor of Reiff at right tackle midway through last season.

Alex Leatherwood: A 6-5, 312, he got in for just 32 plays last year after being waived coming out of training camp by the Raiders as a failed 2021 first-round pick. Leatherwood was claimed by the Beas, then was ill for a month and rejoined the team at midseason without much exposure to their offense. If the Bears waive him, they would have to eat $4.59 million in dead cap space. Leatherwood got in 27 plays at right tackle, three at left guard and twice as an extra blocking tackle or blocking tight end on an unbalanced line last year. Against the Eagles as a right tackle, he allowed four pressures, three hurries and a sack in 17 plays according to PFF. He had an abysmal 29.0 pass blocking grade from PFF as a Raiders starter in 2021 at guard and tackle, giving up eight sacks, 17 QB hits, 40 hurries and 65 pressures according to PFF.

Kellen Diesch: A 6-7, 300-pound former Arizona State tackle who got into 22 games without starting for Texas A&M first and then went to ASU to become a starter for 16 games. He signed as an undrafted free agent with Miami last year, was cut and signed with the Bears practice squad prior to the start of the regular season. He spent all year on the practice squad and is a left tackle who measured with great speed at 4.89 seconds but has short arms for his height at 32-1/4 inches. The Bears had him at their rookie camp this year splitting time with former USC tackle Bobby Haskins working with the first group. His strength in college was reported by scouts to be pass blocking.

Bobby Haskins: A 6-5, 297-pound undrafted free agent from USC who played at Virginia for his first four years and had 20 total college starts. He was part of a line with the Trojans that had four players drafted. Adding weight will be his first order of business.

Lorenz Metz: A 6-9, 316-pound German from Neuötting in Bavaria, he played for Cincinnati first at tackle and then was moved to guard when he had trouble with pass blocking. He started 13 games in 2019 but then was a 2020 backup before getting a starting spot back again. He'll be 26 despite being a rookie. His early footal was mostly as a defensive lineman for the U-19 Bavarian club team, the Kirchdorf Wildcats. The Bears will lkely look at him at right tackle because of his height and reach.

Roy Mbaeteka: A Nigerian player participating through the league's International Player Pathway Program. He is 6-8, 331 and was with the Giants in a similar situation last year at camp, was cut, joined their practice squad and was cut a month later before being brought back in December and then cut again after a week. A raw experimental type who would be a right tackle.

Prospectus

The lack of experience here can be a real problem. It was here last year before Reiff came on board. The only difference now is Jones has started one season, but overal the experience is lower than last year. Coach Matt Eberflus also expressed some concern about Borom's need to be in top shape, so there is some question about depth. Ultimately they are relying heavily on a rookie tackle again and a veteran addition as a potential backup couldn't be a bad thing.

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