Blocking Bears: Ranking the Offensive Line Through Week 1

The Chicago Bears' offensive line is no different than any team in the league. No individual performance stands above the cohesion of the group. Because the offensive line is not about individuals. It is about working as one. However, we need to be able to assess players on a stand-alone basis to determine where the Bears need to improve going forward.

In this article, we rank the Bears' offensive linemen based on their performances through Week 1. To build out my grading system, I watched each game five times. Once for each position on the offensive line. I use a 5-tier grading system, ranking each rep as Great, Good, Fine, Poor, or Bad. Then, I used these tiers to generate the final grades and block success rates. For grading purposes, 60 is considered average. Additionally, I have included videos for each player. These include every positive and negative rep from the previous game, omitting the "Fine" reps.

1. Darnell Wright - Right Tackle

2023 Rank: 3 (+2)

Darnell Wright takes the top spot with a grade of 75.6 (above average). If there is one positive to take away from the Bears' offense in Week 1, it is Wright. The second-year player easily absorbed power time after time. The Titans EDGE rushers didn't attempt many pass rush moves aside from converting speed to power via bull rush (likely in an attempt to contain Caleb). Still, Wright absorbed their attempts over and over.

He was fine as a run blocker, with a few nice blocks and busts. But his work in pass protection really shined.

Wright's Week 1 block success rate of 90.6% ranks first on the team by a wide margin. He recorded an above-average rep on 30% of snaps, ranking second on the team. Meanwhile, Wright recorded negative reps on 9.4% of plays, the lowest rate on the team. The first game looked excellent for Wright, but he will be tested in Week 2 against the Houston Texans' excellent duo of EDGE rushers. Will Anderson is the primary EDGE rusher for the Texans. Wright is very familiar with him from his time in the SEC.

2. Braxton Jones - Left Tackle

2023 Rank: 2 (no change)

The Bears starting left tackle, Braxton Jones, comes in second with a 66.9 blocking grade (slightly above average). It was an up-and-down game from Braxton in pass protection. It seems like he is making a more conscious effort to strike earlier in his pass sets, but he is still tardy against the bull rush fairly. This leads to him getting walked back into the pocket. However, he did have a strong opening game as a run blocker.

Braxton's block success rate of 81.5% is second on the team. He recorded above-average reps 27.8% of the time, ranking third on the team. His negative rep rate of 18.5% ranks second-lowest rate on the team.

3. Nate Davis - Right Guard

Previous Rank: 4 (+1)

Nate Davis ranks third for the Bears, posting an overall grade of 64.2 (average). This should be a hot topic , considering how public perception has been trending on social media. His performance was similar to what we saw before the high ankle sprain in 2023.

A few mental lapses knock his grade down, but when he is right the guy can play and win reps. His ability to win is most notable in the run game, where his fluid athleticism and body mechanics allow him to reach positions others cannot.

While he might never be a clear plus in pass protection, his ability in the run game is a real addition to the group. As long as his conditioning is up to par and the mental lapses aren't constant, I expect to see more of Nate Davis and less of Ryan Bates going forward. Davis is just the more capable football player, in my opinion. However, he was outsnapped by Bates 38-18 on Sunday, so it is tough to say.

On the small sample size of 18 snaps , Davis has a block success rate of 77.8%, ranking fourth on the team. He recorded above-average reps 33.3% of the time, ranking first on the team. Davis recorded negative reps on 22.2% of plays, the third-highest rate on the team. His grade is polarizing, considering the higher volume of positive and negative plays, with a lower rate of "Fine" plays.

4. Teven Jenkins - Right Guard/Left Guard

2023 Rank: 1 (-3)

Teven Jenkins finished the 2023 season as the best blocker on the team. Jenkins had three bad plays, six poor plays, and 13 good plays, by my tally, with the rest falling into the "fine" category. If not for the bad plays, I would feel good about how he played. But the bad plays happened and completely tanked those moments for the offense.

Ultimately, I'm chalking it up to T'Vondre Sweat next to Jeffery Simmons being a problem. I have never seen Jenkins lose because he was simply incapable of blocking the player across from him until I saw T'Vondre Sweat in Week 1. I don't expect that to be the case for most defensive tackles in the league. Jenkins is a player to watch in the upcoming games.

Jenkins' block success rate of 81.13%, ranking third on the team. He has recorded an above-average rep on 24.5% of snaps while recording negative reps on 18.9% of plays. He's fourth on the team in above-average play rate and had the third-lowest rate of below-average plays. I expect this to improve drastically in a contract year.

5. Coleman Shelton - Center

2023 Rank: N/A

Newcomer Coleman Shelton lands in the No. 5 spot with a grade of 51.5 (poor). It was a rough day for Shelton. The matchup with T'Vondre Sweat was a glaring mismatch. Shelton gives up roughly 80 pounds in that matchup. For reference, that is similar to Roschon Johnson trying to block Gervon Dexter Sr. I expect Shelton to bounce back, but I have concerns about his power and ability to displace against bigger NTs. Luckily, Sweat is one of a kind. We will see how it plays out next week.

Shelton's block success rate of 75.5% ranks fifth on the team. He recorded an above-average rep on 18.9% of snaps, which ranks fifth on the team. Meanwhile, he recorded a negative rep on 24.5% of snaps, the fifth-lowest rate on the team.

6. Ryan Bates - Right Guard

2023 Rank: N/A

Offseason trade acquisition Ryan Bates ranks sixth with a grade of 45 (Bad). He split reps with Nate Davis, actually outsnapping Davis 38-18. Overall, I see a player who's more limited with his body mechanics and less able to reach blocks on time. He seemed very assignment-sound but limited in his ability to win those assignments.

To put this into terms of auto insurance, every other player on the Bears interior experienced multiple total losses Sunday. Bates only had one, but he had more fender benders than anyone. If you believe the total losses from others are fixable, then Bates returns to a reserve role. If you think the total losses will persist, then Bates could see more time.

Bates' block success rate of 74.29% ranks sixth on the team. He recorded an above-average rep on 8.6% of snaps, ranking last on the team by a wide margin. Further, he recorded negative reps on 25.7% of snaps, the highest rate on the team. You can live with a high negative play rate from a player who offers game-changing moments. But Bates looks limited in his ability to provide those moments.

Final Thoughts

Through the first game, the Bears' best five offensive linemen are Darnell Wright, Braxton Jones, Nate Davis, Teven Jenkins, and Coleman Shelton. The biggest disappointment from Week 1 was Jenkins' inability to contain the power and burst of both T'Vondre Sweat and Jeffery Simmons. The entire offensive line seemed confused and out of sorts throughout the game. That could be due to the game plan, coaching, preparedness, rust, or player ability. I'm choosing to believe it was a combination of rust and game planning around a defense that was a complete mystery. We are on to Houston.

Subscribe to On Tap Sports Net on YouTube and the Bears On Tap podcast for more Chicago Bears content, updates, and hot takes!