Blocking Bears: Ranking the Offensive Line Through Week 4

In this article, we rank the Chicago Bears offensive linemen based on their performances through their Week 4 win over the Rams. 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. And make sure the check out the Bears On Tap offensive line film review on YouTube.

1. Darnell Wright - Right Tackle

Previous Rank: 1 (no change)

Darnell Wright takes the top spot with a grade of 63.8 (slightly above average). He had a strong start to the game against the Rams with a few rougher snaps as the game went on.

In pass protection, Wright had issues with his anchor as the game continued. He still held up pass rushers for the most part but allowed more depth than we are used to seeing. As the game went on, it seemed like his ability to absorb power was declining. Part of that was rooted in the Rams pass rush plan, which was to "crush" the pocket with power rushers all game. That game plan can be draining on blockers, and I am sure his ongoing back injury did not help.

As a run blocker, it was par for the course for Wright on the season. There were sloppy reps, but he made up for them somewhat with brute-force wins. I would like to see him play with cleaner technique as a run blocker and a more consistent motor, but I am not sure how much he might be protecting his back. It might not be reasonable to expect much growth here until he is healthy.

Overall, I am not concerned about Wright aside from health. I still think he is a highly talented pass blocker with an impressive ability to absorb and great raw power in the run game. I hope we get to see him healthy at some point this year.

Wright's season block success rate of 81.89% ranks first on the team. He has recorded an above-average rep on 27.17% of snaps, ranking first on the team. Meanwhile, Wright has recorded negative reps on a team-best 18.1% of plays. He has been the least damaging player on the offensive line through the first four games and the only player you can count on to be a difference-maker.

2 . Teven Jenkins - Left Guard

Previous Rank: 2 (no change)

Jenkins remains in the second despite only playing 11 snaps before exiting the game due to an injury. He has a 60.0 blocking grade (average). Teven's lack of difference-making blocks has been noticeable this year. Last season, he was the best and most impactful blocker on the team.

With the injury taking him out of the game against the Rams, I cannot help but wonder if he was playing through an injury before going down. His mobility, flexibility, and power have not been up to the standard he set last season.

Teven's block success rate of 81.16% ranks second on the team. Jenkins has recorded an above-average rep on 22.22% of snaps while recording negative reps on 18.8% of plays. He is fifth on the team in above-average play rate but has the second-lowest rate of below-average plays.

3 . Braxton Jones - Left Tackle

Previous Rank: 4 (+1)

The Bears starting left tackle, Braxton Jones, comes in third with a 57.3 blocking grade (below average). He improved one slot in the rankings since last week.

Jones had a rough week 4 going against rookie EDGE rusher Jared Verse, but he did have some redeeming moments as a run blocker. Verse is a power player whose power takes advantage of Braxton's biggest weakness (anchor). There were a handful of reps where Braxton showed earlier hands or jump sets to offset rushers. The results were mixed on those reps. When he tried it against the Rams smaller, less skilled rushers, the results were good. But when he attempted them against Verse, the results were more questionable.

As a run blocker, it was a solid day for Braxton outside of a few reps where he missed his assignment. He was more aggressive on rushing downs than we have seen in a while, which was refreshing. He added some nice reps in space where he could use his athleticism. While I still don't feel like he is a forceful run blocker, I liked the demeanor he brought into week 4.

I'm encouraged to see the Bears add more play action since it helped Braxton get his hands on defenders while reading run/pass, limiting their strike power. However, this game did little to quell my concerns about his ability to anchor down in true pass sets, especially against power players like Verse.

Braxton's block success rate of 78.09% is third on the team. He has recorded above-average reps 24.7% of the time, ranking second on the team. His negative rep rate of 21.9% ranks third on the team. After reviewing his tape, I went back and looked at his tape from week 1 of 2023. It felt like I was watching a different player. A player with more power, bend, aggression, and a lower pad level. It made me wonder whether his neck injury last year might have had some lasting effects or impacts he is still recovering from.

4 . Matt Pryor - Right / Left Guard

Previous Rank: 3 (-1)

Matt Pryor comes in third with a 56.6 blocking grade (below average). Pryor was good enough to get by on Sunday, but I am not sure he is good enough to count on as a long-term starter. He is an interesting player to watch because there are moments where he absolutely ragdolls smaller defensive linemen. But his mobility in space and slower hands and feet lead to issues in recovery and on the move as a run blocker.

As we have discussed, his power is real and his punch can stun on contact. Once he gets his mitts on you and sets his anchor, he is a hard man to get around. The issues come when shiftier DTs reach his edges or beat his hands, forcing him to shuffle. That happened a few times in this game, resulting in quicker pressures or QB hits.

In the run game, he occasionally steamrolls defenders. But, more often, you notice his lack of mobility and bend leading to issues in space. He was asked to execute a lot of pulls and traps in week 4, likely intended for Teven Jenkins. His limitations in space were apparent on those reps.

Additionally, his long legs can get awkward inside. On Sunday, his long legs led to tripping and tripping over teammates a few times. Ultimately, you can win with Pryor starting on the offensive line. He has a dominant trait in his size and power despite having nearly equal deficiencies in play speed. But when you are counting on him to be one of your 3 or 4 best starters, I think that margin for error shrinks quickly.

On the season, Pryor's block success rate of 74.81% ranks sixth. He recorded above-average reps 24.43% of the time, ranking third on the team. His negative rep rate of 25.2% ranks sixth on the team. Overall, you live with a boom-bust nature when Pryor is on the field. But that is still better than a player who busts often without providing much boom.

5 . Nate Davis - Right Guard

Previous Rank: 6 (+1)

Davis ranks sixth on the Bears, posting an overall grade of 54.9 (poor). Davis came off the bench in week 4 and played serviceably after Teven Jenkins went down. I thought his effort and urgency looked good, relative to what we saw from him in 2023 and early this year.

In pass protection, Davis was not tasked with handling 1v1s that often. When he was, his anchor was a little underwhelming but he held up well enough. I thought he did a good job passing off rushers from his position as well. It seemed like the Rams were targeting Matt Pryor with more games than Davis.

In the run game, Davis had his share of hits and misses. The run-blocking reps were much more up and down than the pass-blocking reps. I saw plenty of solid to good run reps from Davis, but not many true difference-making moments. You would love to see the losses cleaned up, but after a year and a half, it may just be who he is.

Davis has a block success rate of 77.27%, ranking fourth on the team. He has recorded above-average reps 23.48% of the time, which is the fourth-best rate on the team. Davis has recorded negative reps on 22.7% of reps, also the fourth-best rate on the team. His overall grade takes an extra hit with 3 penalties on only 138 snaps.

Overall, I still see Davis as being a starting-caliber talent. It is just a question of how well he executes the assignments and plays with urgency and a good football IQ. As much as I want to believe he can flip a switch, I struggle to envision him suddenly becoming more consistent.

6 . Coleman Shelton - Center

Previous Rank: 5 (-1)

Coleman Shelton drops to the sixth spot, coming in with a grade of 51.6 (poor). The Rams game was a rough one for Shelton. Probably his roughest game of the year. The lowlights were worse in previous games, but the down-to-down play was worse against the Rams.

In pass protection, Shelton struggled to generate many positive reps. I only had him down for one complete bust, but he had many reps where the results were sub-par. His inability to anchor is a real issue for the Bears passing offense. It consistently disrupts dropback timing and pairs poorly with Braxton Jones lack of anchor.

As a run blocker, Shelton had a rough start and end to the game while generating redeeming reps in the middle. His mobility was on display a few times, but it will be difficult to scheme around his lack of strength going forward. He has a lot of maintaining his position at the line of scrimmage, which disrupts pull and trap timing behind him.

Overall, I am questioning how long you can keep Shelton in the lineup. As someone who supported him the first few weeks of the season, I wavered on my support last week. I can admit that I was wrong. I am ready to see what Ryan Bates can offer when he returns from injury. I am even questioning whether Doug Kramer might offer better length and anchor to keep opponents at bay with similar athleticism. But that is probably a blind shot in the dark that could mess with the cadence, protection calls, and QB-Center chemistry.

Shelton's block success rate of 75.2% ranks fifth on the team. He has recorded an above-average rep on 21.2% of snaps, which ranks sixth on the team. Meanwhile, he has recorded a negative rep on 24.8% of snaps, ranking fifth on the team. His negative reps tend to be the loudest on the team.

7 . Ryan Bates - Right Guard

Previous Rank: 7 (no change)

Bates ranks 7th with a grade of 45 (Bad). In week one, I saw a player who was limited with his body mechanics and less able to reach blocks on time. But, that was one game with an entire offensive line he never saw live reps with. He seemed very assignment-sound but somewhat limited in his ability to win those assignments. All of those reps came at right guard.

Bates's block success rate of 74.29% ranks last on the team. He has recorded an above-average rep on 8.6% of snaps, ranking last by a wide margin. Further, he has recorded negative reps on 25.7% of snaps, the highest rate on the team. I'm interested to see how he Bates at center once he returns from injury. His anchor and play strength have to be better than Shelton's.

Final Thoughts

Through week 4, the Bears best five offensive linemen are Darnell Wright, Teven Jenkins, Braxton Jones, Matt Pryor, and Nate Davis. The issue with that, though, is none of those players can play center. The pivot continues to be an issue for the Bears despite efforts to bring in stopgaps this offseason.

Despite some rougher individual performances in pass protection against the Rams, I felt like the unit as a whole played and communicated well enough to win. While they were overmatched at times, the gameplan was clearly geared towards getting the ball out quickly. I am concerned by their inability to protect well enough in true pass sets, but I am unsure where they can find answers mid-season. 

The run-blocking was much improved in week 4 despite a lack of improvement in individual grades. In previous weeks, you would have 4 guys doing their jobs but one player losing a key matchup and destroying the play. This week, we saw more moments where the offensive line was in sync with getting the job done. Part of that is the result of playing a Rams defense that lacks mass up front, but you take the wins where you can get them. 

We saw some more power run concepts throughout the game with decent success, and they executed better on outside zone and split zone concepts. The tight ends and wide receivers also did a better job blocking, which is a bigger key to the run game than many want to realize.