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Chicago Bears' revamped offensive line skyrockets into Top 5 in PFF rankings
Chicago Bears offensive tackle Darnell Wright (58) protects quarterback Caleb Williams Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

With less than two months until the 2025 NFL season kicks off, respect for the revamped Chicago Bears offensive line continues to build.

General manager Ryan Poles' overhaul of the entire Bears' interior offensive line has been widely hailed by analysts as one of the best moves of the NFL offseason.

  • Poles added first-team All-Pro guard Joe Thuney, former Pro Bowl guard Jonah Jackson, and the top center in free agency, Drew Dalman.
  • All are on contracts synced with Caleb Williams' rookie contract through 2027.
  • Paired with Darnell Wright and Braxton Jones, who both rank in the top third of starting NFL tackles, these accomplished, seasoned veterans will provide much-needed stability and consistency to a unit that gave up a league-high 68 sacks in 2024.

The enhanced protection and stability expected from this massive investment are why the Bears' revamped offensive line ranked fourth in PFF's 2025 offensive line rankings.

4. Chicago Bears

"Things are set to look a lot different in Chicago. Not only is the offensive line remolded, but it's also perhaps the most improved unit in the NFL. Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright, who both finished among the 22 highest-graded offensive tackles in 2024, were already a promising young duo. Now, the unit has three new interior starters who represent immediate upgrades. Trade acquisition Joe Thuney has been the best pass-blocking guard in the NFL in recent years, and free-agent center Drew Dalman ranked among the top five at his position in PFF overall grade in each of the past two seasons. If right guard Jonah Jackson can stay healthy and get back to his old form, this can be one of the NFL's top offensive lines."

PFF also believes the Bears have the top-rated offensive line in the NFC North. They ranked the offensive lines for the Vikings seventh, the Lions thirteenth after the retirement of center Frank Ragnow, and the Packers fourteenth.

PFF's ranking is consistent with other analysts. In his annual unit grades, ESPN senior writer Mike Clay graded the 2025 Bears offensive line as 9 out of a possible 10, which tied for 2nd best in the NFL with two other teams.

This welcome news is long overdue for Bears fans and pundits, who had been clamoring for increased investment on the offensive line for years.

Just how big was the investment? The Bears nearly tripled their cap spend and allocated 2.5 times more cap space to the offensive line year over year.

  • In 2024, the Bears had the second-cheapest offensive line in the NFL, with only $23.6 million spent in cap space. (9.3% of total cap)
  • In 2025, the Bears have the fourth-most expensive offensive line, taking up $66.1 million in cap space. (23.7% of total cap)

Bears head coach Ben Johnson knows how critical a top offensive line is to the success of the offense. Similar to Broncos head coach Sean Payton and Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh in their first seasons in those jobs, Ben made it his most important roster priority to upgrade the offensive line.

These are dollars very well spent. Giving Caleb stability and more time before the pocket starts to collapse will help improve his processing speed, decision-making and accuracy.

This, in conjunction with other areas Ben is focusing on with Caleb, including throwing more quickly and reducing his pressure-to-sack ratio, should yield sizeable improvements in passing production and efficiency this season.

On paper, everything looks promising. Next step? Let's see it come to fruition on the field.

This article first appeared on Chicago Bears on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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