Ranking the Bears Offensive Line Through Week 10

Additionally, I've included videos for each player. These include every positive and negative rep from the previous game, omitting the "Fine" reps. And make sure to check out the Bears On Tap offensive line film review on YouTube.

1. Darnell Wright - Right Tackle

Previous Rank: 1 (no change)

Darnell Wright stays in the top spot with a grade of 67.1 (slightly above average) despite not playing against the Patriots. Wright missed the game with a knee injury, but it seems possible that he'll return for Week 11. Losing him is a big blow to this offensive line, as he is one of the two difference makers the Bears have up front.

Wright's season block success rate of 82.94% ranks second on the team. He has recorded an above-average rep on 28.57% of snaps, ranking second on the team. Meanwhile, Wright has recorded negative reps on 17.1% of plays, which is also second-best on the team.

2. Teven Jenkins - Left Guard

Previous Rank: 2 (no change)

Jenkins remains in second with a 64.8 blocking grade (slightly above average). Against the Patriots, Jenkins was playing bully ball before exiting the game with an ankle injury.

He was tracking for his best game of the season in his 19 snaps. This was a game where the Bears needed Jenkins to carry a lot of weight, and he appeared to be up to the task despite multiple injuries. But another ankle injury was the final blow, and his body just couldn't take any more of a beating. If Jenkins and Wright both miss more time, that will be tough to cover up.

Teven's block success rate of 84.2% ranks first on the team. Jenkins has recorded an above-average rep on 24.38% of snaps while recording negative reps on 15.8% of plays. He is fourth on the team in above-average play rate but has the lowest rate of below-average plays.

3. Braxton Jones - Left Tackle

Previous Rank: 3 (no change)

The Bears starting left tackle, Braxton Jones, comes in third with a 60.0 blocking grade (average). Jones missed the last two games with a knee injury. The hope is that he could be back for Week 11 against the Packers, but his status is still uncertain.

Braxton's block success rate of 79.35% is sixth on the team. He has recorded above-average reps 24.13% of the time, ranking fifth on the team. His negative rep rate of 20.6% ranks sixth on the team.

4. Matt Pryor - Right Guard

Previous Rank: 4 (no change)

Matt Pryor comes in fourth with a 57.9 blocking grade (below average). Pryor moved from his usual right guard position to cover for Darnell Wright this week.

Against the Patriots, Pryor had a couple of reps he won with power. However, he had more reps where his lack of speed outside and inability to recover inside were exposed. The Bears gave him a lot of chip help to limit how opponents attacked his outside shoulder. He didn't stand out often in pass protection but managed to limit the errors.

As a run blocker, Pryor was not very noticeable. He got in the way and executed his assignment, but his power was not difference-making when playing offensive tackle. That is likely due to having larger spaces to cover and trying to grip smaller, faster defenders.

Overall, Pryor did what you expect a swing tackle to do. He was good enough to get the job done while allowing a handful of pressures and a sack while benefitting from chip help often. In my opinion, he has a higher ceiling at guard. Hopefully, the Bears get healthy enough for him to return there soon.

On the season, Pryor's block success rate of 80.6% ranks fourth. He recorded above-average reps 21.13% of the time, ranking seventh on the team. His negative rep rate of 19.4% ranks fourth.

5. Bill Murray - Left Guard

Previous Rank: 5 (no change)

I have Bill Murray slotted into the fifth spot here despite posting the best grade on the team at 73.6 (Good). I knocked him down the rankings due to the limited sample size (42 snaps).

Murray was placed on injured reserve with a pectoral injury after the Commanders game, which makes me want to cry. He only played two snaps in that game and looked awesome on those two plays. I am hopeful that Murray can carve out a role on next year's team, but I have my concerns about relying on a 28-year-old guard who has never started in his career. We will see how it goes. I will be rooting for him.

Murray's block success rate of 81.82% ranks third on the team. He recorded an above-average rep on 36.36% of snaps while recording negative reps on 18.2% of plays. He is first on the team in above-average play rate and has the third-lowest rate of below-average plays. Murray is not expected to return from injured reserve this season.

6. Coleman Shelton - Center

Previous Rank: 7 (+1)

Coleman Shelton's grade comes in at 55.6 (below average). He moves up one spot in the rankings due to the release of Nate Davis. Against the Patriots, Shelton was the only starter to start and finish the game at his best position.

Shelton had another solid performance in pass protection but the line was leaking up the middle without him being flanked by Jenkins and Pryor. In pass protection, Shelton was more aggressive with his hands and surprised me a handful of times throughout the tape. He had more flashes in pass protection than in any previous game, but he did have a handful of negative reps as well.

As a run blocker, Shelton struggled to make a difference. He did have a few nice pulls and executed assignments that required plus mobility. However, he had a handful of negative reps in the run game that negated those positive plays. The negatives included two play-killing misses.

Overall, it's no surprise that Shelton has looked solid against poor defensive tackle rooms. He graded as a starting-caliber pass blocker in games against the Panthers, Jaguars, Cardinals, and Patriots. All those teams have issues in their DT rooms.

Shelton's block success rate of 80.24% ranks fifth on the team. He has recorded an above-average rep on 19.41% of snaps, which ranks seventh on the team. Meanwhile, he has recorded a negative rep on 19.8% of snaps, ranking fifth on the team.

7. Ryan Bates - Right Guard

Previous Rank: 9 (+2)

Bates ranks seventh with a grade of 46.4 (Bad). Bates made his first appearance since Week 1 on Sunday against the Patriots. In this game, I thought Bates showed more bright spots and clear losses than he did in Week 1.

In pass protection, Bates showed active hands and brought good energy from start to finish. However, he had issues allowing defenders to cross his face and find his edges. This resulted in multiple QB hits and a sack.

As a run blocker, his energy was apparent. Unfortunately, energy is not enough to open up running lanes on its own. There were a few instances of Bates being a difference-maker in the run game and a few instances of him going in the wrong direction.

Overall, I am more optimistic about the prospect of Bates at the Center position than I was after Week 1. I am not sure you can make that change at this point in the season, but I could be talked into it. As an offensive guard, I would not consider him to be more than a depth piece at offensive guard.

Bates's block success rate of 75.53% ranks seventh on the team. He has recorded an above-average rep on 11.7% of snaps, ranking ninth. Further, he has recorded negative reps on 24.5% of snaps, ranking seventh.

8. Larry Borom - Swing Tackle

Previous Rank: 8 (no change)

Larry Borom's grade comes in at 45 (bad), ranking eighth on the team. He started in place of Braxton Jones against the Patriots.

Borom is a weird player to grade in pass protection. If you catch him on the right reps, you see a solid pass protector with a wide frame and solid anchor, varying his pass sets a decent amount and using his hands to jam rushers. If you catch him on the wrong reps, you see a slow mover with indecisive hands who struggles to recover both inside and outside.

As a run blocker, Borom is a bystander on the backside of plays a lot of the time. His best reps are typically zone block stalemates where he generates enough rotation to open the hole. Meanwhile, his worst reps are too passive and fail to generate enough movement off the line of scrimmage. I wonder if he feels that he can't put much force into his opponent without losing control of them.

Overall, I still think Borom is a serviceable swing tackle. Probably not one of the better swing tackles in the league or anything, but I don't see him as a total liability in pass protection. His issues are magnified when the offensive line is down to this many backups.

Borom's block success rate of 74.62% ranks eighth on the team. He has recorded an above-average rep on 16.92% of snaps, which ranks eighth on the team. Meanwhile, he has recorded a negative rep on 25.4% of snaps, also ranking eighth on the team.

9. Kiran Amegadjie - Left Tackle

Previous Rank: 10 (+1)

Kiran Amegadjie ranks ninth with a grade of 44.3 (Bad). Amegadjie was forced into the game against the Commanders after Braxton Jones went down with a knee injury. It was a rollercoaster of a performance from the rookie, showing a combination of promising upside and the need for continued development. It should be noted that this was the first game Amegadjie had played in over a year.

His foot speed, length, strength, and aggressive hands were on display. He showed quick feet to mirror and a nice inside-out approach in pass protection. However, Amegadjie was inconsistent, getting beaten around the corner a handful of times. He was sometimes too careful to protect inside and showed a tendency to stop his feet at contact, giving up the outside rush lane.

Amegadjie showed the ability to recover with quick feet, pushing the rusher up the pocket more often than not. But he did cede quick pressure around the corner a few times. Amegadjie appeared to have issues picking up blitzes, allowing free runners up the B-gap. That will need to be cleaned up the next time he sees the field, otherwise coordinators will pepper him with additional pressure.

There were multiple occasions where he misunderstood his assignment as a run blocker. It's understandable for a third-round rookie rushed into action mid-game, but that stuff does need to be cleaned up. Amegadjie's aggression showed on the tape but got him in trouble once or twice.

Overall, I came away excited for things to come from Amegadjie while also feeling like the product on the field was not good enough. That was in line with my expectations for him when he entered the game. I'm excited to see how quickly Amegadjie can grow but nervous about whether he can contribute much this year.

Amegadjie's block success rate of 67.44% ranks 10th (last) on the team. He's recorded an above-average rep on 25.58% of snaps, ranking third on the team. Further, he recorded negative reps on 32.6% of snaps, the highest rate on the team.

10. Doug Kramer - Left Guard

Previous Rank: N/A

Doug Kramer has finally accumulated enough snaps to be included in these rankings. Kramer ranks 10th (last) with a grade of 32.7 (Practice Squad). After Teven Jenkins went down, Kramer took his place at left guard.

Once Jenkins left the game, the Bears rushing offense fell apart. Part of that is because Jenkins is a big loss in the run game. Another part, though, is that Kramer is not strong enough to effectively move larger defensive tackles. His lack of length also makes it hard to be effective at guard against longer defensive tackles.

In pass protection, Kramer did enough to get by for portions of the game. He needed help from Coleman Shelton on many reps, but he survived more often than not. There were a few complete busts that I put on him, though.

Overall, Kramer appears to be a "center/fullback only" option, in my opinion. I think he can be good enough as a backup option at center, but it is hard to know without seeing him play there. Without true guard versatility, I am not sure he deserves a roster spot in the future.

Kramer's block success rate of 69.9% ranks ninth on the team. He recorded an above-average rep on 5.45% of snaps, ranking 10th (last). Further, he has recorded negative reps on 30.9% of snaps, ranking ninth.

Final Thoughts

Through Week 10, the Bears' best five offensive linemen are Darnell Wright, Teven Jenkins, Braxton Jones, Matt Pryor, and Bill Murray. With Bill Murray being on injured reserve, the next best player is Coleman Shelton. The pivot continues to be an issue for the Bears despite efforts to bring in stopgaps this offseason. Maybe the recent signing of Ricky Stromberg could help there, though.

The Bears makeshift offensive line had a brutal day against the Patriots. Every player on the Bears offensive line had complete busts at one point or another. Which is to be expected when you are playing this many backups.

The issue here, though, is that it should not have looked as bad as it did. Backups or not, the offense should be able to put together a more realistic plan to handle blitzes and pressures. That has been the story of the Bears season though. This unit has played below their talent level week in and week out.