Bears Depth Chart: Offensive Tackle
Without much Bears news to talk about until training camp begins, I’m going to breakdown the Bears depth chart at every position. I’ll give a high-level overview of each position, highlight potential battles for both starting roles and roster spots and point out a few players to watch.
I’ve already covered the depth chart at a few positions:
Today I will be covering the Bears depth chart at offensive tackle. There has been a lot of turnover at the tackle position over the last few years with the Bears moving on from starting tackles Jermon Bushrod and Jordan Mills.
Last year’s starting tackles were Charles Leno Jr on the left side and Pro Bowl guard Kyle Long at right tackle. This year the Bears have scrapped the Kyle long experiment and replaced him with free agent signing Bobby Massie from Arizona.
Both tackles struggled at times last season as they both were making their debut as NFL tackles. Leno Jr faced some of the league’s best pass rushers on a regular basis and Long was asked to do much more than what he was used to at right guard. Their struggles were expected to some degree, but on the bright side they both improved steadily as the season progressed.
I’ll be breaking down the depth chart below at tackle including the starters, backups, those vying for a spot on the roster, and a player to watch in 2016.
Depth Chart: Offensive Tackle
Overview:
Pro Bowl guard Kyle Long was asked to move to right tackle just a few weeks before the start of the season, which would have been a difficult transition for anyone but Long held his own for the most part. There were plenty of struggles early, but by the end of the season Long played well enough to be named to his 3rd consecutive Pro Bowl as an injury replacement.
Long was adequate as a right tackle, but far from as dominant as he was a right guard. The Bears brass made the right decision to move Long back to his natural right guard position for the start of the 2016 season. He’ll be replaced by free agent acquisition Bobby Massie, who I’ll cover more in the next section.
On the left side, beleaguered Charles Leno Jr will get another chance to protect Jay Cutler’s blind-side. Leno caught a lot of flack in his first season as a starting left tackle, but he improved steadily as the season progressed and he became more comfortable with his assignments. It didn’t make things any easier for Leno Jr when he had to face many of the league’s premier pass rushers on a weekly basis.
I’ll cover the Bears depth at the position below, but there isn’t much of it, as well as the position battles, bench roles, players fighting for a roster spot, and a player to watch at tackle.
Next: Positon Battles (Starter)