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With free agency and the NFL draft completed, the core of the Chicago Bears 2015 roster is in place. There may be an undrafted player who makes the team via mini-camp, like RB Senorise Perry and CB Al Louis-Jean did last year, or a free agent signing of a cap casualty late in the preseason, but for the most part the roster is in place. Over the next few weeks I will be breaking down the Bears depth chart at every position.
Offensive tackle was a trouble spot of the Bears last season as both starters, Bushrod and Mills, struggled to stay healthy and to block effectively when on the field. Bushrod has been inconsistent in his two years with the Bears with solid play about half the time and awful play the other half. Mills showed promise as a rookie in 2013, but was abused by speed rushers in 2014. He did show signs of improvement late in the season, which leads me too beleive that his foot injury early in the season could have had something to do with his struggles.
There were plenty of rumors early in the offseason that Kyle Long would be moving to tackle, but according to both coaches and Long himself, he is staying at guard this season. The Bears didn’t sign any high-profile free agent tackles and ignored the position until late in the draft, so last year’s starters should get another chance in 2015.
Position Previews: QB | RB | WR | OT
2015 Bears OT Depth Chart:
Starters
Jermon Bushrod
So far Bushrod’s 5-year $36 million dollar contract looks like a massive overpay. The former two-time Pro Bowl LT (Saints) was handpicked by former HC Marc Trestman and his former OC with the Saints, Aaron Kromer, as a perfect fit for the Bears offensive scheme, but things didn’t work out that way. Bushrod has finished ranked 57th and 55th by Pro Football Focus the last two seasons. His play has been so inconsistent that it’s hard to know what Bushrod can bring to the table moving forward. In 2013 he struggled in pass pro but was a solid run blocker, in 2014 it was the opposite as he held his own as a pass blocker but couldn’t open holes in the running game. Bushrod’s performance also swung wildly on a game-by-game basis. He had 5 games where he looked like a borderline All-Pro and six games were he was absolutely useless including week 17 when he gave up 2 hits, 2 QB hurries and was called for 3 penalties.
Fortunately for Bushrod the Bears don’t have a viable left tackle on the roster, though I’m hearing rumors that last year’s 7th round pick, Charles Leno Jr, is being groomed as his backup. The scouting report on Bushrod before he signed with the Bears was that he was a solid run blocker, who can move the pile with enough athleticism to get to the next level. On paper that is a good fit with the power running scheme that new HC John Fox wants to implement with the Bears. Bushrod’s biggest perceived weakness is his ability to handle speed rushers. If new OC Adam Gase puts in a scheme similar to what he ran in Denver with mostly short passes and quick drop backs, then Bushrod’s weakness will be hidden a bit. The fact that the Bears didn’t make a significant effort to replace Bushrod makes me think they are comfortable that his skill-set will be a good fit for the Bears new offensive scheme.
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Jordan Mills
I’ve been hard on Mills for most of his Bears career, especially the first half of the 2014 season when his incompetence was hurting the team, but I was impressed with Mills play the last five weeks of the season. Perhaps he was finally healthy or maybe worried that he was going to lose his starting gig, but either way Mills played with a mean streak and aggressive style that I hadn’t seen before. Maybe the coaches had seen that from Mills before in practice, there had to be some reason they kept him in the lineup despite having a seemingly better option in Eben Britton on the bench. If Mills can play with the same fury he showed late in the season, then the Bears could have a punishing run blocker next to Kyle Long on the right side of the line.
Mills struggles have come primarily in pass protection against speed rushers, but the transition from a pass heavy scheme to a power-running, short pass based offense could be an ideal fit for Mills’ limited skill-set. If his late season success was a fluke, the Bears have promising 2nd year players Charles Leno Jr and Michael Ola ready to take Mills job.