The Chicago Bears selected James Daniels with the 39th overall pick, here’s what the experts think.
The Chicago Bears had an active day two. They selected Iowa center/guard James Daniels with the 39th overall pick before jumping back into the second round to select Memphis WR Anthony Miller.
Whenever a team selects an offensive lineman, it usually doesn’t garner too much fan reaction. Offensive linemen are critical, but they are never sexy. If fans do get excited about selecting a lineman, it’s usually a tackle, so when the Bears selected an interior lineman with their second round pick, there isn’t going to be a lot of buzz, but when you select one as good as James Daniels, the experts will make sure the fans know just how good the Bears did with this pick. Here’s some of the reactions on Twitter after the Bears selected the Iowa lineman.
There’s what some of the experts think about James Daniels. That’s a VERY positive reaction. Daniels fortifies the interior offensive line for the Bears. Cody Whitehair can now settle in at either guard or center. The Bears originally wanted Whitehair to play guard until he was forced to move to center after the Hroniss Grasu injury in 2016. Whitehair played well, and that might be where the Bears want to keep him, but the key is, whether Whitehair plays center or guard, he can settle in at one position and Daniels can settle in at the other. What’s also nice is that Daniels and Whitehair (along with Eric Kush) can all play both the guard and center positions which will help when inevitable injuries occur.
With Charles Leno, Whitehair, Daniels, Kyle Long and Bobby Massie, the Bears have four offensive lineman they can build around (yes, Leno is a keeper). Massie will need to be replaced after this year, but he is serviceable enough to keep around for one more year.
But this isn’t about Massie or Leno, this is about Daniels who should be a welcome addition to the group protecting the franchise, Mitchell Trubisky.