Chicago Bears: James Daniels: What the Experts Are Saying
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.
James Daniels is so solid. I know Harry Hiestand loves this pick. Value wise the #Bears are doing their dang thing with their 1st two picks. #NFLDraft #BearsDraft
— Jarrett Payton (@paytonsun) April 27, 2018
James Daniels is the best center in this Draft. Cody Whitehair just became a full time guard and Hroniss Grasu might want to think about calling an employment agency?
— Hub Arkush (@Hub_Arkush) April 27, 2018
New #Bears center James Daniels had the highest run-blocking grade of any center in this #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/XAUL3mr2oS
— PFF CHI Bears (@PFF_Bears) April 27, 2018
The Bears have now drafted the #2 player on my board (Roquan), #20 player (Anthony Miller) and #27 player (James Daniels). Ryan Pace is killing it.
— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) April 28, 2018
The Bears just got an absolute steal in James Daniels. He's going to be a starter for them for a decade. PHENOMENAL feet as a zone center. Reminds me of Alex Mack. Perfect fit for their new spread coast offense.
— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) April 27, 2018
Bears are scary as hell.
#Bears stole James Daniels, in my opinion. A player most teams expected to go first-round, Chicago gets a plug and play starter.
— Eric Galko (@EricGalko) April 27, 2018
Interior OL protection important for Matt Nagy's offense. Daniels will help keep Mitch Trubisky comfortable.
James Daniels is an excellent fit for Matt Nagy's offense and the zone blocking that Nagy will run in Chicago.
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) April 27, 2018
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.