The Chicago Bears did not hit the offensive line with their limited draft resources but cleaned up with their UDFA haul
The Chicago Bears were a bit limited in what they could do with their limited resources on draft weekend. Still, some fans were not happy knowing that they came away with a couple of project cornerbacks, but not a single offensive lineman.
Still, while the offensive line is a need, and Ryan Pace admits different situations dictated different picks when they wanted to go that route, the team did find a way to address the position.
They went out and signed five offensive lineman as UDFAs, and all of them bring intrigue. Blake Blackmar from Baylor is a big tackle with pass blocking abilities. Marquez Tucker from Southern Utah is a road grader of a tackle who may push inside to guard due to his athletic upside. Joe Lowery is another run blocking offensive tackle and Harry Hiestand brought in two Notre Dame offensive lineman in Alex Bars and Sam Mustipher.
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Speaking of Hiestand, this is what he was brought in for. He was brought in for his eye to evaluate the landscape of college football and pick out the best fits for his offensive line. He was brought into develop talent.
Now, he has a lot of untapped talent to work with in these five upside names. In fact, four of the five make our list of the most likely UDFAs to make the roster.
Bars and Mustipher are players who likely sign elsewhere if it is not for Hiestand. This may not be the outcome the Chicago Bears wanted, but they knew that if they could not get their guy at his draft spot, that they wanted to get as many UDFAs as they can.
Even if just one hits, it is a great haul, and looking at some of the back stories and upside of these linemen, it is clear that Hiestand was working to improve this group. Keep an eye out for these names.