After a year of learning the tricks of the NFL, the Chicago Bears are moving James Daniels to center
When James Daniels was drafted, he played center. When Cody Whitehair was drafted, he played guard. Of course, Whitehair moved to center in the NFL and did have some success, although he did have issues with the snap.
Still, despite so many assuming that the Chicago Bears would push James Daniels in at center, and then move Cody Whitehair to guard, the team was reluctant to make the shift. Instead, they insisted James Daniels start at guard, and Whitehair, who struggled again with snaps during training camp stayed at center.
Although it was not a factor during the season, the Bears finally made the change that many were anticipating since day one. James Daniels will start at center, and Whitehair will move to guard.
James Daniels is going to play center, #Bears coach Matt Nagy said. That puts Cody Whitehair at left guard
— Patrick Finley (@patrickfinley) May 22, 2019
When thinking about the big picture, the timing makes sense. James Daniels was a young prospect who fell to round two because he did need his body to mature and to put on some physical strength. The Bears did not want to rush him into the starting lineup.
So, rather than force James Daniels into starting if he was not ready, they slow played him behind Eric Kush to make sure that Whitehair and Mitch Trubisky did not lose any chemistry in the offseason.
When Daniels was ready to play it would have been a lot of moving pieces to push Whitehair to guard and Daniels at center about a quarter into the year.
Instead, they gave Daniels an easier transition to the NFL and looked to get him ready to jump onto an NFL field. Now that he has shown that he can handle the speed and strength of guard, they will look to add in his snapping ability and smarts when calling out plays.
It may have frustrated fans early on, but in the long term it was the right move and will set the Bears up for longterm success.