Chicago Bears sign or pass: Connor McGovern

Is Denver Broncos offensive lineman Connor McGovern a good fit for the Chicago Bears?

Connor McGovern spent his first four seasons with the Denver Broncos. After a red-shirt rookie year, he played part-time in his second and third seasons at right guard. By year four, he moved to center and was their starter all last season.

After four years in Denver, he is expected to hit the open market. The Broncos mentioned that they are interested in bringing McGovern, but they understand that he will take his time to test the market.

Are the Chicago Bears the type of team to take a chance at giving McGovern a contract offer?

Sign

McGovern is coming off of his best year, where he cleaned up his game and improved, mostly as a pass protector. He went from 40 pressures allowed in 2018 to 15 in 2019 and did not commit a single penalty after committing six the season before.

He has experience at right guard and center, which gives the Bears options of deployment. They can take snapping away from Cody Whitehair again, or they can move McGovern back to right guard. He is just 26 years old and would add to an already young interior core that could develop together for years to come.

Pass

His best work came at center last year, and his issues came up the most at guard. McGovern is versatile, but it can be argued that if you want to get real value out of him, you need to be starting him at center.

Beyond that, McGovern showed that he was smart before the snap and held up well as a pass blocker. His run blocking was still the biggest weakness of his game. The Bears want to improve in all areas of the line but have to find a way to improve their run blocking the most.

McGovern would cause the team to shuffle their line; he has just one good year and has never been a great run blocker, and at his age and market, he will likely demand a beyond reasonable contract. There are too many questions about him for the money he will get.