Grading Chicago Bears Offensive Line Through Week 5

How have the Chicago Bears offensive linemen played through 5 weeks?

With a long break between the Chicago Bears week five and week six, it is a good time to look back at the first five weeks and evaluate where the team stands. With that in mind, the offensive line is the most important position to put under the magnifying glass. They have been up and down, but how has each individual performed?

Charles Leno

Leno started his season off the right note with three straight high-quality games. He allowed just four hurries in three weeks per PFF and did not allow a sack. The issue with that is that in those three games, he saw Romeo Okwara, against Detroit, Lorenzo Carter against New York, and Charles Harris with a banged-up Dante Fowler mixed in against Atlanta. He held his own and posted strong performances, but the big test came week four.

Against Justin Houston, an experienced veteran, Leno came right back down to earth. He allowed a sack, three pressures, and a hit. Thursday Night was not his best night either. Against the Bucs, they decided to put Shaq Barrett, who usually lines up on the other side, against Leno. Whatever they saw worked, as Barrett posted six pressures, and four came against Leno. The last two weeks were the worst two games, and the best two players Leno has played. He is the definition of average, and will do just fine against weaker teams, and will struggle against big names.

C

James Daniels

Losing James Daniels for the season a disappointment after his start. Daniels was up and down against the Detroit Lions, struggling with the power of Danny Shelton, but faring well in pass pro against Trey Flowers. While Daniels did not have his best game against Dexter Lawrence, compared to how peers have played, he had one of the better performances against the Giants big man. Marlon Davidson was a not huge test for Daniels, who handled his own, but his worst game, like most, was against Indianapolis. DeForest Buckner beat him a few times. Daniels has been much better in the run game and was going to have a huge test in week five before an injury shut him down for the year.

B-

Cody Whitehair

Compared to your typical Cody Whitehair season, it is fair to say his 2020 has not lived up to his expectations. Whitehair handled himself just fine against the likes of Danny Shelton in week one, and even in weeks two and three, he did not have serious issues, although he allowed a sack to Dalvin Tomlinson. The issue with Whitehair started in week four and bled into week five. Grover Stewart is a very underrated nose tackle, and Whitehair learned that the hard way in what graded out to be one of the worst starts of his career. Unfortunately, a short week against Vita Vea and Ndamokung Suh did not change things. Add in the Daniels injury and Whitehair had no help, a UDFA beside him, and two All-Pro candidates harassing him. He had a rough night. Whitehair is not the issue, but he would tell you he expects to be better.

C-

Germain Ifedi

Ifedi came in and excelled off of the bat seeing DaShawn Hand often against Detroit. He also showed his movement to the second level in the run game. Against the Giants, his play against Leonard Williams was stellar, and the move to add Ifedi looked brilliant.

Ifedi struggled to beat Grady Jarrett off of the ball, but it was more of a testament to Jarrett than Ifedi. While most linemen had their worst game against Indianapolis, Ifedi had the best game of the group, albeit he did lose a rep or two to DeForest Buckner. On Thursday, Suh beat Ifedi a couple of times and recorded three pressures and two run-stops in the game. Whitehair is a better player than Ifedi. However, for what Ifedi’s salary and expectations compared to that of Whitehair, he grades out better so far.

B 

Bobby Massie

In Week One, Julian Okwara took on Bobby Massie, and Massie handled the rookie with ease. In fact, Matt Patricia has been hesitant to bring in Okwara since. Against the Giants, Massie had his worst game, allowing two pressures to Marcus Golden and one to Kyler Fackrell as well. It also was his worst run-blocking performance.

Massie was fortunate to see Tak McKinley on the sidelines against Atlanta and instead saw Steven Means. While the interior struggled against DeForest Buckner, and Justin Houston owned Charles Leno, Massie drew Denico Autry and shut him down. Then,in week five, he saw a mix of Jason Pierre-Paul and Shaq Barrett. As the names get bigger, the performances shrink. JPP posted a sack and a hit on Massie on Thursday.

B