Chicago Bears: Five young players who could shine in 2021

Sam Mustipher – Center

The offensive line has been pretty much a complete mess throughout this whole season. It seems like the line can never give the quarterback enough time, especially in key situations. Plus, the run blocking has been the worst in the league this year.

Obviously, the line has been played with and tweaked all year, and we have seen a number of different combinations. Due to injuries and Covid-19, Sam Mustipher was able to get playing time at center and has shown he might have been a diamond in the rough. With him in the lineup, Cody Whitehair has been able to move back to guard, which is probably his best position.

Mustipher has been super solid in both run and pass blocking for an undrafted free agent. It does help that he went to Notre Dame, a school that churns out offensive lineman like nothing. Also, he has been able to play with Alex Bars, who he played with at Notre Dame as well.

If the Chicago Bears like what they see, next year’s offensive line could see Charles Leno Jr. at left tackle, James Daniels at left guard, Sam Mustipher at center, Cody Whitehair at right guard, and either Bobby Massie, Germain Ifedi, or a new face at right tackle.

Mustipher has shown that he deserves a shot at the starting center spot going forward, and I think he could be special. If he continues to play well for the rest of the season he has a great shot at being part of the future of this offensive line and could be in for a huge season next year with a revamped line and offense.

Still, we have only seen a small sample size from Mustipher. He will need to play at a high level the rest of this year as well as in training camp next year for the Bears to keep him as the starting center. Yet, I think he has shown that he could definitely be a key part of the line going forward and could shine next year in a new scheme.