The Chicago Bears can also spend big on Alejandro Villanueva
Another left tackle the Chicago Bears could look at who should come at a slight discount compared to Trent Williams is Alejandro Villanueva. Villanueva is not nearly as good as Williams, but he should only command a salary of $15 to $16 million per year.
Just like Williams though, Villanueva is not a spring chicken. He too will be 33 years old for the 2021 season. As a two-time Pro Bowl player (2017 and 2018), Villanueva would still be an upgrade over Charles Leno. The problem here is would he be a big enough upgrade based on the salary it will take to sign him? At this point, I am not so sure and he is arguably my least favorite free-agent target on this list.
In fact, if we use Pro Football Focus (PFF) grading, Villanueva actually graded out exactly the same (74.6) as Charles Leno for 2020. The difference between the two is that Villanueva is more consistent and does not have those glaring mistake games or even seasons. In 2019, Leno finished with a grade of 58.6. Whereas, Villanueva’s worst season was his rookie year when he graded out at 65.9. The rest of Villanueva’s PFF grades were in the 70s and 80s.