Chicago Bears: Way too early 2022 NFL mock draft
With their fifth-round pick, the Chicago Bears select: Jarrett Patterson, C – Notre Dame
Have you been watching the Sam Mustipher experiment? I am on record for admitting I too was fooled on this one. Heading into the offseason and based on the outcome in training camp, I thought Mustipher would be able to handle playing center for the Chicago Bears. I was wrong.
Too often, Mustipher is getting blown up in the middle and leads to many pressure sacks and broken plays for Justin Fields and the offense. The team needs to do something different. With Teven Jenkins coming back to practice, some want to see Jenkins play guard and kick Cody Whitehair over to center where he’s proven more than capable in the past. Personally, I don’t want Jenkins playing guard when he was drafted to be a tackle.
Can the Chicago Bears convince Jason Peters, who has been playing very well for most of the year, to kick inside to left guard? He played there for part of last season with the Eagles despite not being happy about it. Peters didn’t play well at guard though, and therefore I’m not sure it’s worth making that move either. Needless to say, center needs to be a focus for the Bears in 2022 whether that’s through the draft or in free agency.
When I saw Emil Ekiyor available, I couldn’t help but think, should the Bears really take a look at another center out of Notre Dame? The answer here is yes. Jarrett Patterson and Sam Mustipher are nothing alike in how they play the game. Patterson has a big boxy frame at 6’4″ compared to Mustipher who is only 6’2″. Patterson doesn’t do anything too flashy, but he has the strength to take on inside rushers and keep them out of the quarterback’s pocket — something Mustipher constantly struggles with.