Chicago Bears find a starting-caliber left tackle in this 2022 NFL mock draft

The Chicago Bears reunite Justin Fields with his former left tackle

With the third pick of Ryan Poles career as the Chicago Bears general manager, he decides to reunite Justin Fields with his left tackle at Ohio State, Nicholas Petit-Frere. This is an interesting selection as I am much higher on Petit-Frere than most analysts. I have him as my OT5 in this draft class with a second-round grade. He has all the tools to be a starting left tackle in the NFL.

Round 3, Pick 75 – Nicholas Petit-Frere, OT – Ohio State

There are a few names in this 2022 NFL Draft I would love to see reunited with Justin Fields. However, the two top names are not likely. They are his former wideouts Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson. Both of these wide receivers are likely to be drafted in the first round and it would take Ryan Poles stepping into his Ryan Pace shoes to move up to grab one of them. I don’t see that happening.  The next best option to select is Petit-Frere.

Petit-Frere has versatility as he has played both left and right tackle for the Buckeyes, but he looks more natural on the left. He has good size and looks to be the type of lineman that Ryan Poles is looking to add. Petit-Frere stands 6’5″ and weighs 316 pounds. The biggest knock on him is his arm length, which is 33-5/8″ Most left tackles have 34″ or longer arms, but this should not be a deterrent.

If you watch tape on Petit-Frere, you will notice some inconsistencies in his game — these really showed while trying to defend guys like Aidan Hutchinson out of Michigan. That was probably Petit-Frere’s worst tape. He struggled against both Hutchinson and David Ojabo at times in that game. He also bested them at times too, granted not as often, and this is why he’s falling into the third round. Guess what, that should not matter. He could step in and compete at the left tackle spot. This would be ideal too as Teven Jenkins makes a better right tackle than left in my opinion.