Day 3 sleepers the Chicago Bears can target in the 2022 NFL Draft
The Chicago Bears could benefit from drafting one of these Day 3 OL
The offensive line, specifically both guard and tackle, is a need for the Chicago Bears as well. Last season, the Bears’ offensive line ranked 25th in their pass-blocking grade. The team gave up the second-highest rate of pressured dropbacks for Justin Fields, at 42.8 percent of dropbacks being pressured.
They will need another starting guard, in all likelihood, and need competition for the tackle position as well. Cody Whitehair, Lucas Patrick, and Teven Jenkins are all starters on the line for the upcoming season, but the other two spots are up in the air. Here are some sleepers at both guard and tackle the Chicago Bears can look at on Day 3.
Tennessee guard Cade Mays is someone the Bears can get late. He has fantastic size, which is something that you can’t teach. Mays is 6’6″ and 321 pounds, is very intelligent, and has a high football IQ. He understands the game very well and can read defensive linemen’s positioning to know where he will be attacked from.
Mays is very tall, long, and athletic, making him very good in the open field as a pulling guard. He has a killer instinct similar to Tevin Jenkins. He gets low by bending the knees, and gets good leg drive, making Mays an above-average run blocker. He is also a very fluid mover for a man his size.
However, Mays has heavy feet and his footwork is very raw — making him susceptible to getting beat by linemen with more quickness and better technique. While Mays is definitely a project, he has the size that you cannot teach at the NFL level. Mays will be drafted late on Day 3, so the Bears could scoop him up for depth in the 6th or 7th round.
Southern Utah tackle, Braxton Jones is another player with a great combination of size and athleticism that the Bears can get on Day 3. Jones is 6’7″ and 306 pounds, and is tall and athletic, moving like a gazelle when he gets going. He positions himself well in both run blocking and pass protection, and has the killer instinct that Ryan Poles will covet as a former offensive lineman.
Jones tends to lose his balance when overextending, and defenders can get under his pads and hold the line due to his above-average height. Jones also tends to bend at the waist and not the knees — causing him to get pushed back into the pocket in pass protection at times. Even with his shortcomings, Jones’ elite combination of athleticism at size projects him as a fifth-round pick and would be great depth for the Chicago Bears to target on Day 3.