3 reasons why the Chicago Bears would be smart to trade Teven Jenkins
Trading Teven Jenkins was never discussed prior to August. The 2021 second-round pick was taken 39th overall by the Chicago Bears last year to be a long-term solution to their left tackle spot. After starting his NFL career with back surgery, Teven Jenkins played in six games his rookie season. After several 2022 training camp practices, he has yet to even make an appearance.
While Jenkins’ ceiling is certainly high, there have been concerns about his health and maturity that have begun to leak out. For example, David Kaplan of NBCSports Chicago and ESPN reported that “a person close to the Bears says Teven Jenkins is their most talented lineman. But he’s also “wildly immature,”.
With a new regime led by Ryan Poles, and an overall shift in the Bears’ focus when it comes to their roster, Teven Jenkins unfortunately may not fit what Poles is hoping to construct. However, there are a few reasons why trading the former Oklahoma State tackle could be a good call.
1. The Chicago Bears can load up on draft capital if they trade Teven Jenkins
2022 is going to be a rough year for the Bears. Their roster lacks talent outside of a few names, with many of the players being on rookie or one-year deals. The plan is to build a long-term, successful roster, and that can happen easier with more draft picks.
The Chicago Bears gave up several picks to get Teven Jenkins at 39th overall. Poles, however, didn’t give up any picks for the player. If another team bought into Jenkins’ second-round value, a player with plenty of upside, Poles could walk away with more future draft capital while appeasing a clearly disgruntled player.
2. Other options on the Chicago Bears roster exist to replace Teven Jenkins
It was not Teven Jenkins who showed out in a limited role in 2021, but rather his fifth-round pick classmate Larry Borom. Borom has proved to be a solid option on either side of the ball for the Chicago Bears. He currently is holding down the right tackle spot in camp.
Meanwhile, the Bears 2022 rookie class brought in several new names to the offensive line group, including left tackle Braxton Jones, who has been working with the first-team at left tackle at times. Combining that with the recent signing of Riley Reiff, it just seems like the team has enough to work with to move Jenkins should they find a good suitor. Considering how important health is on the offensive line, the Chicago Bears may not be inclined to keep Jenkins over other options due to his health concerns.
3. Teven Jenkins does not fit very well in the Chicago Bears new scheme
It may not be the Bears’ long-term offensive scheme, but Jenkins ultimately doesn’t fit into what the Bears are hoping to do with offensive coordinator Luke Getsky. The plan to run a wide zone blocking scheme with a heavy emphasis on RPO requires faster offensive linemen who can move a bit quicker than Jenkins seems suited for. It’s not to say that Jenkins couldn’t adjust, but if there are better options available, there just may not be a window of opportunity for such change to occur.
Ultimately, it seems inevitable that Jenkins will be a Bear in 2022, but things could quickly change with the news today.