Check out these drastically conflicting rankings of the Chicago Bears
ESPN ranked the Chicago Bears offensive line 11th overall
Wow. Can you believe that ESPN has the Chicago Bears ranked 11th in their offensive line rankings? That’s one spot out of the top 10 for those of us who are not math majors. Snarkiness aside, I was definitely surprised by this ranking.
The one thing to note is that I don’t believe that ESPN has the projected starting unit correct. They have Riley Reiff as the starting left tackle and Larry Borom as the starting right tackle. Even though Luke Getsy has stated the offensive line is not close to being solidified, it is pretty clear that Braxton Jones is the starting left tackle come Week 1 unless he regresses drastically. This puts Riley Reiff as the starting right tackle.
Some might say that the Chicago Bears only started Jones at left tackle and Larry Borom at right tackle versus the Chiefs to see who looked better of the two. If Jones struggled drastically and Borom looked superb, then Reiff could flip back to left tackle and Borom could start at right tackle. When the Bears pulled Jones from the game at the same time as Justin Fields though, that spoke volumes. In fact, Larry Borom came back out later in the game to take snaps at left tackle too.
Here is what ESPN had to say about the Bears’ offensive line:
"This is a pretty stunning rank for the Bears’ offensive line, but they have a few things going for them. Reiff and Schofield — late additions just before training camp — help bolster the line. Borom, a fifth-round pick a year ago, posted a very solid 90% Pass Block Win Rate last season in 10 games, 21st among tackles. And Patrick should be an asset in the ground game after ranking third in Run Block Win Rate among centers last season with the Packers."
Unless an injury happens, the starting line should be:
"Braxton Jones, LT Cody Whitehair, LG Lucas Patrick (Sam Mustipher until Patrick returns), C Michael Schofield, RG Riley Reiff, RT"
Final Thoughts:
When I look at these rankings, honestly, both are surprising to me. They are drastically different. If I were putting a ranking together for the entire NFL, I’d probably have this team in the 18 to 22 range. There are plenty of question marks but the scheme alone should help.