5 things to know about Chicago Bears new OL Alex Leatherwood

The Chicago Bears’ most notable waiver claim yesterday was Alex Leatherwood. As a former first-round pick he is going to get the attention of teams, but the Bears were the only ones to put in a waiver claim on him. What are they seeing in Alex Leatherwood, and what do we know about him to date?

5. Where Alex Leatherwood has aligned

Alex Leatherwood was a left tackle in high school. However, after sitting out his freshman season the Alabama coaching staff asked him to move to right guard. He obliged, but for his final two seasons, he moved back to left tackle.

In college, Leatherwood made 26 starts at left tackle, and 15 starts at right guard. This is immediately where we begin to wonder if Leatherwood was hindered by the team that drafted him.

The team moved him to right tackle to start his career, and when that did not work, he moved inside to right guard. So, he ended with four starts at right tackle, and 13 at right guard. With 28 starts between Alabama and the NFL, right guard is the place he has started most.

However, 26 starts at left tackle are his best tape. This brings an interesting debate about where Leatherwood should play. The argument has been that he is better at guard than tackle, which is why NFL teams want to move him inside. However, he is better on the left side, than the right so far in his career, and moving him to the right side last season after two straight years manning the left saw hiccups.

So, would Alex Leatherwood be the best in the NFL as a left guard? It is not where he has played, but his projection of being a guard, and is better on the left side certainly points to it. Perhaps playing him where he never has would unlock the traits that teams saw.