For weeks at the beginning of the season, Chicago Bears fans were calling for left tackle Braxton Jones to get replaced with his inconsistent play. They finally got their wish in Canadian second-year lineman Theo Benedet, and that has paid off.
Despite a 62 overall grade from PFF in his first start at left tackle, everyone is convinced Benedet is the starting left tackle for at least the 2025 season. He helped the Bears run for a season-high 145 yards and take down the Washington Commanders 25-24 in Week 6.
Benedet got praised by Bears head coach Ben Johnson for his play, with his quarterback, Caleb Williams, also backing him up. The one constant compliment about Benedet is being a student of the game and always looking to improve through his work ethic.
That is starting to show with everyone on tape.
Bears legend chimes in on Benedet and evaluation of his play against Commanders
While appearing on 670 The Score in Chicago, former Bears offensive lineman and analyst Olin Kreutz shared his in-depth analysis of Benedet's performance against the Commanders. Kreutz also praised the second-year lineman's play.
"You know, that guy actually pops out of his stance on silence counts faster than anybody. That's a lot of work. He works hard at his craft. He never beats himself. He makes a guy beat him. By that I mean, I know this sounds simple, and Tony is there in studio with you, and I learned this from Tony, put yourself between the defensive end and the quarterback, and make him beat you, and that's what he does. He gets to his spot every time, and on the run game guys, he takes a good step, his pads are low, and he runs his feet and getting out in front, and sometimes he's bear-crawling through guys, his head is down.
There's some plays, you know, Frankie Luvu ran him over, his arms are in the air, his leg is kicking over the guy's head. I don't even know what he's doing in the next step, but he is fun to watch, man. He is fun to watch play football and get after people, and if you enjoy a guy who gives you everything he's got, watch Theo on Sunday."
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It's pretty clear the Bears made the right choice in starting Benedet and should see plenty of him this season.