Since the Chicago Bears acquired offensive linemen Jonah Jackson from the Los Angeles Rams for a sixth-round pick and Joe Thuney from the Kansas City Chiefs for a fourth rounder in 2026, the Xs&Os film pundits have come out with high praise for the trades.
However, some of the analytic guys raised some flags about the value. In a vacuum, I could understand some analysts questioning these trades, but in looking at the state of the free agent class, where this franchise is, and where it wants to go with new head coach Ben Johnson, these transactions were a no-brainer. The Bears needed to add starters on the interior, and now they have an All-Pro and a former Pro Bowler who previously thrived in Johnson's offense.
In Bill Zimmerman's latest Bears Banter podcast on our 2nd City Gridiron channel, he talked with former NFL offensive lineman and current FOX Sports analyst Mark Schlereth about the Bears' new offensive linemen and the philosophy of the position group. They also got into what Johnson's offense could look like, and they spent some time on the defensive line as well. It was a trench-centric episode that you do not want to miss!
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“When you look at offensive linemen, most of them can play into their mid-30s," Schlereth said on the pod. "I think Thuney is still a guy playing at a high level like you talked about. I think he has a lot of years of good football left in him, two or three years easy of great football left. Jonah Jackson, to me, is interesting because I think that guy can be a dominant player; he was at times in Detroit. He’s had some tough times staying healthy. But he was one who I really liked when he was playing in Detroit.”
Schlereth is a big fan of Johnson's run-game concepts in Detroit, and he's excited to see what he concocts with the Bears.
“Very versatile in what they did in the run game,'" Schlerth said on our Bears Banter, "and I loved, I just loved Ben Johnson, and I've talked to Ben about this a couple of times, but his nickel run game in second down and seven, and third down and seven plus, like the best in football. And ultimately what happens to you when you can, when you've got a great nickel run package, but you're not afraid to call it, and you can execute it, then all of a sudden on second down and seven plus, you're getting a lot of favorable run looks, because teams want to stop the pass, they want to play pass in those situations."
Make sure you check out Bill's full Bears Banter where ever you get your podcasts.
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