Chicago Bears news: Is optimism at center fair or concerning?

The Chicago Bears did not draft a center in the 2023 NFL draft when a lot of people expected them to. They even traded up in front of the New York Giants who picked John Michael-Schmitz, because the Bears selected Tyrique Stevenson. They even had options on day three and passed.

Is Chicago Bears optimism at center fair or concerning?

So, one thing is clear, the team is more confident at the position than most fans are. While fans see Cody Whitehair locked in at the top, and they do not think that he is the long-term answer, the coaching staff sees three other depth options that they view as potential better bets than they saw in the draft.

When asked about center, Chris Morgan noted that while Whitehair will hold things down, he is far from the last option. First, they have Lucas Patrick. Just last year this same coaching staff was Patrick as the starter for the next couple of seasons. Fans get frustrated by injuries, and Patrick was poor on the field last season, but those snaps came at guard.

The coaching staff understands that he was hurt and out of position, and they are more optimistic than the fans are. Still, Patrick is going to be 30 years old, and while he may have been a two or three-year starter on paper last year, he missed one year and does not look like a long-term option. He really is just holding onto 2021 as the little bit of good center play to fall back to.

Still, the Bears also believe in Doug Kramer. Kramer was a seventh-round pick from Illinois last season. He got injured about 10 snaps into his first preseason game, and he missed the entire season. Again, the Chicago Bears staff feels that if he were healthy last season, he could be on track to be a long-term solution. Still, Kramer is undersized and fell to round seven for a reason. They could have had Luke Wypler who is younger and would have come to a similar contract, just a year longer.

Lastly, the coaching staff mentioned Dieter Eiselen. The way that Ryan Poles treats former Ryan Pace players would have you thinking Eiselen had no shot, but this staff is optimistic. This is fair when you lay out his career trajectory.

He was a UDFA in 2020, so he had no preseason that year. He spent 2020 and 2021 as a right guard with Matt Nagy, but Luke Getsy immediately moved him to center. He played 82 snaps at center in the preseason and even got three snaps in during the regular season. So, fans see a fourth-year UDFA who has hardly made noise, but this staff sees him in year two of their center development. Still, this is a fourth-year UDFA who has not made noise, so the odds are low.

So, year two of Lucas Patrick, Doug Kramer, and technically Eiselen has the Chicago Bears thinking that the depth and the potential future of the line is on this roster. Each one has serious holes to poke at, but to be fair, each one also brings enough intrigue that you can understand the decision.