The Chicago Bears made a big upgrade to their offensive line by giving Nate Davis a three-year $30M deal to start free agency. Davis comes from the Tenessee Titans. What are some key things to know about how this signing will impact the team?
3. Nate Davis is a Four year starter at right guard
The Chicago Bears signed a player who spent all four of his NFL seasons at right guard. He has no snaps at tackle or center. He has 3,706 career snaps and every one of them came at right guard. This will be interesting to watch because on paper Teven Jenkins was one of the few locked-in players as a right guard.
However, we know that the coaches have not been confident in Jenkins before, and he may have impressed fans more than he did coacehs and front office members. At the same time, they may be asking Nate Davis to move to left guard.
Nate Davis actually played left tackle when he was at Charlotte. Davis has an arm length that did not meet NFL standards, and the Titans immediately moved him inside. Still, you can at least go back to 2018 and see him lining up on the left side.
It is an interesting decision to sign somebody with the purpose of changing their position, but you have to assume the team has talked about his role before the signing went through. The correlating moves, and how the team decides to play it out from here will be telling.
2. Nate Davis athletic ability and age
Nate Davis came from a smaller school, and when he was at Charlotte, it was still a relatively new program. So, the NFL combine did a good job of solidifying his ability as a third-round pick. One thing it also did was confirm that he would play guard. You can see that even at guard he is a bit below average, but his arm length is just not long enough to play tackle.
You can also see from his web that he is short but thick. Beyond that, the combination of broad and 40-yard dash show some explosion from his lower body that can produce power in the run game. Overall, he had an above-average athletic profile.
One of the other factors that went into signing Davis was his age. Just like Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards, Davis is signing his first big free agent deal after his rookie salary. He is 26 years old and coming from the 2019 NFL draft.
The Chicago Bears are thinking that they can still get the best play out of him. Considering he made the change from left tackle in college to right guard in college, they probably also think that after four years he still can switch back this early into his career.
This may not be the flashiest signing, but should be one that gets fans the most excited.
1. Nate Davis will be a better run blocker than pass blocker for the Chicago Bears
When Nate Davis was coming into the NFL Draft he was known for having a mean streak and a chip on his shoulder. That style of play has not changed. However, the Titans moved him inside to guard because he would not be a pass protector on the outside. Even moving inside he can lose to some of the better athletes, and longer arm players at the position.
For perspective, last season Davis ranked 39th amongst qualified guards in run block grade, but ranked 13th in run blocking. He ranked 20th the season before, but was down at 66th in pass blocking grade. It is clear he has a strength.
Some of this is because the Titans are a power offense who wants to run teams over. They focus a lot more on run blocking, and Davis bought in. Beyond that, the Chicago Bears have Justin Fields, and while he improved as a passer, his ability as a runner it what sets him apart. The team also wants to build a run heavy offense around that.
Davis did not block for a mobile quarterback, but the ability to get down with power and aggression does fit his skill set.