With the Chicago Bears sitting at their bye week, it is a good chance to go back and grade every offensive lineman to see how they looked so far this season. Which players are meeting expectations, and which positions are struggling?
Grading Chicago Bears Left Tackles
Larry Borom: 408 snaps
Primary matchups: Mike Danna, Felix Anuduike-Uzomah, Nik Bonitto, Jonathan Cooper, Chase Young, Pat Jones, DJ Wonnum, Tyree Wilson, Malcolm Koonce, Tuli Tuipulotu, Khalil Mack, Carl Granderson
Larry Borom has played in just 19 snaps since week eight. He started from week three to week eight, though. In those starts, the Bears realized that they needed Braxton Jones, and the line has been better since. We graded Larry Borom after ten weeks already.
Larry Borom Grade: D
Braxton Jones: 387 snaps
Primary matchups: Preston Smith, Justin Hollins, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, Anthony Nelson, Carl Granderson, Eku Leota, Amare Barno, Romeo Okwara, Josh Paschal, DJ Wonnum
Braxton Jones has played in four straight games after missing six games in the early portion of the season. He struggled a bit in his return in week nine, and some of his issues may be because the Bears decided to rotate him back in.
Still, his last three games have been excellent. One of the keys is seeing Jones commit zero penalties in the last three weeks. He had seven in weeks one, two, and nine.
Jones has been an immediate upgrade in the run game, and he is much better than Borom at getting to the second level. Beyond that, he has been better in pass protection as well. His health was vital.
Braxton Jones Grade: B+
Grading Chicago Bears Left Guard
Cody Whitehair: 548 snaps
Primary matchups: TJ Slaton, Kenny Clark, Devonte Wyatt, Logan Hall, Mike Greene, Neil Farrell, Derrick Nnadi, Zach Allen, Jonathan Harris, Jerry Tillery, Bilal Nichols, Austin Johnson, Bryan Breese, DeShawn Williams, LaBryan Ray
We graded Cody Whitehair after ten games. In week 11, he was benched, and he did not start in week 12, although he did come in for seven snaps to relieve the injured Teven Jenkins. Still, if no other injuries occur for the final five games, that week ten win against the Panthers could be the last start Whitehair has in his Chicago Bears career.
Cody Whitehair Grade: D
Teven Jenkins: 239 snaps
Primary matchup: Jonathan Allen, Dean Lowry, Jon Bullard, Harrison Phillips, Benito Jones
Teven Jenkins started week six at left guard after playing most of week five. However, from weeks seven through ten, he was the left guard. In week 11, the Bears moved him back to left guard. It is interesting to note that two of his three starts at left guard came against the Vikings.
Jenkins had a clean game in week 12, but it does look like he is a bit better at right guard. Still, it is a newer position for him, and he is also a quality player on both sides.
Teven Jenkins: B+
Ja'Tyre Carter: 11 snaps
Primary Matchup: Jonathan Allen
Ja’Tyre Carter has not played in the last few weeks.
Grading Chicago Bears center
Lucas Patrick: 666 snaps
Primary matchups: TJ Slaton, Kenny Clark, Greg Gaines, Vita Vea, Derrick Nnadi, DJ Jones, Khyiris Tonga, John Jenkins, Nick Williams, Khalen Saunders, Shy Tuttle, Quinton Bohana, Harrison Phillips
Chicago Bears fans are just counting down the days until the team moves on from Lucas Patrick. After we reviewed him recently, his worst game yet was against the Saints. He has not gotten better as the season has gone on. In week 10, he did play one of his better games, but the Panthers' defensive line was beaten up and weak.
In week 11, he left the game early with a back injury, but he came back as the starter in week 12. Still, that game was just as bad as ever. Some of that has to do with the Vikings blitzing so much up the middle, but other factors are Patrick being rusty or sore off of the injury.
Lucas Patrick Grade: F
Cody Whitehair: 87 snaps
Primary matchup: John Ridgeway, Khyiris Tonga
We reviewed Cody Whitehair in the week six grades.
Dan Feeney: 43 snaps
Dan Feeney played 43 snaps against the Lions. While his play had little to nothing to do with it, he was in the game as the offense stalled out and Detroit made their comeback.
Doug Kramer: 2 snaps
Doug Kramer is no longer on the Chicago Bears.
Grading Chicago Bears Right Guard
Nate Davis: 363 snaps
Primary matchups: Colby Wooden, Kenny Clark, Devonte Wyatt, Jonathan Harris, Zach Allen, Daron Payne, Jon Bullard, Harrison Phillips
Nate Davis has had a rocky season. He hardly got work in the offseason due to personal issues. After an awful performance in week one, he missed weeks two and three. Davis came back in week four before having his best performance in week five. Unfortunately, he got hurt in week six and did not come back until week 11.
In week 11, he was up and down, but in week 12, he looked at his best. Weeks five and 12 are the only two games where he was not out the week prior and finished the game healthy. The Bears are 2-0 in those games.
Nate Davis Grade: B
Teven Jenkins: 276 snaps
Primary Matchups: Jerry Tillery, Bilal Nichols, Sebastian Joseph-Day, Bryan Breese, Nathan Shepherd, Derrick Brown
Teven Jenkins moved back to left guard. We graded his right-guard play in a previous post.
Teven Jenkins Grade: A
Ja'Tyre Carter: 159 snaps
Primary matchups: Vita Vea, Tershawn Wharton, Chris Jones, Dean Lowry, Jon Bullard, Harrison Phillips
Ja’Tyre Carter has not played since our review in week six.
Chicago Bears right tackle
Darnell Wright: 790 snaps
Primary matchups: Lukas Van Ness, Kinglsey Enagbare, Rashan Gary, Shaq Barrett, Yaya Diaby, George Karlaftis, Nik Bonitto, Jonathan Cooper, Montez Sweat, Danielle Hunter, Maxx Crosby, Joey Bosa, Tuli Tuipulotu, Cameron Jordan, DJ Johnson, Aidan Hutchinson
Darnell Wright has easily been the most consistent lineman on the Chicago Bears. He has only missed five snaps and has not missed a start, which cannot be said about any of the other four positions. Beyond that, check all of the names that he had to go up against.
Main names include Montez Sweat, Danielle Hunter, Maxx Crosby, Joey Bosa, Cameron Jordan and Aidan Hutchinson. That is just the list of guys he has faced from week five on. It has been a tough welcoming, and it looks like he got banged up around week seven and has been fighting through the pain since. His play has not been as strong, but how could you expect it to be? The hope is that this bye week is crucial for Darnell Wright.
Grade: B