https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/b ... 1/?src=rssThroughout the year we tracked how several Bears either improved their standing on the depth chart, or stood to lose some snaps. Now that the Bears season has been done for awhile, let’s look at which guys made a case for their careers to continue in Chicago, and who may have lost a job over the course of the year. For instance, Velus Jones went on a journey from high-upside prospect, to turnover-prone scapegoat, to high-upside prospect again. The Bears probably would’ve liked to see more production from their third-round rookie, and fewer mistakes, but the resiliency Jones displayed towards the end of year was encouraging. That resiliency saved Jones from being lumped in with the rest of the “fallers” this year, but the mistakes kept him from being a “riser,” too. Here are the guys who did manage to raise their stock within the franchise in 2022. Keep an eye out for our fallers, which will come soon.
JUSTIN FIELDS
One of the biggest questions heading into the season was whether or not Justin Fields could prove himself to be the man to lead the franchise forward. After all, Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus didn’t draft him, and his overall production was lackluster despite flashes of brilliance. Fields grew in practically every area of his game in 2022, and the Bears are clearly excited about where he can take them. It would be shocking if the Bears moved off of Fields for another QB next season. That wasn’t necessarily the case heading into last season.
TEVEN JENKINS
Partway through training camp, there were serious doubts about Teven Jenkins’ future with the team. He was bumped from starting left tackle, to starting right tackle down to second-team and sometimes even third-team reps on the offensive line. Then rumors emerged that Jenkins could be traded. Of course none of that came to fruition, and Jenkins eventually got an opportunity to start at right guard due to injuries across the line. Before long it became clear that Jenkins was the most effective offensive lineman at his new position and his future is as secure as anyone’s within Halas Hall.
COLE KMET
When the GM of the franchise singles a player out for being a potential blue chip player moving forward that’s typically a good sign that they’ll stick around. Cole Kmet was that guy for the Bears when Ryan Poles was asked about players he identified during the season to be future cornerstones. It’s easy to see why, too. Kmet noticeably improved as a run blocker this season, which is critical in Luke Getsy’s scheme. He also developed into a legit scoring threat with a career high seven touchdowns. That was way, way more than the two scores he had in 2020 and 2021 combined.
BRAXTON JONES
Braxton Jones may have had the most surprising arc over the course of the 2022 season, partially because it happened so quickly. Ryan Poles drafted Jones in the fifth round, and expectations were that his rookie season would be a year to develop. After all, the Bears had two young tackles on the roster already in Teven Jenkins and Larry Borom, and Jones was coming to the league from Southern Utah, an FCS school. Just a few weeks into OTAs however, Jones was given starting reps at left tackle. No one knew it at the time, but that was a spot that Jones never relinquished. It was a rocky start for Jones when the regular season began, but he steadily improved as the year went on, and by season’s end he showed why Poles and the coaching staff put their faith in him.
EDDIE JACKSON
When Matt Eberflus took over as head coach, he made it clear that he was going to give each player on the roster a clean slate. No one needed that more than Eddie Jackson, and no player took better advantage of it. Jackson had one of the highest salary cap hits on the team, but his production wasn’t matching his pay grade. After taking the league by storm with six interceptions and two touchdowns in 2018, Jackson had only two picks from 2019-2021. Part of that was due to scheme, and part was due to bad luck, but no matter how one looked at it, Jackson appeared to be a cut candidate as Ryan Poles and Eberflus reshaped the roster. Instead, Poles drafted Jaquan Brisker to play strong safety beside Jackson, and Eberflus took the reins off to allow Jackson to play free safety more often. Jackson responded with his best year since that incredible 2018 campaign and emerged as the leader of the defense.
NBCSports: Roster Risers
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- wab
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It's a little slow out there in the news cycle, but I enjoyed this.
- dplank
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Good stuff. I really am in a minority position on Jones and that makes me question myself, maybe I'm being too hard on him. Really hoping I'm wrong on him and everyone else is right.
- thunderspirit
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I think it was a promising rookie season for Jones, but I also think a confluence of Whitehair getting hurt and opening a revolving door next to him, the rookie wall, and more game film on him showing deficiencies to exploit made him less effective toward the end of the season.
If the late-season Braxton Jones shows up at the start next year, then your assessment was spot-on. I don't expect that, but it's certainly within the range of possible outcomes.
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dplank wrote:I agree with Rich here
RichH55 wrote: Dplank is correct
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Jones was outstanding in durability. He was the only guy on the OL to play every snap in '22. But he seemed to wear down in the last quarter or so of the year. Too many plays in which he was simply pushed back off the OL. Is it technique, is it lack of strength, is it lack of experience playing at Southern Utah? An offseason of work will tell if he improves. But the Bears will be best served either looking for another OT in free agency or drafting one highly and moving Jones to RT if the other guy is better at LT.
Drafts are like snowflakes, no two are alike.
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Well one thing I can speak from personal experience, it’s really hard when you are playing at one level and are simply bigger and stronger than basically everyone you play against, and then you move up and all of the sudden you are actually smaller and weaker than basically everyone you play against. Nothing you used to do works anymore. That was my HS to College experience and I couldn’t hack it. Southern Utah to NFL seems like a similar leap. I think we will know early on next year if he’s caught up physically, it’s not like he’s the only one hitting the weight room - every player he faced last year is also going to work hard this offseason and he has to close that gap regardless. He has all the traits you want to see in a young player, work ethic is crucial and he has it.
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Honestly your not wrong. I think the likes pff and fans have him over graded for the year. I do think he gets a bit of a bell curve in fan grading because of his draft position.
He generally didnt lose because of athletic ability. He appeared to loose to strength. Could some of it be underline technique? Sure. That would take a more advanced eye then I have. However I can see he was definitely out strengthed a lot. That seems fixable. He wont ever develop Jenkins strength but even average improvement makes him a decent LT.
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Jones has been very honest and open about his lack of lower body strength and how that needs to improve for him to remain the starter.Grizzled wrote: ↑Thu Jan 26, 2023 4:36 am Jones was outstanding in durability. He was the only guy on the OL to play every snap in '22. But he seemed to wear down in the last quarter or so of the year. Too many plays in which he was simply pushed back off the OL. Is it technique, is it lack of strength, is it lack of experience playing at Southern Utah? An offseason of work will tell if he improves. But the Bears will be best served either looking for another OT in free agency or drafting one highly and moving Jones to RT if the other guy is better at LT.
- Arkansasbear
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I don't think you have been too hard on him based upon what he did this year. He clearly has hole in his game he needs to work on. As Wab pointed out, he has been very open about simply not having the lower body strength he needs to hold his sets. That resulted in him, at times, looking completely outmatched.
Could he be replaced in FA with a more proven vet? Sure. But the cost would be high.
Could he get displaced by a high round pick like P. Johnson or Skoriski? Yes. But if that happens I think he slides over to RT. But I think given what he has shown, it's equally likely that he holds them off and they would be the one to slide to RT.
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I'm just not in favor of using draft resources to replace a promising player, especially when the Bears are so thin.
Give me a RT in FA and stability on the interior and you will see drastic improvement on the OL.
Give me a RT in FA and stability on the interior and you will see drastic improvement on the OL.
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Very doubtful Skoronski is a pro T anyway
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I see Skoronski moving to center. He could be legendary there.
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I'm not convinced he goes in the top 10 though. Rashawn Slater went 13 and I think he's a slightly better prospect.
Broderick Jones isn't getting a lot of love but IMO he's a better prospect than Skoronski too. Jones didn't give up a single sack last year and has only gave up like 9 pressures. In over 800 snaps.
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A possible trade down would impact a possible OT add big time. If the Bears stay top 7, I really only see D possibilities. If they trade all the way down to 10-15, a OT prospect becomes much more likely in this class. It you've already signed a big FA OT and are happy with Jones, but also like the 1st round prospect... Does Jones become a good swing tackle? Can one of them bump down inside (but then do you want a top 15 pick on a G?).
Will be interesting to see. Jones did as well as expected and there's a clear development path for him IMO, but that's all far from guaranteed.
Will be interesting to see. Jones did as well as expected and there's a clear development path for him IMO, but that's all far from guaranteed.
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Here's the thing though. There are good OL guys to be had in FA. At WR--another need spot--there isn't. I see wabby's plan playing out, where we sign an OT and an interior OL guy in FA. If that happens and we haven't made some crazy trade for Hopkins or something like that, 10-15 looks a lot more like a place to find a WR.The Cooler King wrote: ↑Thu Jan 26, 2023 11:55 am If they trade all the way down to 10-15, a OT prospect becomes much more likely in this class.
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