National media outlet lists both Bears' starting offensive tackles among the Top-32 players at the position
Heading into the 2024 season, the Chicago Bears' roster is perfectly balanced between young rising stars and veteran playmakers. This is especially the case for the team's offense that has seen a massive overhaul take place this offseason.The main factor that will help take the new-look offense to a new level in 2024 is the […]
Heading into the 2024 season, the Chicago Bears' roster is perfectly balanced between young rising stars and veteran playmakers. This is especially the case for the team's offense that has seen a massive overhaul take place this offseason.
The main factor that will help take the new-look offense to a new level in 2024 is the play of the offensive line up-front, which struggled to find consistency last season.
While the interior of the unit has been aggressively addressed this offseason, little work has been made to the bookends on the offensive line, beyond the selection of Kiran Amegadjie, and for good reason.
The Bears have two young, ascending offensive tackles on the starting roster set to return in 2024 to help protect the edges of their new franchise quarterback in left tackle Braxton Jones and right tackle Darnell Wright.
Jones, the Bears' fifth round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft impressed heavily during his rookie season but a early season injury forced him to have a slow start in 2023. Despite the slow start, Jones started each of the team's final nine games and allowed only one sack and 28 pressures in that span, per Pro Football Focus.
As for Wright, the Bears' tenth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft had high expectations as general manager Ryan Poles' first first round draft choice in his tenure but largely lived up to those expectations. Wright started all 17 games for the Bears last season and handled top caliber pass rushers with ease at times.
Going into the 2024 season, both offensive tackles made the Top-32 offensive tackle list compiled by PFF's Zoltán Buday. The Bears were one of only nine teams to have multiple tackles make the list. Jones came in at 31 while Wright came in right behind him at 32 as the only second-year player on the entire list.
Here's what Buday had to say about Braxton Jones:
"A fifth-round pick out of Southern Utah in 2022, Jones proved in 2023 that his impressive rookie season was not a fluke. Although he was slowed down by an injury and had a bit of a decline from his 2022 season, he is still one of 24 offensive tackles to have earned pass-blocking grades over 70.0 in each of the last two seasons." PFF's Zoltán Buday
And here's what he had to say about Darnell Wright:
"The only second-year player on this list, Wright's 66.0 run-blocking grade ranked first among his rookie class. In addition, he was also promising in pass protection toward the second half of the season after going through some growing pains in the first month. After giving up one sack in each of his first five games in the NFL, the former Tennessee Volunteer allowed just three sacks in his final 12 games." PFF's Zoltán Buday
These two ascending players on the Bears' offensive line are finally getting the national attention they deserve and will have even more eyes on them this coming season considering they will be in charge of holding up the first overall pick.
If the additions at the interior of the offensive line hold up and the team's two young tackles continue to get better, this unit will be set to impress a lot of people in 2024.
Bears OT Darnell Wright receives excellent reviews from NFL Draft experts grading 2023 first round picks
It was a great start to his career.
