Bears coach gets up close and personal with two top OL prospects
Chris Morgan was hired as the offensive line coach as part of Matt Eberflus' first staff in Chicago. It's safe to say the line did not perform admirably in Morgan's first season. However, there were many reasons for that, and the team expects the line to vastly improve in 2023. The team signed guard Nate […]
Chris Morgan was hired as the offensive line coach as part of Matt Eberflus' first staff in Chicago. It's safe to say the line did not perform admirably in Morgan's first season.
However, there were many reasons for that, and the team expects the line to vastly improve in 2023.
The team signed guard Nate Davis from the Tennessee Titans to help beef up the interior. However, it appears that the Bears' staff could be interested in getting more offensive line help during the draft.
Per NFL insider Daniel Greenberg, Morgan was on the field at Alabama's pro day to run drills with linemen.
Morgan and the Bears are potentially interested in Alabama T Tyler Steen or G Emil Ekiyor Jr.
Steen is considered one of the top tackle prospects in the 2023 class and could go toward the end of the first round or early second.
Ekiyor is considered less NFL-ready but is still projected to go between rounds three and five as so many teams seek OL depth.
Steen was a three-year starter at Vanderbilt before transferring to Tuscaloosa before the 2022 season. Steen won the starting left tackle position and ended up earning Second-team All-SEC honors.
Ekiyor is also experienced, appearing in more than 40 games for the Tide. The guard has good size for his position, standing at 6'3" and weighing 306 pounds.
Currently, the Bears have Braxton Jones at left tackle. Jones was drafted in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
In his rookie NFL season, Jones struggled at times in pass protection. The tackle gave up seven sacks and had issues against speedy edge-rushers.
With just a fifth-round pick being invested, it would not be surprising to see the Bears try to upgrade at the position. While the team could very well take a tackle with the ninth pick, it is unlikely that either Alabama lineman would be in consideration there.
The Bears do currently have two second-round picks, so using one of these on Steen is a possibility.
As for Ekiyor, he could at the very least provide solid depth behind Cody Whitehair and Nate Davis. Some evaluators believe Ekiyor is talented enough to start from day one, others feel that he will need to adjust to the high-paced level of play.
it's clear the Bears are not done addressing the line. The center position and left tackle stand out as areas to be improved.
