The Chicago Bears have long struggled to maintain a quality offensive line, but under Ben Johnson there seems to be a true push to have quality starters and meaningful depth throughout the line. However, it’s not enough to simply have names, those names have to be attached to players who can answer the bell. Every year, I use preseason to familiarize myself with the depth of the team. This is not a comprehensive breakdown of every player and every snap. Instead, this is a loose summary and evaluation of the notes I took watching the play of the offensive line three or four times (more on individual snaps if a lot was going on and I wanted to dial in). Also, although this is an assessment of the offensive line, I have to shout out Kaden Davis, who had some of the best blocking I’ve seen from a wide receiver in a preseason game in a long time. He was energetic, targeted, and structurally sound in his technique.
For each player I tried to assess his general level of play and commented on strengths and weaknesses, concluding with the maximum level of reliance I would be comfortable with for the player in question, followed by relevant context from their career to date.
_**For a frame of reference, I have included a similar summary of my notes that I took on Ozzy Trapilo from last season.**_
**Overview:** As the season progressed, Trapilo showed a capable understanding of kickstep, slide, and stutter timing, reaching mid-tier starter level by the end of the season. His understanding of blocking evolution was on par with other starting tackles. He was enthusiastic in the run game, and his starting pad level was adequate there. His single best move was a latch followed by upward pressure using his length, which he used to mitigate who transitioned speed to power and against lesser defenders where it helped him win the rep outright.
At his best, Trapilo used awareness, angle, and size against defenders who engaged poorly, especially when he could play within himself athletically. Even when overwhelmed by outside speed, he was seldom sucked into overcommitting, and he found a partial answer for interior speed with improved technique.
**Concerns:** Unfortunately, he was clingy instead of offering a true punch or jolt, and he never really enforced his will in pass protection, allowing defenders to force him back prematurely. When facing inside speed, he aspired to neutral play instead of plus play, and struggled consistently against low outside speed. His adjustments in run blocking were not instinctual, yet, and he lost time trying to adjust to shifting fronts, losing leverage due to inferior body alignment. When stymied, he tended to lean and reach a lot.
He narrowed too readily while run-blocking, letting his ankles slide close. His pad level often degraded by the fourth quarter, and he did not have the raw athleticism to make up for this lack of conditioning. He was unable to match power with the big dogs and he did not have an offsetting advantage in speed or timing. Defenders with a full toolkit found weaknesses in his game, even if he proved himself as a plausible long-term starter prior to injury.
**Maximum comfort level:** If fully recovered, I would be comfortable with him as the starting left tackle for the season.
**Other notes:** Ranked 37/89 among offensive tackles by PFF, with a 3.4% blown block rate per Sports Info Solutions. He has 563 regular-season snaps, with 490 of those on offense instead of special teams.
**Overview:** Benedet played like a starting-level or high-reserve offensive tackle in the NFL. Essentially an ideal swing tackle, he displayed an ability to shut down inside leverage and maintained clean position throughout. He showed an ability to drive his man off the ball, he stayed low and handled outside speed reliably, and he was able to keep his hips and shoulders targeted downfield. When he lost, it was typically to inside speed or a combination of power and leverage. However, he is clearly a competent player.
**Maximum comfort level:** I’d be comfortable with him protecting Caleb in a divisional game if the rest of the line consisted of starters.
**Other notes**: Rated 72/89 among qualifying offensive tackles by PFF with a 6.1% blown block rate per Sports Info Solutions. He has 649 regular-season snaps, with 577 on offense.
**Overview:** One of the best things to say about a rookie offensive lineman is that he was boring, and Logan Jones was boring for most of his reps. He sank his pad level to a good height, and he consistently aligned his hips with his target, using the beginning of a punch to create distance. In the run, he would regularly climb to the second level and drive through his man, finishing the play with aggression. He was able to provide an actual “hard jam” against lighter defenders, and was variously able to handle simple bullrushes and unsophisticated uses of speed. There was at least one rep where he took a defender’s balance with timing and leverage, even if it was not a true pancake.
At times, he was also able to drive through his man in pass protection as well, and he displayed awareness of play evolution at a basic level, sometimes mitigating the mistakes of others on the line with his own reactions and adjustments. He also adjusted to his own mistakes well. Of note, he reacted rapidly to the offsides, the interception, and being left outnumbered, showing a sound ‘offensive computer’ instead of relying on expectation. While he did not play at a veteran level, he played with good awareness for a rookie.
**Concerns:** He had a few hard losses to outside power, and while he attempted to re-engage and establish himself, or to mitigate the loss by guiding and pressing, these were clear losses. Additionally, on some of his run game reps he was content to win against his man slowly instead of with the urgency to allow the runner a cleaner lane. He would get tied up and not keep his feet active, preventing play progression.
**Maximum comfort level:** I’d be comfortable with him blocking for Swift or Monangai on 4th-and-2 to seal a game in-conference.
**Other notes:** PFF had him 9/309 qualified college centers in 2025.
**Overview:** He has fairly light feet, and when he is able to backpedal cleanly he maintains good timing and distance. A few times he was able to keep his man in front of him, hips squared and shoulders low enough to provide a simple sort of drive with clean, efficient steps. He was tenacious, seldom giving up on plays completely, re-engaging after the first loss eagerly. Very, very few tackles have as stable foot placement as he does when it gets “muddy” around them.
In some ways, his style of play made him seem better suited to moving inside to guard rather than staying at tackle, because he plays worse when he has extra space around him and his footwork leaves him able to handle inside traffic, but he lacks the capacity to handle power or leverage in the manner an inside move would require.
**Concerns:** However, he lets his feet get overly narrow and he does not use his feet to open space or to maintain leverage, simply to not lose angle. He readily overcorrects on his kick slide and he will “over eat” space when he is trying to mirror, causing the pocket to restrict unnecessarily. He will blindly concede space even when it isn’t necessary, just for the sake of moving his feet. He will stand too tall and guide defenders around him and into the main action instead of dropping his pads, leaning in, and delivering power or resistance.
He readily overreaches and gets grabby, clutching instead of driving or punching. On different reps he quickly lost to outside leverage, outside speed, and any power. He showed no capacity to handle NFL “backup grade” power, losing to every form of it quickly and with few exceptions.
**Maximum comfort level:** I’d be comfortable subbing him in for reps on special teams if the team already had a two-score lead, especially if the team has already locked up their playoff spot.
**Other notes:** A 9% blown block rate according to SIS and a 40.3 rating from PFF in 2024. He has played 140 regular-season snaps, with 15 of those coming on special teams.
**Overview:** Barnett displayed an amazing effort level on virtually every rep, with consistent motor and hustle. He looked for work downfield when climbing in the run game and supporting the pass, and when engaged he was willing to drive hard with his full weight. He displayed the beginnings of a true stab to interrupt pressure, even if that movement–like most of his–needed work on timing and balance.
**Concerns:** Unfortunately, he also tends to miss play development, frequently looking past his man and moving prematurely downfield. He also overreaches and clings, clutching at defenders and lunging for a grab instead of maintaining leverage or angle; there were uncalled holds. Some losses came too quickly to decide the actual cause, but at other times it was clear that he rapidly lost interior hand fights or allowed his platform to grow unbalanced.
**Comfort level:** I’d be comfortable with him standing on the sideline, dressed, providing positivity and a few snaps as needed due to injury. He would also be fine on a practice squad acquiring seasoning and situational awareness.
**Overview:** Hergel had minimal positive impact on the plays he was in, but he also managed to play to the neutral side of negative, especially in the run where he showed adequate hip drive. He played with especially “live” hands and actively forced defenders to adjust to him, but he never showed an understanding of leverage sufficient to take advantage. He lacked bend and hip twist, causing him to miss angles and force other players on offense to adjust. He was able to work with other players on the offensive line to double-team threats at times, and his run-blocking saw engagement and follow-through, especially when he was allowed to add motion and space. He stayed active, with adequate conditioning, throughout the game despite playing nearly every snap.
**Concerns:** He lost balance quickly when challenged, and while I do not know assignments, he was left blocking nobody or joining another blocker late on multiple occasions, and on most of those times a defender went unaccounted for–though it is impossible to say whether or not all or even any of those times were him misreading the situation. What is true is that he was often the last to engage and got turned around at times, perpendicular to the line of scrimmage frequently.
**Maximum comfort level:** I’d be okay with him staying on the 90-man roster until a space needs to be freed up for another position.
**Overview:** Murphy seemed lost for many of the plays he was in, but he also seemed game, seeking contact repeatedly, even if it did not seem as if he always knew who to engage. Overall When he did seem to find his place in the play, he mirrored well, showing an easy stutter step that could develop into a sound technical base. He also passed off his man and allowed sequential blocking when the defense was slow to adjust, making the most of opportunities. He was not challenged often enough by aggressive enough play to determine how he would react to stunts, outside speed, or inside leverage.
**Conerns:** Despite facing weak opposition, he readily found himself drawn into push-pull contests where he was either overpowered or out-leveraged. At least a few times, he double-engaged and left a man free, whereas at other times he blocked air. He was frequently not challenged, but when he was he showed a tendency to let his shoulders come away from his hips and knees.
**Maximum comfort level:** I’d be fine with the Bears keeping him on the 90-man in case injuries hit deeply enough that they need to consider desperate measures for their third-level depth. He seems unlikely to challenge for a tackle spot given the overall depth at that position. I would be interested in seeing him tested at guard.
**Overview:** Kump was difficult to assess, because he seemed to get only a dozen or so snaps, and on many of those he lost instantly (note: Lester reports it was 15 snaps). He clearly suffered heavily when facing low speed, and his base was frequently too narrow to resist even the most basic of leverage techniques. However, he also showed a willingness to pop up and stab into the torso of the defender, using power to disrupt the other man. Last year, I frequently complained that Ozzy Trapilo seemed unwilling or unable to generate interruption with timing and confidence, but Kump was able to do this at starter level at least twice in his limited reps.
**Maximum comfort level:** I’d be comfortable burning a practice squad spot on him to see if there’s more to him and if that timing could be the start of NFL-level instincts.
**Other notes:** PFF had him 109/309 among qualified college centers in 2025.
**Overview:** Wills had more direct help on his plays than Amegadjie, with a tight end or guard frequently coming over to help him maintain blocks. On the rare reps he won, he had the conviction to stay with his man and finish the play. His mirror was adequate at times, and he did in fact display raw upper body power in isolation, suggesting why he was drafted so highly at one point. He used this power and his length well in the run, and there at least twice he truly dropped his hips and delivered a square-shouldered pop to the defender to open space. He was able to slide and handle stunts on at least a few reps.
**Concerns:** He was often completely lost in the plays, bumping into his own man and whiffing entirely on assignments, sometimes guiding his man into the developing play. On multiple reps, he completely failed to neutralize outside speed and leverage, losing instantly to both. He allowed pressure to simple swat moves, and was dropped with shocking speed once in what might be the worst rep I’ve seen from a professional football tackle in memory.
There was little sign in his play of jolt or punch, and he completely failed to interrupt defenders in pass protection. Despite his upper body strength, he showed little actual resolve versus power himself, and when pass protecting he did not seem willing to angle his hips or drive into defenders to make them feel his weight. While draftable traits were on display, especially in the run, the entirety of the performance did not look like someone who belonged on a professional football field except under duress.
**Maximum comfort level:** I’d be comfortable with him protecting Miller Moss against Shea McClellin in practice next week. Note that McClellin effectively retired in 2018 after last playing professionally in 2016.
**Other notes:** He has amassed 3894 snaps, with all but 203 of those on offense. He has a 3% blown block rate, but has not played in the NFL since 2024. His best performances predate his injury.
**Overview:** French played with intermittent leverage and power. When “on”, he had reps that suggested the potential to be NFL-ready. However, his shoulders were readily de-targeted and he was driven off his assignment or pushed back at ease. He lost regularly to outside angles and showed no understanding of outside leverage, let alone any ability to negate it. He completely lacked pro-ready timing or interruption, but he seemed adequately aware of play evolution even if he was unable to impact plays himself. He did commit a “good” hold that prevented a defender from contacting the running back.
**Maximum comfort level:** I need to see more reps before making a decision, given the inconsistency of play over his 22 snaps.
See More:
* [Chicago Bears Analysis](/chicago-bears-analysis)
* [Chicago Bears Roster](/chicago-bears-roster)