Can rookie Teven Jenkins be the offensive lineman the Chicago Bears hope he can be? A closer look at the team’s line heading into 2021.

After tweaks to the offensive line resulted in better performances in the second half of 2020, the Chicago Bears are hoping for more of the same with some notable changes in personnel.

As the Bears continue progressing through training camp, the Tribune is taking a look at each position group. Today: Offensive line.

• Currently on roster: 15

• Projected on final roster: 8

• Roster locks: Cody Whitehair, James Daniels, Germain Ifedi, Teven Jenkins and Sam Mustipher

• Good bets: Alex Bars, Larry Borom and Elijah Wilkinson

• On the bubble: Arlington Hambright, Adam Redmond and Lachavious Simmons

• Practice squad candidates: Badara Traore, Dieter Eiselen, Dareuan Parker and Tyrone Wheatley Jr.

Biggest offseason development

The Bears released their longest-tenured offensive player after the draft, cutting left tackle Charles Leno Jr. The move cleared $9 million in salary-cap space because it was designated a post-June 1 transaction, and it cleared a path for second-round pick Teven Jenkins to win the job. The decision didn’t come without risk considering the turnover and injury-related moves the team was forced to make on the line over the last few seasons. Meanwhile, Leno had made 93 consecutive starts.

What to like

Injuries forced the Bears to work through a variety of combinations last season. But when the team finally settled into a lineup with Sam Mustipher at center, the offense made real gains over the final six weeks of the regular season. In that span, the Bears were sixth in points per game (30.1), sixth in rushing (865 yards), eighth in yards per carry (4.91) and went from averaging 19.9 first downs per game to 24.5 while sacks fell from 2.8 to 1.5 per game. In that alignment, Cody Whitehair moved to left guard and Germain Ifedi returned to his more familiar right tackle position after playing right guard for the first half of the season.

The six-game stretch is a small sample size, and the Bears encountered a couple bad defenses late in the season, but the line improved and Mustipher did a nice job of playing traffic cop. An added benefit is that Whitehair has been better at guard so it returned him to where he can be at his best. Ifedi did better at right tackle too, so there is reason for optimism that Juan Castillo’s group can pick up where it left off.

James Daniels’ return from a torn pectoral muscle should provide a boost. He was playing well at left guard when he went down and is expected to move to right guard. It’s a big year for Daniels, who doesn’t turn 24 until the day after the Sept. 12 opener at the Los Angeles Rams and is entering the final year of his contract. The former second-round pick can secure his future with a strong season.

Depth as a whole looks to be improved over previous seasons. Alex Bars projects as a potential super sub with his ability to play anywhere on the line. He made eight starts in 2020, playing at left guard, center and right guard, and he has been worked previously at right tackle. Elijah Wilkinson appears to be the swing tackle option although his previous experience with the Denver Broncos is limited to the right side.

Biggest question

Do the Bears have a left tackle?

It’s one of biggest questions facing the Bears as training camp gets rolling. The Bears have high hopes for Jenkins, whom they traded up in Round 2 to select with the 39th overall pick. He was the first tackle to come off the board on Day 2 of the draft, and while he primarily played right tackle at Oklahoma State he made seven starts on the left side. The Bears believe he can settle in at that spot.

Jenkins didn’t face the kind of edge rushers in the Big 12 that he will see on a weekly basis in the NFL, but the team will have its most experienced lineman in Whitehair alongside him. Wilkinson also got time with the starters during the spring but clearly the plan is for Jenkins to win the job and open the season as the starter.

“The kid has worked at left and the thing about the left tackle and right tackle, really both tackles nowadays, both tackles have to be athletes and good enough and have the range,” Castillo said. “(Shoot), you’ve got Khalil Mack that lines up over the right tackle now, c’mon. So that guy better be pretty good. So both tackles nowadays have to be pretty good and the thing is that Teven has god-given ability and it’s my job to get that god-given ability to produce and perform.”

A fallback plan could be Wilkinson or perhaps even Whitehair at left tackle but the plan is for Jenkins to stick even if most teams evaluated him as a right tackle throughout the draft process.

Fresh face

Jenkins wasn’t the only new lineman added to the mix. The team also selected Larry Borom out of Missouri in the fifth round and the hope is he can develop as a starting right tackle. Ifedi will be entrenched at that position to begin the season and the Bears didn’t re-sign him for one year at $4.25 million to be a reserve.

But Borom, who got in much better shape during preparation for the draft, represents an interesting developmental prospect at a position the Bears were in need of youth. He should get plenty of opportunity in preseason to show where he’s at on the learning curve. If Jenkins and Borom emerge as solid starters in 2022, the Bears could look back at the 2021 draft as a big one considering the selection of quarterback Justin Fields as well.

You should know

Thirteen players had more sacks than the nine made by Bears leader Khalil Mack. The Bears are scheduled to face 11 of those 13 this season, meaning the offensive line is going to face some big tests. On that list: T.J. Watt, Aaron Donald, Trey Hendrickson, Za’Darius Smith, Myles Garrett, Leonard Williams, Stephon Tuitt, Leonard Floyd, Romeo Okwara, Jamal Adams and Jason Pierre-Paul.

Quote of note

“We were hoping (the draft) would fall a certain way where we could add talent to the offensive line room, wherever that was. It could be interior. It could be on the edges. We just want to add competition to the O-line room. We know it starts up front there. We haven’t drafted high there in recent years. I know with Whitehair and James, it’s just such an important group for us and I think Juan Castillo does an unbelievable job developing these guys. There are just certain coaches in the league that you know when you put a young player in their room you just have so much confidence they are going to grow and develop. Juan just has a long history of that. We are excited to put Teven with Juan and watch Teven grow under his guidance.” — GM Ryan Pace

Big number

0

Combined number of NFL starts at left tackle this group has. That underscores the pressure on the organization to develop Jenkins as a left tackle. If the Bears hit with Jenkins, they will have a young player on a rookie contract at a premium position. Finally, with a bunch of young linemen on the roster the Bears hope will develop, don’t discount the possibility nine are on the initial 53-man roster following cuts.

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