Chicago Bears Daily 2017 NFL draft prospect: Utah OL Garrett Bolles
While the Chicago Bears set up their interior line to be solid in 2017, they still have a need at both tackles. Adding Garrett Bolles adds more athleticism to an already athletic line.
The Chicago Bears have this image of having such awful offensive lines. Yes, they’ve had some bad lines over the last decade, but they’ve had some good ones and some decent ones.
Last season, perception became reality. The perception of a bad offensive line was wrong, however. The Bears gave up just 28 sacks in 2016, ranking seventh in the NFL. Their sack percentage of 4.8 ranked eighth in the league. That is with Kyle Long missing a big chunk of the season and rookie Cody Whitehair moving over to center.
In Long and Whitehair, the Bears have two young, athletic linemen (even with Long’s injury). Josh Sitton is older, but he is a Pro Bowl guard. That makes the Chicago Bears interior line pretty formidable.
The tackle spot is another story altogether. The Bears have Charles Leno and Bobby Massie. Neither one of those guys is anything to write home about. Massie got off to a slow start, but he did improve late. He isn’t more than an average Leno should never be anything more than a backup.
Because of this, the Bears need to invest in the tackle position. I expect them to pick someone up via free agency, but they also need to draft someone. They hit with Whitehair, so they need to continue finding someone in the draft.
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Garrett Bolles would be a great pickup for the Bears. The 6-foot-5, 300 pounder is incredibly athletic, and he has quick feet. Those quick feet allow him to go north and south, or east and west with ease. He also gets to the second level without difficulty.
Having Bolles on the line gives the Bears offense flexibility to run a variety of plays. They’ll have three linemen who can run all over the place, opening up holes downfield for Jordan Howard. They’d also be quick enough to stay with any pass rush.
There are some concerns with Bolles, though. He got into trouble as a teenager, getting kicked out of five schools, got into drugs, and spent some time in jail. He also found himself kicked out of his house and onto the streets. His high school lacrosse coach took him in, much like the story of Michael Oher, whose life story was told in the movie The Blind Side. In fact, Bolles drew inspiration from Oher. An interview with the Salt Lake City Tribune touched on that subject.
"For the first time in his life, Garett took school seriously. He pasted up posters of Michael Oher, the hero of The Blind Side, as an idol, and took the same spirit to his school work. He went to class, and was spending late hours at the library.“I had to do those things,” he said after a recent practice, “otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to be here.”"
I’m sure he’ll answer any questions asked of him in the NFL Combine. He is now a model citizen, a husband, and new father. He is very mature now, yet he still has that mean streak. The only thing is that he now only uses it on the field against opposing defenses.
Next: Full seven round Bears mock draft
Bolles should be available in the second round. If the Chicago Bears invest their pick on him, it will greatly improve their line. He may not start right away, but has Pro Bowl potential and should be a good pro for years to come.