Chicago Bears: Five players who need to impress at training camp

5. Charles Leno, OT

With a contract year ahead and much at stake, Charles Leno has his work cut out for him in the coming weeks and months. Can he play well enough to convince the Chicago Bears to keep him in the fold a few more years? Or, if he doesn’t make a strong enough impression, will they let him walk at the end of the season? The process of proving himself on the field starts next week.

Why camp matters for him

By now, we know that Leno believes in himself and in his own ability. Pace and the coaching staff share in his optimism regarding his potential as a starting left tackle. What’s more, Leno has been as durable as they come, playing in every single offensive snap last year.

But we still haven’t seen Leno put it all together as a player yet.

For one thing, his finesse style hasn’t translated to consistently strong run-blocking. Though he has added ten pounds this offseason, how well will he utilize that when blocking downhill? He certainly doesn’t have Bobby Massie‘s reputation in that aspect, though they both struggled plenty together last season.

And, as has been the case since he earned starters’ snaps, Leno has been an inconsistent pass blocker. At times, including last pre-season, he has flashed the potential to be an above-average pass blocker. At other times, this happened…

If Leno wants to market himself to the Chicago Bears, a strong camp, followed by improvements throughout the pre-season, could set him on a solid path. Of course, he had a decent pre-season last year too, so, one way or another, don’t expect anything that happens in July and August to define his season. That said, starting off on the right foot never hurt anyone.