Chicago Bears: Grading six picks made at 2021 NFL Draft
Protecting Justin Fields is a big key for the 2021 Chicago Bears and beyond.
Teven Jenkins
Ryan Pace has been known to be terrible in the first couple of rounds of the NFL Draft. He has received some deserved criticism for the way things have gone since he arrived. However, it sounds like Bears fans are ready to let it go if he continues to dominate drafts the way he did in 2021. It was one thing to trade up and take the obvious quarterback in round one. It is another to hit a monster home run in the second round.
That is what happened when the Bears traded up to select Teven Jenkins out of Oklahoma State. He is an offensive tackle that was highly regarded going into the draft. In fact, a lot of mocks had the Bears taking him with the 20th overall but the Bears landed him in the second round. It was a great selection to give Fields some protection.
The Bears originally had the 52nd overall pick in the round. They traded up to 39 in a deal with the Carolina Panthers. They got their guy and can only hope that this is a move that leads to big things. Their offensive line struggled to start 2020 but it got better as the season went along. Adding someone like Jenkins will really help them take it to the next level.