Chicago Bears: Predicting the offensive line combinations for week 1

With Chicago Bears‘ rookie tackle Teven Jenkins set to miss a good chunk of the upcoming season, the cloud hanging over the offensive line is only getting bigger. The Bears are getting healthier every day – James Daniels returned to practice on Wednesday and they’re welcoming in Jason Peters who, despite his age, could provide some quality depth along the left side.

Additionally, all three levels of the offensive line (first, second, and third unit) had a good day against Miami’s front seven last weekend who finished 11th in sacks last season. Justin Fields had the longest time to throw of any rookie QB last weekend and the line gave up 0 hits and sacks on all three quarterbacks.

Compare this to say, Trevor Lawrence, who got harassed all game and we can see that the Chicago Bears offensive line so far, despite its issues, is not as bad as we thought it would be. However, the Bears have yet to decide on their starting five for the offensive line and they’re supposed to be taking on Aaron Donald and the Los Angeles Rams’ defensive front in less than a month.

The Chicago Bears need to figure out their starting offensive line ASAP.

What follows here are the three most likely week one offensive line combinations that you will see the Chicago Bears field in week one against the Rams. There are a few givens along the line such as James Daniels at left guard and Germain Ifedi at right tackle (if he returns as expected).

Ifedi is currently out due to a hip flexor but by all accounts should be ready to go by week one. However, there will be a “competition” at left tackle, and definitely expect a variety of combinations at the center and right guard positions where the Bears have a lot of versatile linemen.

The unit the Chicago Bears go with is crucial because their performance will be directly tied to Andy Dalton‘s performance, the team’s offensive performance, and Matt Nagy’s decision on when to make the switch to Justin Fields.